So I'm looking to set up an STI to run in STU. From searching around I've got a pretty good idea of what mods to make once I aquire a vehicle, but wanted to get some opinons on if there is a particular model year that would be the best starting place. Any input is appreciated

Some seem to think the 06-07 had an improved center diff, and the 07+ I do believe had a longer 2nd gear. Either way its probably a toss up, good driving and setup is probably good enough, but whatever.

No one has really tried with the 08 yet, though... hard to say until someone does.

I would say 06+

Buy my 08 and find out!

I would say 06+


Your words. They hurt me. :lol::lol:

Your words. They hurt me. :lol::lol:
haha Well the steering rack on the 06+ is so much better than previous years! plus the SAS and Yaw Control!

I'd most definately say a 2006












































Evo RS:devil::D

07 STI for the gearing.

05 STI for the better center diff that rotates the car and drive closer to a rwd car.

haha Well the steering rack on the 06+ is so much better than previous years! plus the SAS and Yaw Control!

The steering rack changed in 05. Did it change again in 06?

Factory spec curb weight is 3298 05 and 3351 in 06, too, but I'm not sure where the weight came from. 07 lost the +caster front control arms, and I think also lost the aluminum rear lateral links.

-Mike

The steering rack changed in 05. Did it change again in 06?

Factory spec curb weight is 3298 05 and 3351 in 06, too, but I'm not sure where the weight came from. 07 lost the +caster front control arms, and I think also lost the aluminum rear lateral links.

-Mike

I don't think it changed, but it did add SAS and Yaw Control.

The 06's can be made around 3100lbs in STU trim

The 06's can be made around 3100lbs in STU trim

With or without A/C?

My 05 in mild STU trim came in at 3170lbs. Still had stock headers, A/C, stock crank pully, heavy EVO2 exhaust, radio still installed, only 1 race seat (and not the lightest race seat) and not the lightest coilovers among other things. It had a quarter tank of gas at the time of weighing. Im sure I could get mine under 3100lbs easy!
Crash...what does yours come in at?

Oh and the steering rack is the same for 05+. 04 STi's have the lame steering rack.

Oh and to answer the OP. I say 05 and 06 are the best. But the 09's might take the crown...go with the 09!

With or without A/C?With the AC. Mine at Nationals weighed in at 3154. That is with the AC, both stock seats, OE Battery, OE crank pulley, OE radio (with 6cds in it lol), and that was with a bit more than a 1/4 tank of fuel. I'm sure I could get mine to about 3070 if I really wanted.

Oh and to answer the OP. I say 05 and 06 are the best. But the 09's might take the crown...go with the 09!

do we know the changes for the 09 already?

Anyone running an 08 in STU? Any noticible changes from the double wishbone rear?

Bringing this thread back from the dead, rather than starting a new thread. I too am currently taking a serious look at an STi for STU next year. I'm leaning heavily towards a 2006 as I understand they drive similar to the 2005 with on throttle oversteer, while the 2007's lose that rear diff and have throttle lag, but get a longer 2nd gear.

With Nats moving for 2009 to a more open lot (Lincoln, NE anyone?), I'm in fear of getting screwed too much having to do 2-3 and 3-2 shifts. I recently sold my 2003 Spec V and I know all about short gearing and having to shift on long, open courses. But then again if it's so open that even the 2007's will need to shift, there's not too much disadvangtage.

I recently drove bdi's 2005 STi and LOVED the way it drove with the throttle oversteer and want to somewhat keep that aspect, but then again I don't want to get burned on the short gearing and wanted to hear the thoughts of others.

Of course...I could always get an Evo, but I would rather not replace clutches every other Pro Solo. And then there's the whole question of how long before 2008/2009 STi's/Evo's start running STU and will that make my decision to run an 06/07 STi pointless? :D

Josh L.

Get off my Nasioc, noob!!

I thought you were going Evo?

