im in the philipipnes right now, and im getting an sti next week. i know its only 280hp compared to the 300hp of the usdm. what else are the differences?

how about tuning? should i have a problem with tuning the car?

This is not an international forum, you should seek help via google as we know the spec on US cars, not Euro ones. Visit www.cars101.com for US specs and compare them to what you find on google or other source.