2008 Subaru WRX STi: Knows Squat

He did. The only excuse for that statement, to me, can be the seats, steering wheel, and shifter. Otherwise, it's all 15k below the car's price point.

Joe

Speaking of hunkering down when mashing the gas...I was reading about the STI last night that people have an issue with the 2008 STI overheating at the track. Edmunds doesn't seem to have anything about that. I was hoping to take mine to the track later in the fall or in the spring. If I have to pull off every 5-7 minutes at full throttle...it seems like a waste of the $$$ to take it there.

just test drove the baby impreza ('frist' time driving a stick). And I know people have issues with the boxer sound but I really liked it, essplically at start up. The clutch was much lighter then the jeep I learned to drive on.

might end up with a 5 door in a few weeks. then swap the suspension to the new wrx. I'd like the rex, but I'm also senseble, and dont went to spend the extra money for the turbo + turbo gas.

No one with a remote interest in cars should own a base non-turbo Impreza, opfreakx. I'd stretch till I got into a Civic Si, or settle for a Mazda 3 or something.

The weight gets shifted heavily to the back in my SRT-4, too. It's cool because it contributes to the extreme torque steer and has made me invest ~$500 to get rid of wheel hop.

Compliance, I don't think you could say you can stretch for an Si or Settle for a Speed3. They're both around the same price and I consider the Speed a much better car.

I love how my 1970 Olds squats under hard acceleration off the line. It makes it seem faster/more powerful than it really is. However, there is a huge difference between what you expect from a 1970 Olds and what you expect from an STi.

I meant a regular Mazda 3 to match the price of a base Impreza. They're about the same right? I didn't look any prices up. If he can hit $20k that should get an Si though.

Go Josh (Jacquot - pictured), go!!! :o)

The transfer of weight to the back may (:shrug:) provide the rear tires with more traction when accelerating. :o)

sbcooke, I haven't read or heard anything about 2008 STIs overheating at the track. NASIOC.com and iwsti.com are the best places to look for information on your car. Thanks for the add on CarSpace, too! :o)

compliance

- I drove both a 2.3l mazda3 wagon, and a base imperza. The both drove very similar. And I felt more cramped in the mazda3. My knee kept hitting the center console.

Power wise, both felt similar, its 170hp vs 170hp, awd vs fwd.

I haven't driven the honda, but its now 30ft/lbs of torque, and its not a wagon. i might test drive it, just to see how it feels.

also drove a vibe gt/matrix xrs, roomiest feeling of the bunch, but also drove big.

Give me the WRX STi's more compliant setup over the kidney-jolting Evo X MR any day. And the tight-fitting side bolsters in the MR seats compound the problem—-I feel like I’ve gone ten rounds after ten miles. I like driving the Evo X a lot when I'm in the right mood, but I couldn't own one: I don't like peeing blood.

The above doesn't apply for track work--the Evo X MR would be my hands-down choice. But, unlike some motorcycle commercials I could name, I live on a cul-de-sac, not a racetrack.

I agree with SubyTrojan. The squat is probably intentional, to help with traction while accelerating. Amateur drag racers actually mod their cars to get this effect.

Wouldn't you lose some of the advantage of AWD with too much rearward weight transfer?

Given Subaru revamped the '09 WRX to enthusiast satisfaction, perhaps Subaru USA will do same for '09 STI?

If Edmunds has budget, why not take your STI to Cobb Tuning, replace springs and shocks and tires, rechip engine, add short throw to Shifter? If so, Plz Let us how the result works as a daily driver?

"Give me the WRX STi's more compliant setup over the kidney-jolting Evo X MR any day. And the tight-fitting side bolsters in the MR seats compound the problem—-I feel like I’ve gone ten rounds after ten miles. I like driving the Evo X a lot when I'm in the right mood, but I couldn't own one: I don't like peeing blood.

The above doesn't apply for track work--the Evo X MR would be my hands-down choice. But, unlike some motorcycle commercials I could name, I live on a cul-de-sac, not a racetrack."

BINGO! I couldn't have said it better. The STI is a much, MUCH better daily driver than the EVO.

skeld as long as the squat doesn't cause the tires to break, it won't take away anything from awd.

if for example the sqaut would cause too much weight to be transferred to the rear, and the front tires started spining, then it would be tuned wrong.

Perhaps Edmunds IL folks might want to cut the STI test short in favor of the 2009 WRX because of these magic words:

Track_Tuned_Suspension

There did not seem to be much squat or roll of this vehicle in the Subaru web site videos.

And you can trust car company videos and photos because car makers never ever install short springs for photos so their baby appears to sit lower in the brochure.

And they never put 1/2 inch wheel spacers on all of their cars at the Paris auto show to make it appear that the tires fill the wheel wells much more than they really do. http://blogs.edmunds.com/straightline/2006/09/paris-auto-show-2007-kia-opirus--amanti.html

They never do stuff like that.

opfreak, I would really recommend giving the Si a tryout. In the real world, it should deliver better fuel economy than than the Impreza while delivering a much more rewarding experience than the Mazda 3 (I've driven both.). Furthermore, the sedan version feels more spacious in the back than the 3, and it also has quite a big trunk.