I'm considering both STi and Evo options, but I will say I had more fun in Iman's STi. And I do like the increased reliability factor of the STi over the Evo. Either way, STU is where I've decided I want to run next year. Just hoping that the newer Evo's/STi's and the 135 don't make my idea of buying an STi/Evo and prepping it for STU pointless. :D

I wouldn't be that worried about the newer Evo - it's really, really heavy. The newer STi should be very interesting though as it should have most of the benefits of the 07 and a better suspension design. (Then again, there's that whole "disposable engine" thing, hopefully that's fixed now)

2007, how ever down here (Miami) there is a 2008 nailing this STU class. i personally dont like the mazda speed3 look of it but i find interesting the 'Race Mode' that their traction control has

I wouldn't worry about the new EVO or 135 causing any trouble in STU. The 09 STI might be marginally better than the other STIs, but I'm not sure if any good suspension bits are out for it yet so it might not matter. You know how I feel about the 08s >: (.

2007, how ever down here (Miami) there is a 2008 nailing this STU class. i personally dont like the mazda speed3 look of it but i find interesting the 'Race Mode' that their traction control has

That mode is no good. You're better off with it fully off.

That mode is no good. You're better off with it fully off.
it is working for him.



BTW why get a car for 'STU' ? instead of stock-A ?

Because the car is no good for A stock, except maybe at a ProSolo. You can fix just about all of the shortcomings of the car in STU.

Because there's top national STU talent in the area, street tires are cheap(er), and I like to tinker with my cars. I've decided that I really do love the ST* classes, and since it's not my daily driver, being comfortable and "streetable" isn't much of a worry. :D

And FYI, just because "a guy in Miami is doing well in STU here" doesn't really mean anything in and of itself. It all depends on "who" he's beating. ;)

Because there's top national STU talent in the area, street tires are cheap(er), and I like to tinker with my cars. I've decided that I really do love the ST* classes, and since it's not my daily driver, being comfortable and "streetable" isn't much of a worry. :D

And FYI, just because "a guy in Miami is doing well in STU here" doesn't really mean anything in and of itself. It all depends on "who" he's beating. ;)cool, keep us posted once you get your car what mods you do to it

I wouldn't worry about the new EVO or 135 causing any trouble in STU. The 09 STI might be marginally better than the other STIs, but I'm not sure if any good suspension bits are out for it yet so it might not matter. You know how I feel about the 08s >: (.

Ohlins already has some DFV coilovers for the 08+'s and there are sway bars to. Thats all you really need to get started...oh wait tires to right. There are some serious 18x9.5's and 18x9's out there aswell.

Ohlins already has some DFV coilovers for the 08+'s and there are sway bars to. Thats all you really need to get started...oh wait tires to right. There are some serious 18x9.5's and 18x9's out there aswell.

wider wheels wont do you much good when you are limited to a 245 tire.

Hey Josh!

IMO I'd either go with an '05 or '07. The '05 has all the nice bits you should need, and can probably be had for a bit less money being a few years old now. I'd go with the '07 for the taller 2nd gear, however you could always go with a taller tire on the '05 if you ran out of gear.

I also don't see any real overwhelming argument to do a build on a gen3 STi, at least as of yet.

The '05 is definitely an option for the cheaper price/overall build. Reading some of the things that Colin didn't like about his '07 has kind of turned me off to that, even though he thinks the taller 2nd is worth the tradeoff. I definitely want some of that on throttle oversteer...that was a blast in Iman's car. :D

Not going to jump into anything soon I'm sure. Waiting to see how a few things work out, but hopefully by February/March I'll be jumping into something. Then comes the fun of car setup...in a limited time frame. ;)

Hey Josh!

Either way, STU is where I've decided I want to run next year.

This means Buttdyno goes up a notch in STX, and I go down one in STU.

Mark

Not if you drive faster. ;)

So, found a 2006 that I'm seriously considering buying. But before I do, how about a discussion on the impacts of moving Nats to Lincoln, NE.

With more grip and TONS of open space, my prediction is that the Nats courses of the future are definitely going to require 3rd gear for the STi. The question though is whether or not the Evo camp will need 3rd as well, making the short gearing on the STi not as much as a handicap? Curious on others thoughts before I go all in and buy.

Discuss. :D



Edit: While this could be put in a separate thread, moving the site to Lincoln could change which year is better, hence my reason for bumping this thread up. ;)

^
I guess that answers my question from the other thread.

