I thought the title might get some attention. But seriously, bring any Mondial 3.2 and it's on! Here are some pics after today's summer waxing. Although I've done a few color-changing shenanigans elsewhere, on these I didn't change the color or saturation. It's a model year 2004 WRX; the color is World Rally Blue Pearl.
These are cool cars - I remember when we got the first STi 2-doors in Australia. Cops had to get a couple as their other cars couldn't begin to keep up!! Love the WRC blue - these look good with Simmons FR wheels with gold centers on them if you want to upgrade the wheels and have that WRC look as well. Cheers Kevin
Wow nice car... they so beutiful... one her in olofström drive än impreza to. Same color but he has an 2002. An the evo is good to... makinen edition
Thanks for the positive comments guys! Yeah Kevin, in a couple of years I'm going to go full-on WRC look: big spoiler, gold wheels, and I even want the full WRC decal set. I'm just waiting to finish school so I can get my wife her own car - she doesn't mind if I turn it into a rally car, but she doesn't want to drive it [or be seen in it ] like that.
Nice. I took an STi out for a test a few weeks ago and what a completely insane car! From the factory no less. My wife drives a Baja so she has a friendly outlook towards Subarus. I would think seriously about the rally look, blue/gold, but would probably lean more stealthy. Black with silver wheels and swap out the trunklid for the WRX spoiler. I like sleepers. Mark
I like the big wing! Of course, I'm still young enough that it isn't an odd-fit age wise, although being a lawyer driving an STi would be unconventional IMO. Of course now I wish we could have gotten the STi, but it was difficult enough to persuade my wife to move up from a $15k-19k VW to a $24k WRX... and at the time [last summer] the dealers still wanted $34k for STi's. Now they can apparently be had easily for <$30k. Now that we're going to be down to just my income this fall it's a good thing we didn't, either. And, we live in the city and driving is an exercise in frustration as it is (I got a ticket doing 42 in a 30 (!!!) last Fall)... having a higher performance car would be excruciating.
EXCELLENT CAR FOR THE MONEY! Is WRX better than EVO VII or EVO VIII?? this arguement never stops.....
Well its a good car. I think of all the Japanese manufacturers, Subaru is the only one that stands out. But it's no Ferrari killer. Good color!
I'd say not the base WRX, but the STi definitely is IMO. Imperial83 - that was just a joke to get people to look at the thread. Thanks for the compliments though. Although Honda and Toyota make excellent (and boring) cars, Subaru's more 'sturdy' or 'rough and tumble' WRC image appealed to me. Post 1,500!
and I love it too. For the money it really is a wonderful car. Did you get the short-throw shifter? If you didn't, I highly recommend that you do. You will not be dissapointed. I really like the blue color on your WRX.
Welcome to the club! Post some pics. No, I didn't get any options except the spoiler and the upgraded alarm... I don't know why but the salesguy didn't even try and get me to put more options on, which I lamented afterwards because after buying the car I figured out that I wanted the short shifter, a different shift knob and the color-matched side skirts, things I didn't really realize the day we bought.
Ryan, there is no way I could own a WRX and not chip it. I realize some companies have gone too far with chips (sacrificing reliablity/durability), but you could try www.VishnuTuning.com, he has an EXCELLENT repuation for being a high quality tuner (though I have no first hand experience). Enjoy it!
Oh, trust me, I've wanted that for a while. I've been looking at buying the Cobb Tuning reflasher (they sell you the module to flash it yourself to their various settings). It's $500 I don't have at the moment though. But the idea of getting 30hp and 40lbs of torque for $500 is tempting. By de-catting and installing a 3" exhaust the Cobb Stage 2 reflash is putting out 285hp on 93 octane... not bad for about $1200! In reality I want a new shift knob, 17"s with street slicks (Falken Azenis or the like), a bigger sway bar, strut braces and Eibach springs first though. There's not many places I can get it over 80mph, but handling is an improvement to enjoy in everyday driving. After those, then ECU upgrade, and then a StopTech big brake kit.
