I am deciding on getting either an sti or evo. I know the sti looks really bad but you can't argue that is has a better drive train, clutch and better bottom end, HID etc. I am leaning towards the evo because it has a better mechanical feel through the steering wheel, better handling and looks much much better.

My main concern is reliabilty as I hit the track(road course) about 10-15days out of the year. Can anyone that tracks often comment on there car. Pros, con's, reliability etc.
Maintain costs.

I plan on keeping the car stock. Drop in filter, maybe sway bars and r-comps the first year. And then cat back and Accessport the next yr.

I'll be getting a GSR as well.

 

The X will be plenty reliable, I have over 7,300 track miles (450+ whp) since April.

Check my site, www.Gates311.com for all the info on the car.

Good luck with your purchase!

 

Sti is too pricey and the x handles sooo much better , id say look at either a 335, 135 or x Just be prepared to buy a clutch, other then that you'll love it. Girls love how the x looks also, they hate how the Sti looks. Also the gsr with SSS comes with hids.

 

The sti tranny is stronger. The rest of the drivetrain being "better" is debatable. The bottom end isn't better at all. HID don't matter on the track and the evo has them as well. The X although a bit of a tank is proving to be a very competant track car. Just maintain the car well as you've no doubt heard before and you'll be fine.

 

Hitting the track in a 4-door hatchback just isn't as cool as it used to be, be a man, do the right thing, get an X.

 

As far as reliability issues go, the 07+ STi's are having serious problems with ringlands failing, even with stage 2 mods.. the ECU on the new STi's is intensely unforgiving. On the other hand, we all know what a pleasure the ECU on the X is...and the 4B11 is holding up very well to heavy modification..

 

They don't get HIDs in Canada.

 

That's correct...only MR has HID in Canada.

 

hahaha, thats right, be a man, do the right thing.

 

I don't know but obviously this site is going to be biased towards the evo. The STI's have years and years of WRC competition under their belt, more-so than Mitsubishi. To me, that's just more progress and processing of information about how the cars behave that is then passed down to their factory vehicles performance and development. It makes sense that the STI would be a bit stronger and a bit better.

I'm having the same thoughts as the op about the choices. STI, or EVO? Meanwhile, while I like the Evo maybe a bit more, I still think the STI might be better because of the R&D, rigorous testing, and having years of WRC top 3 results.

Comparing to the WRC might seem out of context and even silly but it's true. Over the years, that's where all the kinks are worked out, that's where the car takes shape and all the bits and pieces of information gathered are passed down to the recent production vehicles. Even though the WRC-spec vehicles are completely a different breed from top to bottom, it is still that manufacterer, in the end, that solves the problems and passes the information along to the engineers of the production vehicle and what we, as consumers, end up buying.

A stronger STI makes sense. This in-turn is probably what will be the deciding factor for me.

All I can say is, it's a hard decision to make. I still feel like the evo is the one calling my name.

Looks aren't even a factor, I want to drive the car as it was intended and not fear the transmission will fail if I do so.

 

It boils down to personal preference, if you ask this question here, naturally people are going to tell you how great the Evo is and how bad the STI is. If you ask the same question on a Subaru forum, you'll hear how much better the STI is and how terrible the Evo is. Drive both and decide for yourself. There is no denying that the STI is softer stock than the Evo, it understeers and is more vague in terms of feel. However, if you're going to track the car, you'll be doing suspension work anyways. Power is a moot point, you can get good gains out of the STI and good gains out of the Evo. The STI has the advantage of more low end torque that makes them a really good corner exiting car while the Evo has a better turbo making it better on the straights.

 

All in all though. pound for pound. I think the STI might be the safer choice. If you limit the modifications to the following on both cars:

Stiffer springs
Sway bar
Tires

Without touching anything else, the STI-purely from an applied logic point of view-would be the safer route. Personally, I haven't drove neither of them so I don't know how they feel but I think the STI has more experience under it's belt.

Other than that, Evo forums are evo biased. STI forums are going to be STI biased. Usually, the bias reflects the looks department. In the end you have to look at both of them thorougly enough to make the right decision from the two. Look at it without personal attachment and just strictly on the aspect of; "Which manufacturer has done their part in providing me with a performance oriented everyday vehicle I can take to the track and also to work day in and day out without problems?"

The answer, in a way, is both. But the transmission woes I've discovered about the evo is definately unsettling.

My opinions are under the strict assumption the vehicle is a daily driver, a track car and has little modifications.

If you plan on heavily modifying it and making it your own, it doesn't really matter which one you go for.

For me, I'm no engineer, I'm in no position to "upgrade" a car I had no part in developing. The most I would do is, and this is after researching throughly enough to where I feel I'm a guru on the subject, is stiffer springs, sway, and ultra high performance street tires. All after I've done some completely stock track driving to set a platform to build onto. Seat time is the best upgrade undeniably.

 

Realistically they're about equal. The Evo is just as safe as the STI and vice versa. The Evo has proven itself to be a very capable and very reliable machine so I wouldn't write it off. The 5-speed found in the GSR is virtually bulletproof.

 

I agree. The differences, if any, are very minute.

I'm sorry, I wasn't clear when I said "safer". I meant safer in terms of reliability issues if driven hard, in the long run. Not the actual safety of the vehicle.

The problem with buying the GSR is you downgrade from the MR to get the better gearbox. If the 5-speed is indeed like you say it is, then the GSR is the true STI equivalent and not the MR. Switching suspension is easy enough. Tranny problems... my worst nightmare.

 

Ya both are great cars. I will have to test drive them both and see. Its just the clutch on the evo that is concerning to me as I don't want to spend like 2000 replacing (if it goes) on a brand new car.
The drive test and price will be the factor but I would love an Evo over and sti