I've been watching rallying on OLN, SpeedTV, and ESPN and WRX STI outnumber EVOS about 10 to 1. What gives?

 

Are you looking for newer Evo's? I see the older models ALL the time. STI's stick out like a soar thumb compared to an early model Evo.

 

Here they are

 

Possible reasons:

-It's easier/cheaper to make an Sti out of a normal 2wd Impreza. You can get a 2wd impreza and fit them with Sti engine and drive train without a lot of problems. Trying to make a Lancer an Evo is quite involved. You'll need to cut out part of the rear passenger footwell for starters. So it's cheaper if you want to go rallying on the cheap. Either that or you can start with a WRX (non Sti) and work from there. Still cheaper than an Evo RS where I live.

-While it is harder to work on impreza's engines, if you have the resources to take it out of the car anyway, then it's about the same.

-Most teams and privateers mainly go with a manufacturer that give them a better deal. Let's face it, there's very little difference in performance so if Subaru can give you a better deal then why go for the evo? I have a hunch that this is the case.

-If you have a power restriction like in many series, then the sti's alloy block makes sense. In othe words, the evo's stronger block capable of carzy boost isn't so important.

 

wow.. thx for the link...

btw, newbie question.. what's that "thing" on the mid-top of the roof?

 

There hasn't been a 2wd impreza for a long time. They are AWD.

--
Brian

 

Since they can't leave their windows open like Nascar due to all the dirt and debris that would fly in, they use a roof vent.

 

Don't know why they don't sell them in the US, you can get them in Japan:

http://www.subaru.co.jp/impreza/spor...eup/index.html

and many other countries i'm sure. These are also 1.5litre, so ultra cheap.

Perhaps it's because you guys get the 2.5L. Anyway, i'm sure it won't be beyond possibility for subaru to import a few to the US.

 

this might cause a stir, but the sti does have the better awd system, and in the rally world, powergains are all the same essentially, its the awd system that makes or breaks the car, so more ralliers prefer the sti

 

I'm not trying to cause anything either, but why would you say it's a better system?

There is a point that it is a more efficient system, but apart form that, I think the evo has the edge.

Mainly cos the torque split that the evo's had for a while is 50:50 but up to '06 Sti's had their split 35:65 but for '06 they changed it to 41:59, close to the evo. Surely there must be some benefit there for them to do it.

 

Walkedu - I have been watching Pike's Peak Rally, and this weekly show with Stig Blumquist, Travis Pastrana, and some guy who drives an ESX STi. It's on OLN and there is always like 5-10 STi, 5-10 WRX, and like 1 or 2 EVOs. Usually like a VW Rabbit and some Audi or something.

 

$$$. If I recall correctly, Mitsu officially pulled out of the US Rally scene before the Evo came over. Subaru is still in it so teams gravitate towards them cause of better deals as x838nwy pointed out. The teams that rally the Evo are all private. I dunno if Hyundai pulled out recently or what (I haven't been following much lately) but a year or two ago they were heavily involved in the US rally scene as well.

 

My opinion is solely based on seat time in both cars but I think Subaru's AWD is more capable in the dirt while Mitsu's domain lies on the tarmac. That's fine since dirt doesn't interest me.

 

In group N there are more Evos. Just few years back there was technically ONLY evos, now you see some Subarus too. Prodrive, which is "factoryteam" of Subaru sells WRC cars while Mitsubishi doesn't. That's one reason why you may see more Subarus on TV. They don't usually show that much group N stuff. I bet that even less in America.

What comes to AWD systems, they use different ACD ecu in rally cars, so you can't compare road cars to rally cars. Often the AYC is also disabled. WRC cars are another story and there isn't a single part interchangeable to road car, so you can't compare them either.

Group N Subarus and Evos are very similar in performance. Subarus has been more popular lately due to part pricing, which in the case of Mitsu has been slipped out of hand lately.

 

I believe it also has to do with $$ in some way. Subarus have more invested in the outdoor image than mitsu so it would be more corperate support on those lines