Why do I keep seeing and even reading how the STI understeers. This may be true for entering a turn at high speed or something but in terms of power oversteer it seems the STI is much better.

I've driven them both it seems that with the peaky EVO motor it is harder to steer with the throttle isn't it and power slide it. In the STI yesterday, I puched it in first from a stoplight as I made a turn and got fully sideways and that was with the auto differential spit on instead of making it biased to the rear.

Someone who owns both, please confirm as you have been in many different situations with the cars. I love driving sidways and drifting with power, not handbrakes. Isn't the STI better suited for this?

 

The STi does oversteer much more easily when you use the gas pedal. A good example is in the middle of a corner and you gas it, the tail will come out. However, when coming off the straight to a turn and under braking, the STi understeers heavily and sooner than the Evo. The Evo is more neutral and when pushed it will eventually understeer but by that time, it's obvious you went into the turn way too hot.

 

not trying to burst a bubble....but both cars are not meant for drifting.....but if you like to power drift, then the sti is more suitable, but if you want better handling...evo is #1..just my $.02

 

Good points. So for street use it might be said that the STI is better for oversteer because we have o business entering any corner even potentially too hot when there is a guard rail, other traffic, or a light pole on the otherside. On the street, perhaps the power oversteer characteristic is best.

I just like powersliding and holding a drift every now and then. So unless I plan on hitting a track and having to break it down after a long straight, the STI's handling my suit me better.

Although I utterly love the razor steering and lack of roll of the EVO. Urrrrggh! I'm so twisted between the two right now.

They have got to go down in history as one of the most closely matched pairs ever from two completely separate makers.

 

how many people would own both sti and evo.. thats a complete waste.... i doubt there'll be more then a few in the US that has both

 

I agree it would be redundant. However I've come across 2 so far on these different boards. Not to mention people that have a brother, wife, or close friend in which situation they get to drive both cars. I've got an NSX now and you would be surprised at how many families have 2 in the same house. Don't get it but it happens.

 

well if you really love the evo and you also really love drifting, try doing it by weight transferring instead of using ebrake or powering. then you can have your cake and...well you know the rest.

 

well having in the family is different then directly owning two hehe but i know wat u mean.... i too wanna try the sti out..

 

STi's better suited for the "drift" or power slide due to its 65/35 DCCD if the evo only had the ACD it would be a better compition... But overall the evo can and will out handle an STi stock to stock... the STi just feels heavy in a turn...

 

A turn on the street is much diffrent then a 2, or 3rd gear push (oversteer). The evo is fairly easy to balance with LFB.

 

One other point to consider...... if you use the e-brake in the EVO to drift, you will need a dust pan and broom to remove your drivetrain from the road.

Speedlimit...

 

EVOs do NOT handle better than STi's stock... they handle differently. For MOST people the EVO is faster around corners as its easier to drive and more precise in most situations. The STi however can do things that the EVO and most every other car can only dream of thanks to the front diffs ability to do a heavy torque bias. Of course this is also a problem with the STi as the suspension has to be tuned for this and thus it pushes BAD initialy when you go to WOT in a corner. Then the front diff winds up and drags the nose right back in and many times you have to unwind some. Then you get the issue of the torque bias all but disappears when you point the front wheels straight ahead. So if you are cornering with the tail out and unwind lock till back to straight ahead... that bias that was pulling the front is goes away. This is why the STi has a slower rack than the EVO. Its to make countersteering a nice smooth event so you don't over counter steer. Oh and if you actualy have to steer INTO the skid while at WOT... pray you have road to burn. The front will simply LAUNCH for the far ditch as the torque bias appears with a vengance.

Basicly the STi is a ***** to drive right, but can do the "impossible" with ease when driven right.

 

For me, having to compensate for the cars handling charachteristics and thus making it more difficult to drive just to match the Evo is not a good thing. Evo's sublime handling beats the STi's. Just my opinion.

 

most STI's owners are not gonna learn to do the "impossible" unless they get a lot of experience at the track

 

Sorry, but you're describing a car that behaves so unpredictably on the limit that it forces experienced drivers to relearn fundamental driving skills. That doesn't really meet the definition of a well-handling car!

All the electronic gagetry built into STi's (and "rest of the world market" Evo's) are designed to help your typical driver operate the car safely. They don't really help the experienced driver...who has already dedicated years to learning how to control a car at the limit. Such devices are counterproductive once you know what you're doing.

You're kidding yourself if you think Subaru engineered the STi to behave so erratically so that a small percentage of highly skilled Ninja drivers could extract "impossible" performance out of it. They designed the car that way to keep dummies on the road. Plain and simple.

Emre