I see Nationals courses speeding up, but I'm not sure how much faster they can be since the rulebook *guidelines* are 65mph for the fastest SP cars. You just need to be like an S2000 driver and row that shifter like a boat Josh! :lol:

So, found a 2006 that I'm seriously considering buying. But before I do, how about a discussion on the impacts of moving Nats to Lincoln, NE.

With more grip and TONS of open space, my prediction is that the Nats courses of the future are definitely going to require 3rd gear for the STi. The question though is whether or not the Evo camp will need 3rd as well, making the short gearing on the STi not as much as a handicap? Curious on others thoughts before I go all in and buy.

Discuss. :D



Edit: While this could be put in a separate thread, moving the site to Lincoln could change which year is better, hence my reason for bumping this thread up. ;)

2007 have longer gear ratios ...

I know, but based on my research it doesn't seem like a huge amount per se. And if the course lengths/speeds are enough that the 2007's will have to use 3rd as well, then there isn't a huge benefit, if any.

Also from what I've read, the 2007's had some engine issues, they have throttle delay, and the updated rear diff doesn't give that on throttle oversteer of the prior years. Based on that, I would rather give up the slightly longer gearing.

06 with tall tires.

06 with tall tires.
Then you *could* have spongy sidewalls. However, it depends on the tire...

Having the car re-tuned for a slightly higher rev limit could also help.

06 with tall tires and 17x10s then.

Also from what I've read, the 2007's had some engine issues, they have throttle delay...

Your STU tune will fix much of this.

05 with tall tires.

fixored.

Then you *could* have spongy sidewalls. However, it depends on the tire...

Having the car re-tuned for a slightly higher rev limit could also help.isnt that bad for the engine ?:confused:

isnt that bad for the engine ?:confused:
Depends on the tune. Redline/fuel cut is ~7,000rpms iirc, and I've heard of people raising it to 7,300rpms safely.

How much taller is the 07? My wife's 08 seemed to top out at around 58 mph, on the stock 245-45-18 tires.

Yes, I would probably get it tuned with slightly higher redline to get a little more out of it. Also the 245/45/17 isn't a bad choice either.

JR, I was told by Colin that he hasn't been able to tune out the throttle delay at this point on his 2007, but that's in the works over the winter.

06 with tall tires and 17x10s then.
Mmmm. 17x10's front with 17x9's rear. I :heart: Hayter's black-on-bronze setup!!!

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b193/blkwrxwag/P1000497.jpg

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b193/blkwrxwag/STI.jpg

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b193/blkwrxwag/dsc_8591.jpg

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b193/blkwrxwag/20060927_235437_max_day2-2.jpg

Yeah...I whore out pics of Max's car a lot -- who cares, bite me! :p I saw the car in person at HPT this past September and it's amazing!!!! :devil:

JR, I was told by Colin that he hasn't been able to tune out the throttle delay at this point on his 2007, but that's in the works over the winter.
Colin isn't the only one. Annie Bauer couldn't tune it out of her '07 either. I know it frustrated both her and Hayter when they drove it at the Packwood Pro & NT.

It's...so...pretty. Right now I'm planning 17x9's all around, call me budget concious. ;)

what do you achieve with havint bigger rims ? i mean the tires will be the same (245)

what do you achieve with havint bigger rims ? i mean the tires will be the same (245)
The tread gets stretched out so a 245 can be widened to the size of a 255 or 265.

In the first pic I posted of Hayter's car, you can see how stretched the sidewall is to reach to edge of the rim-

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b193/blkwrxwag/P1000497.jpg

Omg. I Need New Rims!!!!!!

what do you achieve with havint bigger rims ? i mean the tires will be the same (245)

I'd say you do gain a bit from the extra sidewall angle, but really the performance boost is from the additional front Track. We also ended up achieving the same handling characteristics with the silver 9.5's + a spacer.

Looks like Max shoulda sold his car on here, he coulda had a bidding war.

