THSCC Forums

Being the Honda fan that I am, I still couldn't resist the temptation to drive this beast. I actually considered buying one last summer before I bought my R, but the sales guy would not let me drive it.

Anyway, I test drove one at the Greenville dealership tonight. This drive was a fairly short one, and the salesman would not let me get close to redline (I hit it by "accident" twice though). I was very impressed (that's an understatement) with it. I can't help but think that if I would have gotten that test drive last summer, I may have bought one then.

I actually thought about selling my Type R and buying an STI. I would feel like such a trader if I did that! I have owned 4 Honda/Acuras in the 8 years I have been driving. Also, it just does not seem financially smart since I just bought the Type R only 6 months ago. Moreover, the payment would increase by about $150/month. I doubt I would actually do this; however, it is tempting... Any thoughts??

I "traded" in my 2002 911 Turbo for a 2004 STi. I love the car. Much more road feel than the 911 and far more versatile. It's got less power than the 911 certainly, but the 911 was numb feeling to me. Besides, more power is always nice, but in reality you can't use but so much on the road anyway. And it has four doors. And seems to take the flogging pretty well, too.

I drive a Type R at the Mid-Ohio School last year. Great car as well (though the school cars were modded somewhat in the suspension department...I'm pretty sure they had camber plates and definitely had aftermarket rear lower control arms).

Power is intoxicating, but you have a great car already. In the end it's all about how much you're willing to spend for whatever extra smile it might give you (if any).

I enjoy autocrossing my Miata more than the STi, but my Miata is a little better setup for it, too. I do plan to do a PCA day or something this year with the STi just to see what's it like on track, but who knows...


--Donnie

My salesman ENCOURAGED me to flog the STi on the test drive.

Of course, I had already bought a WRX wagon from him (which I went relatively easy on during the test drive), and he knew about my racing habit, so he kinda/sorta trusted me with it. He even said "sure" when I asked if we could find an empty parking lot & do some donuts. (I didn't actually do it; I was just kidding)

The STi is a WHOLE lot of car to drive on a daily basis - that's why we went with WRX wagon/ Forester XT/ old-skool 2.5RS.

edit: and be sure to think REALLY hard about it before you trade a Type AAARRR on anything else.

Oh, he didn't test drive the STi hard as he had already killed MY STi in Greenville quite a while earlier


I don't think the STi is NOT a "WHOLE lot of car" to drive on a daily basis, but it is definitely not an economical choice. If you HAVE to have a sporty feel car that CAN drive around everyday -- yea its great for that.

However, the ITR "I BELIEVE" is a better car out of the box to do everything. It may be down on power, but it makes up for that at being light, and having MUCH better camber curves than the Impreza suspension has. On top of that, it isnt the 3200 lbs gorillia that an STi is.

Well, my two cents is just this -- are you happy with what you drive? I went from a WRX to and STi, and that is something I had to do to make me happy. The only other step I have is wanting to own a Spec C if it ever comes stateside, but other than that, I am happy with teh car I own. Are their going to be/are there faster cars? Heck ya! However, I love what I have, and that makes it worth it to me.

Oh yea, that and the wife loves to autoX the car I bought. It helps when you have the support of the whole family as well

- brian

Ps. Join the dark side... soon, all of THSCC will be assimilated!! AWD hacks forever!!!

When I said a whole lot of car, I meant... it's a supercar, so you'll want to drive like an insane person all the time (or maybe that's just me?); it's pretty expensive - initial purchase price, parts, insurance, large amounts of premium gas, you HAVE to use at least 17" wheels to clear the brakes, and so on.

It's a great car, it's just that you have to be ok with all the stuff that comes with the greatness.

Every day is an autocross day with one, though

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Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder.

Ah, in that light, I can understand better your comments. Sorry

I guess it all depends on where you are coming from. I don't see the STi as a super car. It can get flattened in its stock form on the 'streets' by other cars. On the highway, the pickup is good, but more displacement would easily 'be faster' then.

All in all, I find it a good 'starting base' car that gives you WARRANTY with all the things you would have to 'correct' on other cars if you were really going to use them for 'performance' driving.

