I've had no issues with the 8 tranny. Different gearing yes. Turbo can be replaced, better looking yes because of the front bumper and seats which also can be replaced. Main difference is the mivec. But with a 8 thats modded right can make good power

 

it took me almost 2 yrs to decide about the evo or an sti, and finally i found and bought an evo 9 mr... i drive my car daily and i just put on 1000 miles and it's the best miles i ever drove in my life, i cant wait till i get all my parts next month.... i hope this convince u to buy the evo:-)

 

Yeah I hear they aren't terrible as long as your not dumping them everywhere you go, just that they aren't as well put together as the 9
If your going to mod I'd say get the 8 they are cheaper and if your just going to upgrade all the parts anyways then its worth it
if your going to keep it mostly stock then get the 9

 

Im looking into a lightly modded one. Something like intake, TBE, and a tune.

Would that be enough to make 300whp?

 

My experiance.

2006 wrx 10,000$ in mods 12.1 1/4 mile. It was pretty reliable but I parted the car out because I wanted the new 08 sti.

2008 sti - built engine,clutch,gt30 break everything in nice nice. I get a retune and rod #2 and #4 bent ( ****ty tune but very known tuner. ) at this time i decided to part out and look for a nice evo.

If you are looking for one of the best handling cars out of the box evolution wins hands down, if your looking for best bang for your buck in modifications evolution wins hands down again.

I just picked up a 2006 evo 9 and I could not be happier with the decision, but I have decided to keep the evolution stock because I feel like the car is plenty fast!

Good luck with your decision, dont listen to the " INTERIOR IS BETTER " bull**** I dont think the evolution interior is bad at all.

 

Go with an evo IX you won't regret it. Like most people I blew the motor in my sti, had over 20k into her and was never pleased. She spent more time in the shop than in my garage. My evo IX on the other hand has been a pure joy to own and drive. The motor and tranny are rock solid, parts and maintanance are cheap compared to the subarus.

 

speaking of blown motors, im running 400whp on my evo, and i give it hell once in a while, and it still runs great, my friend who DDs his 350whp STI just blew his motor and is putting in 2000$ worth of internals, and the labor included is going to come out to 7500$.

 

i always hear that the evo is cheaper to build. maybe for 400 whp. but once you start looking for 500 whp on up, there really isnt much difference at all in cost. any money you save on the motor or turbo setup is eaten up by the trans and transfer case build. the sti drivetrain needs rear axles at most. at 540 whp i never broke anything on the sti. the motor was built properly and beat to hell without a single issue.

 

Dude just get a 9. I too had ringland failure in my sti and I just decided to move on. Plus it felt like a slug past about 75mph.

 

What a stupid question to ask on any sti or evo forum.

 

You're on an Evo forum, obviously everyone is going to tell you to buy an Evo. Do a bit of research, a lot of what is being said here is either wrong or a very biased view point on reality. Realistically, you can't go wrong with either car and it'll boil down to personal preference. It's like deciding between Pepsi and Coke. Those in the Coke camp will say that Pepsi tastes like donkey **** and gives you cancer while those in the Pepsi camp will tell you that Coke is produced by ***** and makes you pee blood.

 

Everything these guys have said is completely true (and this coming from a STi owner). My car is on its 3rd motor, and I literally have about 17k on my new motor and its leaking from just about every seal. The stock pistons WILL crack (at even stock boost levels) eventually and from what I hear in the community its only getting worse in newer models. So untill Subaru makes a better motor Im done.

I am actually parting my car out as we speak bit by bit and Im dumping it off. Im looking a 2006 IX tomorrow, hopefully I'll pick it up(the reason Im on this board).

 

evom is for everyone that graduated from an sti to an evo so you started at the right place and dont need to go through the trouble that most of us did with the sti lol

 

IMO....STIs' can't hold as much horsepower as Evos' and are designed more for fun reliable daily drivers, whereas Evos' can and are meant to be full on race machines. I own and Evo IX, but I've driven both and I can tell you know I wouldn't trade me Evo for the world! They're faster, they handle better, and they turn more heads. Happy hunting!

 

Have you guys ever stopped to consider that maybe it's the parts or more likely the builder that is the issue? I know of a few people that have built motors that don't have any issues, the car's run extremely well. They also had the cars built by one of the best shops in western Canada. If you're only lightly modding the car, which the OP said he was, it could be argued that the STI is a better choice power wise as AMS showed better results with their STI for less money and less mods than what would be expected from an Evo.

https://www.evolutionm.net/forums/au...uge-gains.html
https://www.evolutionm.net/forums/au...g-results.html

This isn't a "the STI is better than the Evo" post, it's a "the STI isn't the POS people want to make it out to be" post.