I'll also say in the last year of driving the black car localy, at every west coast national event and nationals there were only 2 courses the entire year we didn't have to go to 3rd on. One was the Pro Finale, Max won, I came in 3rd .2 tenths back. The other was Packwood where we drove Annie's 07, and i'm pretty sure Paulson and Otis would much rather have not had to shift their 05. My only real point is, it's damn hard to make up the ~.2 of a second you lose per shift, unless the course is incredibly tight (90 deg heavy) you are going to be having to make up time to Evo's and 07+'s before you even start your lap.

-Aaron G.

I'd say you do gain a bit from the extra sidewall angle, but really the performance boost is from the additional front Track. We also ended up achieving the same handling characteristics with the silver 9.5's + a spacer.

Looks like Max shoulda sold his car on here, he coulda had a bidding war.

I'll also say in the last year of driving the black car localy, at every west coast national event and nationals there were only 2 courses the entire year we didn't have to go to 3rd on. One was the Pro Finale, Max won, I came in 3rd .2 tenths back. The other was Packwood where we drove Annie's 07, and i'm pretty sure Paulson and Otis would much rather have not had to shift their 05. My only real point is, it's damn hard to make up the ~.2 of a second you lose per shift, unless the course is incredibly tight (90 deg heavy) you are going to be having to make up time to Evo's and 07+'s before you even start your lap.

-Aaron G.

what size are the spacers you installed? also you did installed them only on front, right? i've been thinking about getting 15mm for my front wheels

How much taller is the 07? My wife's 08 seemed to top out at around 58 mph, on the stock 245-45-18 tires.

my old 05 and the current 08 seem to hit the rev limiter around 58.

and the stock tires on the 08 is 245/40R18. :unamused:

I'm illiterate :(

what size are the spacers you installed? also you did installed them only on front, right? i've been thinking about getting 15mm for my front wheels

An extra inch of front overall track is nothing to scoff at. Note, this will make slaloms 30mm's harder. ;)

my old 05 and the current 08 seem to hit the rev limiter around 58.

and the stock tires on the 08 is 245/40R18. :unamused:

Data on the '06 said 53.4mph with 245/40x17 shaved dunlops, 56.7 with 245/45x17's.

I'm illiterate :(
i can barely speak english :sadbanana:

Data on the '06 said 53.4mph with 245/40x17 shaved dunlops, 56.7 with 245/45x17's.
At what rpms did the fuel cut kick in at?

At what rpms did the fuel cut kick in at?

Rev limiter was stock.

Given the ratio of second you'd have to raise the limiter to 7600 to just hit 60 on a 40 series 245. Really, ideally I think you'd want to get to at least 65 in second which would be around 8000+ rpm.

The shorter your gear the less rev limiter increases effect speed. On a gear as short as the 06- STi i'd say you're right around diminishing returns at the stock limiter, Speed vs Power/Engine Damage wise.

what size are the spacers you installed? also you did installed them only on front, right? i've been thinking about getting 15mm for my front wheels

We ran a 10mm spacer on the 17x9.5 (+45) Enkei's. You need extended lugs and the only ones I managed to fit were 7mm longer than stock, so a 10mm spacer was the maximum I could do without risking the wheel falling off!

Pic with above setup...

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b193/blkwrxwag/stu_185_large.jpg

Oh, and to answer the OP, if I was to buy a potential STU car again, I would go with an Evo 9 or a 07 STI. The longer gearing offsets the weird throttle delay on the 07 - whilst I didn't like the delay when I drove Annie's car in Packwood, I learned to drive around it and beat Geoff Clark by 1.5 secs at the Packwood Tour, and Paulson and Otis at the Pro. If you look at the Nationals results, the top 9 cars had a long 2nd gear. Even if I had stayed clean, I would have only been 5th. Now, in the rain at the Pro Finale, my gearing was my advantage as we didn't need 3rd and with the slow, slippery turns, I had less lag than the Evos coming out of them.

If nats were going to be held at HPT for a few more years, I would go with an 05-06. With nats moving to a much larger lot I would go with an 07 or even an 08-09 or an Evo as Max suggested. The only time I've been on a really large lot was Atwater, and the gearing advantage that Clark had there was substantial. I think that the new venue could change things a little bit, but we'll have to wait and see.

James

BTW, Max, did I read Aaron's post right, you sold your car? Hope you weren't planning on codriving Annies vette!