Of course, the ITR is no slouch in this area, and I would gladly take one straight to the track once I had a roll bar, harness, brake ducts, pads, and race rubber on the car. They are both good, and I thought I had see ITRs hanging quite easily with STis from 60+. That would translate well for on track performance as you are lighter and should have good exit speed from corners.

As a daily driver, I just feel bad driving a car 50 miles a day just to and from work. I want to drive it like it was meant to be driven daily, and not 'waste' miles on a car like this.

Just my opinion though.

- brian

Boy there is the short list of things that made me sell my Talon! I think I got 3 tickets in it in 3 years. One of which was exceeding 100 mph! I didnt daily drive the car either, I wouldnt have a liscense if I did.

There is no worse combination than a back road, 30° ambient temps and a county sherrif sitting on the side of rode as I blaze past.

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02 Focus SVT
STF 9

If I had an ITR I'd put a good set of shocks on it and drive the snot out of it. They're wonderful cars; I thoroughly enjoyed driving Shawn's years ago. I'd have a hard time getting rid of one for anything, STi or otherwise.

Besides that, its a rare car that probably won't decrease in value much. So many of them have been turned into race cars and/or crashed into something, I have to think you're driving maybe not an "investment" car, but certainly a special one.

Just my 0.02.

--Karl (also a Honda guy, sometimes reluctantly so)

I have the same issue with my car. 17" wheels - big tires, premium gas, cost per mile based on the cost of the car is high. Parts aren't cheap. Insurance was no big deal. Costs me the same as it used to cost me to insure my 02 Jeep Cherokee. And the Cherokee was boring... but it towed a boat ok.

You don't need to drive it like an insane person everyday. It has gotten me 2 tickets, but they were dismissed, so they don't count towards THSCC membership.




I drive my car to work everyday. 30mi round trip. I feel the opposite. I don't consider it "waste" miles. It actually makes the thought of going to work everyday a little better.

Bottom line is you are making the car payments. So what your budget can bear and what makes you happy is the right car for you. I looked at an STi a couple of weeks ago. Almost took one for a test ride. I think you AWD hacks are like a virus... I never even looked at Subarus until I joined this club...

Graham

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http://www.greywinds.com

[Hijack]

For some reason I have been lusting over the thought of driving an extremely large German luxury sedan to work every day. Weird, huh? I check the prices on 99-02 740s and 750s every day now. I might settle for a 540i to get a 6-speed.

Mmmm, big V8 RWD sedan ... with handling and ergonomics.

Unfortunately I'm house poor and can't be doing the new car thing right now. Quantity over quality

Y'all have fun with your nice cars...

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Mike Whitney
whit32@gmail.com, 919-454-5445
V10, V8, V8t, I6, I6, V6, F4t, I4, I4, I4, I4, I2, 1, 1

Exactly. I don't know how "insane" you could get in a Miata or Cavalier using it as a DD, but I don't drive either car hard on the street.

I don't even drive home fast after two days of 100MPH plus speeds at VIR. Of course after that, it's like I was walking when driving 65.

I guess I'm lucky that I can separate the track driving from the street and keep myself and my insurance under control.

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Vincent Keene
'06 Ford Mustang GT (track rat)
'15 Dodge Charger R/T (yeah, it's got a HEMI!)
'07 Ford Fusion SE (205,000 miles and counting)
'98 Chevy Z-24 (retired)
'93 Acura Integra (Team SWB 24HOL Car)

I've been driving the 2.5RS about half the time & the WRX the other half. When I get in the WRX, the way the car drives & the power delivery make me want to accelerate until the broken lines are solid. STi is even more .

When all I drove was a slow POS (by comparison to WRX or STi), I never had that urge either, Vincent.

I find if I do enough autocrosses, then I don't drive like a madman on the public roads (at least not as often). Before I started autocrossing, I used to use public winding roads as a "road course" for the S2000. Not safe, not smart, not healthy. Now with enough autox events, I keep my wild driving on course.

i'm right there with ya...and since i didn't get to drive at the t&t, i'm going a little nuts, and my daily driving shows it.

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05 MCS