A buddy of mine bought a 2006 Subaru WRX STI earlier this year and it came modded. According to the person who he bought it from, it's had some exhaust work down and was dyno tuned to little over 300whp so he said it was roughly 380 Crank HP. Right now I'm running only GMS1 so everyone knows the specs on that (280HP 320TQ in case you don't). Obviously I figured given the numbers I had no chance..............little did I know.

He took me for a drive in it and it felt like a monster the way it launched. We swung around a corner and he gave me a show of the AWD and I was really impressed with the way it handled and the beef sound of the boxer engine. At the time, I had bald contis however he wanted to try anyways so I agreed and we went out to the highway. We were going uphill and I had to leave the traction control on so we did a 60 roll and of course, he was roughly 2 cars ahead of me before 160kph. We did however mess around on a flat pave and as the speed got higher, I was pulling VERY hard on him so it gave me a light of hope.

Fast forward to a couple of months later and a new set of Hankook Ventus V12 K110s later. Me and the GF were driving home when I seen blue lights approaching in the background, I immediately slowed down as he got up beside me. We slowed to 50km/h to do a legit 3 honk roll. I did the honks while he was revving up to dump the clutch. 3rd honk goes and he instantly jumped out a car length but once after he launch, the Balt quickly made up the ground and was side by side at 140km/h and still pulling. I had to let off due to traffic but knew had we kept going, I would've overtook him easily and began opening the gap.

I know for a fact he still believes his car is faster and would not want to go a 50-200 roll. IMO the STI is a really fun car but all it's got as far as straightline performance, is a really good launch then it falls flat. I believe that the Balt pulls a lot harder throughout its powerband and is geared much nicer. Of course from a dig he's going to jump out 3 cars but it proves nothing when determining which is faster, it just proves which can launch better. Some people don't get it and that's fine, but if he were to try and pass me on the highway, he wouldn't be able to.

Regardless I was very happy and would like to go again but I know he will want to limit it to 160km/h to reduce the beating. My logic is, if I can pull a car on him by that time but for some reason he may beat me a bumper to 160 but yet I'd put a car on him by 200, who has the faster car? Say we both launch the exact same, he would get ruined which proves the Balt pulls harder...............even with 100 less HP.

 

Nice.... but next time get a vid...lol

 

For sure, I'd like to put money on the line too..........I know he won't go to 200, too much pride in his car to get beat by a Cobalt.

 

unless an sti has 500-600whp is never going to be fast in a straight line. same goes for evos. there amazing track cars and there launch is insane but as you notice there staright line performance is bad due to weight, gearing, and other things that dont help awd cars when it comes to strightline racing. the balt would be a faster car even if it has less power at the wheel. our gearin is better, so is the powerband, plus were lighter.

 

True, I wasn't very educated about the STI before I talked to him and after that little pull we had, I don't think I would ever want one. Granted they are a lot of fun around turns and what not but for the amount of money and mods needed (like you mentioned) to make them respectable on the highway, IMO it's not worth it. Even though it was 5 years old when he got it and had low mileage, he still paid more for it than what I paid for a BRAND NEW Cobalt SS TC (Plus I've got ZERO interest). I've got all that power backed by full warranty plus I get probly twice the MPG than the STI would and with a DP and Tune for under a Grand, I would absolutely obliterate it.

Even though I had closed his 1 car lead, for some reason, he still thinks its faster because it'll beat mine in the quarter which proves nothing if I can pass him soon after. Some people like to use safety nets so that they don't get embarassment by a so-called "inferior" car. I guess it's a pride thing, I'm the type of person that will fully admit if another car would ruin mine but that's just me.

 

yea thats called been buthurt and not admitting the truth of how a 24k car with $500 in mods can beat a 42k car in almost everyway with at least $2500 that takes an sti to get to 330whp+

good job though

story could had turned out even worse for him if you had a stronger tune with some more supporting mods. then he'll go straight to the dealer and trade it in lol

 

Haha, yeah I use my car as a year round DD and need it for my commute to work everyday so it's nice to have the peace of mind of warranty. I would love to go downpipe and Trifecta tune just to put the exclamation point on the debate but I'm still undecided. Regardless I know the difference and so does anyone that is familiar with the Turbo Balt, it's just frustrating when everyone compares the name instead of the actual car and its capabilities.

 

i drove a 04 sti this past weekend and it was a blast!! it just plants and goes on the 1-2-3 shifts its awesome!!!

 

The launch is incredible and it's definitely got a unique beefy sound. He's also got an aftermarket suspension and took me around a few bends, unreal sliding around turns. IMO, it would dominate in the short track with lots of sharp turns but if it was a longer faster track, I'm thinking the Balt would win.

 

yea they do that after they realize holy **** i just got beat by a cobalt. then you see em trolling in forums looking and gathering info and then they'll think it twice about running another one in the future lol