Yeah I do like the sound of the subbie boxer engine

 

+1 the sound of a boxer engines would be a selling point for me alone. Jaz i understand you tire debate but even with the terrible stock tires they manage a good run w/ the BBK and springs. Just .6 sec less than the WRX which is impressive compared to stock for stock performance.

By the way MRT BBK is $2100 US.

 

yeah, my friend's 'Rex sound sick with an HKS High Power exhaust and HKS full Downpipe.... And I mean sick... not rice, sick, like race car sick!

yeah that part impressed me the most... dang, .6 secs is barely anything and that was with 215mm tires.... I imagine an upgrade would put the Ralliart ahead of the Rex a couple tents of a sec maybe

 

I saw that comparison a while ago. It's not that surprising really. What would have been nice is if they gave a complete break down on what they spent on each car. I suspect that more was spent on the Ralliart given that they even went so far as to replace the brakes (which isn't cheap).
It was my understanding that the SST was supposed to very quick (arguably quickest) in automatic mode, hence why the driver left it in automatic mode. They probably tried it in manual as well but noticed it was slower. Think of it this way, who's faster at deciding when to upshift, a human or a computer? I'm willing to bet that no one here is as good a driver as that individual in the video. Show a little respect here. Would you call Schumacher a bad driver because he's getting old or Andretti?
Once again (and I can't believe I still have to point this out), the transmission in an F1 car is completely different. You could probably buy 10 or more Ralliarts for the cost of one F1 transmission. You cannot seriously attempt to equate the two. By the same logic, the previous automatic Lancer had the same transmission as those 1000 WHP Supras you see doing 8s in 1/4 mile.
I don't see why people continuously get upset about these reviews, I'm sorry but A. it shouldn't come as a surprise at this point and B. it doesn't change whether you personally like the Ralliart (that most here drive). If you only based your purchasing decision on performance and magazine reviews, then sure, you bought the wrong car but last I checked, when you're driving around town, you maybe use 25% of what your car is capable of anyways. If you like the Ralliart, great, keep the Ralliart, buy the Ralliart, whatever. Going so far as to call it ***** propaganda is just ridiculous. There isn't some grand conspiracy against the Ralliart, it is what it is.

 

I'm still missing where they said they left it in automatic mode? Are you all referring to where the driver mentions that the automatic shifts in the RA are quicker than the WRX's manual shift..?

 

Just to add, I think the australian WRX and STI use the 2.5 L engines. If they did use the 2.0 L motors, they'd actually be getting the better of the two. The 2.0 L engine revs higher, can handle more boost, has a better turbo setup and some pretty cool features (ECU controlled intercooler water sprayer as an example).

 

Hmm, if I spent $2,100 on a BBK for the Ralliart, I'd expect it to run circles around the WRX, especially on multiple track passes. Did the WRX also have a break upgrade?

 

Brake. Brake. Brake.

Watch the video. They go into all the details.

Big handicap was the tires. Ran the OEM RA tires - crappy.

 

I think they replaced the pads, rotors and fluid.

 

yeah, the major part of track performance is the tires. i've raced enough on these advan a10's to know that they suck. the sidewalls roll so friggin much, it's ridiculous. i had 44 lbs of pressure in my fronts, and was still getting major rubbage on the shoulders. replace the tires with something decent, and it transforms the car.

i'm not sure how good/bad the wrx tires are though... anyone?

 

They're better than the RA tires but they're hardly great.

 

This RA's crappy stock tires are well noted even from that original Edmunds review of the REX vs. RA (both stock) over a year ago. It was clear that they liked the RA's drive/handling feel more than the Rex even though it (Rex) showed better performance over the track. One thing they concluded was that if the RA came with better tires, it would probably be very close (or on par) with the Rex's overall performance. My memory isn't too good, so correct me if I'm wrong.

 

WRX - BETTER PERFORMANCE, ugly looks better brand

Lancer - BETTER LOOKS, needs moor power, brand is dead.

I choose the lancer, cause i dont race and i dont want a super fast car..

 

If you're referring to the test where they actually swapped out the Ralliart's tires for RE050s, I believe the end result was that the Ralliart improved ahead of the WRX in some regards but was still behind in others, they were closer certainly (and the improvement was astonishing) but the shear power advantage of the WRX kept it ahead.
http://www.insideline.com/subaru/imp...preza-wrx.html
As far as the tires are concerned, here are the Tire Rack rankings/results.
The stock Ralliart tires are the Yokohama Advan A10A and are considered a high performance summer tires. They're currently not ranked.
The stock WRX tires are Dunlop SP Sport 01 and are considered ultra high performance summer tires. They're ranked 21st out of 40.
The Bridgestone RE050A is a max performance summer tire. It's ranked 15th out of 28.

 

Here is the review:

http://www.insideline.com/subaru/imp...preza-wrx.html

Conclusion:

"Although it doesn't turn into a corner like an old-gen WRX, the 2009 Subaru Impreza WRX is the better of these two sport compacts. It doesn't matter that the 2009 WRX lacks fancy differentials and a twin-clutch gearbox. It's quicker, lighter and cheaper than the 2009 Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart.

Still, had our instrumented tests with the Lancer Ralliart on RE050As counted, the Subie's lead would narrow to 1.8 points. Factor in the higher evaluation scores a Ralliart with stickier rubber would likely get and the Mitsu might squeeze out a victory. The fact that tires matter so much says a lot about this rivalry. In spite of their different hardware, the 2009 Subaru Impreza WRX and 2009 Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart are so closely matched that it doesn't take much to tip the scales."