Howz about an adjustable boost valve inside the cabin? Our WRX is an absolute hoot, and it kept good company in a garage with a 550 barchetta, a 740i Sport, a Porsche GT-2 and a Ducati. It was never a downer to be forced to take the Subie. It is, in my view, the most underrated car here in the states. (Ours was ordered with short shifter, rally gauges, but not trick exhaust or suspension. We used it as our local errand/bad weather car; i gave it to my 78 year old father recently:- he loves driving it).
IMO, the Evo is better than the STi as I did ALOT of research before I purchased my Evo about a year ago. I was also debating between these two cars and of all the magazines I read about the battle and comparison between these cars, only 1 magazine said the STi was better. So I bought the Evo. Here's pics of my Evo. www.angelfire.com/mech/axis90701
The Evo is definitely a better handling car than the STi. However, the STi may prove a little faster in a straight line (in the standing quarter mile). I would love to have an Evo MR, that's a truly awesome car. Between that and the JDM STi Spec C we get here, I would have a very hard time choosing. One thing about the Evo scares me though. A lot of the great handling comes from sophisticated electronic aids like the "Super Active Yaw Control (AYC)". I've heard of at least one report of an electronic failure on an Evo causing total loss of control with the result that the car flipped over during a track session. This is an unverified account, to be honest, but it still scares me if it's true. In contrast, the STi's stability comes largely from tried, true and predictable mechanical means, and I'd rather trust to that on the track.
Great car Ryalex. Ive been considering selling my Supra and getting one. 4 doors would be better for college and carting friends/dorm stuff around, plus it would be less of a target on campus. My friend has one (bout 3k in mods) and it really is a blast to drive around in. As for EVO8 vs STI. I've heard its so close that it doesnt really matter. Alot of it comes down to personal preference on different things.
4 doors is handy. $3k in mods would make it very fast and very fun!! Also a factor for me was the warranty, which will last until I finish school (preventing any catastrophic repair bills). The car choice is really personal selection. FWIW, the STi does have more straight line grunt, and a far nicer interior than the EVO, IMO. Also, given Mitsubishi's serious financial probs I'd be a tad weary right now of corner and cost-cutting. And, if you're a WRC fan, Mitsubishi is getting their arse handed to them on a plate this year. In fact, I don't think that any of their new cars have finished half of a single rally, which is sad to see Gilles Panizzi get such an unreliable ride.
Not to be an @rsehole but you do realise Mitsubishi has a reputation of ignoring customer complaints and building cr@p. Recently they admitted that for 20 years they had ignored customers and not fixed faults that other companies would have implemented recalls for. Some of these faults were potentially dangerous IMO. One I believe was to do with a safety belt ... While I appreciate an EVO is probably better put together than Joe Average Mitsi ... I'll never ever buy a Mitsi because the whole being of Mitsi is simply to sell steel as Mitsubishi is a gigantic steel company and wanted to increase their sales so made a few cars ... fair enough I guess, but I have long been aware of Mitsi not caring whether their product kept moving or not. My father used to be a service manager with Mitsi many years ago. When ever I smell a smokey exhaust in Sydney I bet my passenger that it is a Mitsi ... I would say that 95% of the time I am right, and many times it is not an old soldering on Mitsi but something under 10 years old. Personally while I appreciate many jobs will be lost, I for one think Mitsubishi deserve to close down their Australian assembly factory because they have built cr@p and treated their customers like fools. Pete's saying it like it is ps: Note: the views I have on Mitsubishi and points I have made may well be only relevant to the Australian division of Mitsubishi ... but I think these attitudes usually come from the top. No tears will be shred from me when the Mitsubishi car company disappears ...
Yea, I don't know why Mitsubishi is using regular lancers instead of Evos at the rallies. That's why they're losing so badly.
I used to own a 22b but that got sold quite a while ago. Now i own an STI. I have driven an Evo at a track day once and i must admit, it does feel like the faster car. I thought that was because of the different suspension setting but as it tuns out it was stock. But i love my STI because of the higher level of class in regards to the car as a whole. In fact iv'e got another impreza coming at the moment, mind you it's an RS model so it's got the N/A 2.5L. But still, Subaru's service sold me on that one. I dealt with Mitsubishi when my brother was after an Evo 6.5 TME, and the service was shocking. I agree with Pete: Mitsubishi Aust will not be missed.