I did sell it James, and the guy does not race that much, so don't expect to see it at too many National events. And yes, the original plan was to drive Annie's Vette, but that's sold too! Anyway, I'm still hoping to be driving a SS Vette next year if everything works out.

After I drove Rick Jung's Evo for two runs this summer, I knew my car stood no chance on 80% of courses. His car rocks as Aaron can probably attest to after driving it last weekend!

I've been having a blast driving my STS2 Miata, even though it is pathetically slow and woefully under prepped!

Well crap, thanks for making me re-think this 2006 purchase I'm close to making. :mad:


Oh well, I'll probably do it anyways and just work on driving around it. Raising the redline slightly and running a 245/45/17 will help. But for all of you guys who have tried, how's the driving on 245/45 vs. the 245/40?

We tried the 245/45 - we hated them, car felt mushy and the handling sucked.

Well crap, thanks for making me re-think this 2006 purchase I'm close to making. :mad:
FWIW, Brandon Burkhart is the only person to have won STU two years in-a-row and he was in an '04 STi with the short 2nd gear. It can be done, but you have to row the gears between 2nd and 3rd for optimal acceleration.

It's course dependent - the short 2nd gear can be a distinct advantage. However, in my experience over the last couple of years, the courses where I had an advantage were very few and far between. Most of the time, I was cursing the damn gearing. Rowing gears is fine, but it is slower than not having to shift at all, and is also very easy to screw up and then you lose you much more time! The most enjoyable thing about my Miata is that for the first time in three years, I don't have to worry about shifting:D

Rowing gears is fine, but it is slower than not having to shift at all, and is also very easy to screw up and then you lose you much more time!
+1 Agreed.

Well crap, thanks for making me re-think this 2006 purchase I'm close to making. :mad:


Oh well, I'll probably do it anyways and just work on driving around it. Raising the redline slightly and running a 245/45/17 will help. But for all of you guys who have tried, how's the driving on 245/45 vs. the 245/40?

The 06 is still a great choice. I would stick to the 245/40's. Odds are that you'll have to shift anyway so why increase sidewall hieght and raise the CG by 1/2".

Even at HPT, in 2007, we used 3rd gear once on the west course and three times on the east course. Lincoln will be a new variable, we'll just have to wait and see.

James

JR, I was told by Colin that he hasn't been able to tune out the throttle delay at this point on his 2007, but that's in the works over the winter.

Ah yes, that throttle delay. Nevermind me, I'm dumb. I'm rather curious to see what Colin ends up doing.

Of course, a fix will come out AFTER I buy a 2006. :p

Thanks for the feedback on the 245/45's. I guess ultimately my hope is that Lincoln will generate sections fast enough that everybody has to shift to 3rd, and thus the disadvantage goes away. One can hope at least.

How bad is the up/downshifting in the STi? I haven't really had the chance to test it under race conditions, only while test driving under normal conditions. I know my old Spec V had short gearing, which I generally ended up just leaving in 2nd and banging the limiter. Shifting was very tough and inconsitent and even trying was met with tons of delay.

Of course at the end of the day, you still have to drive the car well and not hit cones. :D

Shifting is tricky since it is such a narrow gate, easy to hit a wall trying to go to 3rd . Going back to 2nd, you can easily get 4th if you are not careful. I never had much of a problem since I was used to it, but Aaron and Annie struggled. If they knew they had to shift, it messed with their focus on the run, since all they were worried about was whether they would miss the shift! I put in an upgraded tranny mount, diff bushings and shifter bushings in the winter of 07 to try and help the problem, and I think that did help, but still you would miss a gear once in a while.

As James says, you can still win in an 06 - I won the California Divisional and was 2008 STU Pro Solo Champion. However, I think I would have won more had I been driving Annie's 07 or Rick Jung's Evo all year. Annie would disagree, she hated her 07 and loved my car.

Appreciate all of the information! Sounds like I'll add those to my mod shopping list. :D

Appreciate all of the information! Sounds like I'll add those to my mod shopping list. :D
So Josh, are you definitely getting the '06? Is it A-OK with the wifey? When do you pick it up?

