I have a friend with a STI with new exhaust and BOV. We have ran on many occasions all from a 10-20mph roll on flat strip of open stretch of deserted highway, I would always pull on his STI and 350Z (exhaust). Now I have been up against a 360 and he did beat me from 40-120 but I was still at his door. There have been a few Cobra Butstains (close) in there and one Diablo VT6.0 (not even close). All these “test” have all before the Supercharger. Now I am looking for BIG fish to fry. If you do this be careful know the area like your own home and be safe. We always sent a car in front to make sure it was clear of other cars and no cops. .

I've got a MY99 Impreza GT Turbo with prodrive tuning and decat/open exhaust. I think it puts about 265bhp at the engine.

I also got a MY01 BoxsterS, completely standard so 252bhp.

Impreza will smoke BoxsterS from a stand-still. Impreza will smoke BoxsterS in midrange without shifting. Turbo midrange punch above 2500/3000rpm is awesome, BoxsterS has to be above 5000rpm to make a match.

10-200 km/h (I don't like burning clutches on these cars) is for the Impreza, slighly (2 car length or so). However please note:
- that my wife drove the Impreza and I got the impression she could have shifted later and even got more out of it
- I was driving topless, especially about 120 or so the BoxsterS is significant faster with top up
- In the high speeds (180+ or so) I was gaining. Above 200km/h BoxsterS with top up is faster.

Futhermore:
- The WRX is heavier and slower then the GT Turbo model
- An STI standard already has 265bhp. If its tuned (which most of them are) is puts out above 300bhp easily.

Conclusion:
- I expect a WRX Sti to be an rather even match with the STI winning under 200km/h and the BoxsterS with top up above.
- I expect a proper tuned WRX Sti to smoke you, anywhere.


Mark.

Hi,

I understand what you're saying and lots of guys feel the same way. But, I tend to think there are other types of competition (Rallies, SCCA Club etc.) where I'm there to win, which do a better job of reducing or eliminating the variables and better match Driver against Driver. In Auto-X, the Handicaps and different Classes help, but many advantages, for some, still exist...

Happy Motoring!... Jim'99

hmmm...Both the STI's and the EVO's are VERY fast. You can beat cars costing in the six figures with them, no doubt. Unless it is on the right track both these cars will beat most anything out there.
The problem is this: lots of power, no durabilty. I have seen too many STI's spewing the tranny's guts all over the road, and too many Evo's eating thier own engines and AWD coupling for lunch to consider buying them. After all, you get what you pay for. a $30k car that with $10k of mods that can keep up with and in some cases beat $80k plus cars are bound to have issues. And if you can afford to throw away $40k+, then you can afford a car that is built to go fast.
I would put some exceptions out there: a properly built 350Z with the Chevy 400 Turbo tranny swap is a real contender

You gotta have the whole package and the Boxster is hard to beat. That Suby looks like an old Pinto that was left out in the heat, started to melt and then someone tried to push it's sides back together. Or does it look more like a pregnant rollerskate? If you have to name a car that ugly with that many letters whose going to remember it anyway. I ask you. How can you forget a Boxster? There is not one person that looks at my car and doesn't say. "I bet that thing scoots. How fast does the speedo go?" Now what do you think the comments on the Suby are?..."Does it get good mileage?...That sure is a different blue color...I saw one of them there wings on the back at PepBoys, is that were you got yours?... I'm in this Porsche only mood tonight, sorry guys. ;)

Uh, this is a sensitive topic so i don't want to say the wrong thing here, but we really didn't get enough information to slam this guy.

Believe me, I am the first one to get pissed off when some a-hole whips by me in traffic causing a danger to the rest of us.

But I am also one of the first guys to drop the hammer when there is no one else on the road. If there is no one else on the road to run into, I don't see what the problem is. He said it was early, and not knowing the part of the road they were on, maybe they weren't posing a danger to anyone but themselves...

120 seems excessive to me, but on a desert road all by my lonesome I hit 110 and felt it was quite sustainable with this equipment. I got up to 170 once in a Viper on the Autobahn in light traffic in the rain, but that is a different story.

A lot of you guys are snobs.. Those of us who are actual performance car enthusiasts know these cars are the real deal.

any thoughts on whether the serious understeer + AWD on an STi help more in AutoX (unfamiliar course) than they would on a well known track?

also, i agree w/ turtle. our last track day, someone bought an STi (tweaked out a bit). he was the only guy that passed me that day (we had C5's, a 930, Lancer Evo, etc.). those cars are VERY, VERY fast. interesting thing though was that by 11AM, the STi's and the Evo were broken. the Evo broke after < 30min on the track.

At an AutoX a few months ago, the EVO didn't do so well, in fact my STOCK 986 S had a better time by 1.25 seconds. The problem with the EVO (and most likely the STi) is on the track we were running, had some REALLY tight turns (180 degree turns) and it took way too long for the Turbo to spool up. Perhaps if the course was a "Faster" course then he probably would have beat me.

KRZ

Watch the agility stages in the Rallies - you will see them toss a car like nothing. If you have the skill, and want to buy the tires, nothing is faster through the tight and twisties than those two cars. It's on command under/oversteer, brutal acceleration combined with all the grip out of the corner the world has to offer. Then it falls down and goes boom. It'll get back up $10k later(good luck on that warranty when they pull your code history and you've been racing). For a little while anyways. Next thing you know, you've got the money in it that would buy the 911 you're trying so hard to beat.