-Chike

I really like the one I've found. The wifey is okay with it, just need to wait on a few things to make a definite decision. But either way, I do plan on buying one to prep for next season. ;)

You better hurry. I heard those Philly area Evo boys meet every Tuesday night to discuss how to beat you.

You better hurry. I heard those Philly area Evo boys meet every Tuesday night to discuss how to beat you.
Ha ha ha! They better - Josh is quick! ;)

You better hurry. I heard those Philly area Evo boys meet every Tuesday night to discuss how to beat you.

Now that's funny! Although, I don't think it takes that much effort. :lol:

Now that's funny! Although, I don't think it takes that much effort. :lol:

Yeah, you only hop in a car you've never driven and PAX second behind Corey, only 0.3 down. :rolleyes:

To revive an old thread...

I might be in the market for an STi in the next year or so to run in STU. Due to interest rates from my CU, I'll probably only consider an '06 or '07 STi in my search.

Couple questions for the '07 STi folks out there:

- From this thread, it doesn't appear that you can completely tune around the throttle delay. However, can throttle response be improved at all?

-With coilovers and camber plates (e.g. Vorshlag) how much caster do you get on an '07 STi while running ~-3 degrees front camber?

-On 245/40/17 tires, where does 2nd gear top out at (I know it's higher than the '04-'06 models)?

P.S. I've driven Evos, but I definitely prefer the torque of the STi. So if I do take this plunge, the Subaru is definitely the direction I'll go...

To revive an old thread...

I might be in the market for an STi in the next year or so to run in STU. Due to interest rates from my CU, I'll probably only consider an '06 or '07 STi in my search.

Couple questions for the '07 STi folks out there:

- From this thread, it doesn't appear that you can completely tune around the throttle delay. However, can throttle response be improved at all?

-With coilovers and camber plates (e.g. Vorshlag) how much caster do you get on an '07 STi while running ~-3 degrees front camber?

-On 245/40/17 tires, where does 2nd gear top out at (I know it's higher than the '04-'06 models)?

P.S. I've driven Evos, but I definitely prefer the torque of the STi. So if I do take this plunge, the Subaru is definitely the direction I'll go...


You sure you want to do this...

[Rain gods]This pleases us[/Rain gods]

- From this thread, it doesn't appear that you can completely tune around the throttle delay. However, can throttle response be improved at all?


Even though I didnt own an STI, Ill take a stab at this.

Im assuming youre talking about the delay between the accelerator pedal and the actual motor reaction, correct? I had this problem with my 06 WRX where I would hit the gas and have the pedal on the floor and..................... boom, the car reacted. Sure, it was only a fraction of a second, but it was annoying as ****.

I tinkered with the throttle servo map on a daily basis for MONTHS, and never figured it out. The best my (lack of) engineering expertise could figure out is that while you may hit the gas, the servo cant (and consequently wont) respond that fast. Ironically, I tuned a couple of STi's (the 04-05 variety) that didnt seem to have this problem, but EVERY 06+ WRX and even 06+ STI has had it.

Chike - here's my 2 cents.

06 STI has great throttle response and is a lot of fun to drive. It's super short 2nd gear is both great, and a nightmare depending on the course.

The 07 has horrible throttle delay that cannot be tuned out. It is not fun to drive and is annoying, but if you can learn to live with it, is probably faster on 80% of courses than an 06.

Annie had an 07 that was very quick - she hated driving it though, and has replaced it with an 06.

Go with the '06, you'll be happy I promise. :D

Thanks folks.

Well I drove an '06 on Sunday and had a blast. I was worried that the car wouldn't live up to my handling expectations since I've been driving an RX-8 for the last year -- however, I was IMPRESSED. I've never driven an '07 STi which is why my questions are centered around that model year...
[Rain gods]This pleases us[/Rain gods]
Ha ha - this pleases me! :p

FWIW, I bought a set of hoosier wets for the RX-8 last week. *prays for rain* :devil:
The 07 has horrible throttle delay that cannot be tuned out. It is not fun to drive and is annoying, but if you can learn to live with it, is probably faster on 80% of courses than an 06.
Statements like that are why questions still linger about the '07. But then again, on paper the Evos should be faster in STU trim - and yet an STi has won the class @ nats every year since its inception. ;)