Long time lurker...

[Doc Holliday]

...and here I am posting, finally. Owned base WRX prior but got my first STi on the last day of 2018, kind of by accident, when the old girl went into the shop for some engine work. Asked for a number on a '19, they made a clerical error, and I got a great deal. She's shiny, she's great, I love her. So glad to still have the raw old feel (but with more HP), wasn't a huge fan of the 2015+ base.

Did an autox school, where she beat a TT RS, Golf R, fist full of Miatas, an M3, and a '17 STi in the novice class on raw time. Took #2 in a track-based autox recently and will be going to do that again later this month.

No work on it yet...may keep it clean for now aside from an OTS Stage 1 map from Cobb. I know you don't buy an STi for the warranty but the hope is to daily this for a couple years before making it a complete track monster.

Edit: Having a bitch of a time posting pictures, so you get none. Just imagine it to be as beautiful as you want it to be.

 

[Batmobile_Engage]

Heck yeah man! You came to the right place! Hey [MENTION=652]Grinder34[/MENTION], here's another track day-protege for you! :lol:

Keep us in the loop with your thoughts on mods and such, and we can help point you in the right direction. Looks like you're well on your way though. :tup:

 

[Grinder34]

Welcome!

Had you auto-xed before? What's a track-based autox? But great results from an awesome car!

I actually just posted in a few threads about track days. Ever considered an HPDE? I think the STI is great fun on all sorts of tracks, and looooove talking about track days!

Definitely consider the suspension when you're planning out mods. Less controversial warranty-wise than engine, and I'd say even MORE fun!

 

[Eagleye]

Welcome, enjoy the site! A lot of great people on here that can be very helpful with anything from engine, tuning, suspension, tires, and visual mods. Create a member journal and feel free to post in any of the forums relevant to you. It's a chill group here so never worry about if a question has been asked before, we are here to help!

 

[Doc Holliday]

I had not done any AutoX prior - I'm a New Hampshire guy, they held a "school" up at the speedway in the parking lot with your usual cone course. Was a ton of fun, although i'm hesitant about the beating it took doing that, so i've not done another cone course. The track-based day was great...held an event at the Canaan Motor Club, a 1.3 mile track in NH. They threw slaloms into 3 of the straights and some gates for the fast back section/all turns, so that's how they justified it as an "AutoX" event for insurance purposes. Had a ton of fun, plowed the hell out of some turns, got 13 laps in and generally enjoyed my first time on the track. Another one coming end of July and I've got some better strategies to limit understeer out of turns and better hit apexes.

Springs are definitely on my list of to-dos...car is plenty fast (just gotta eliminate the low RPM bogging) but you can always use more handles and better tires!

Haven't looked into HPDE - would have to clear that with the missus. Also not sure where around these parts they'd hold one...maybe Canaan or Palmer Motorsports Park in Mass.

 

[Alin]

Welcome to IGOTASTI!!! You're going to absolutely love it here!!! You can use imgur to upload your pictures and then link them here!

How does the STi compare to the WRX? Is there anything the WRX had that was more advantageous over the STi?

Aside from the WRX, what other cars have you had in the past? How does the STi compare to them?

 

[Grinder34]

I had not done any AutoX prior - I'm a New Hampshire guy, they held a "school" up at the speedway in the parking lot with your usual cone course. Was a ton of fun, although i'm hesitant about the beating it took doing that, so i've not done another cone course. The track-based day was great...held an event at the Canaan Motor Club, a 1.3 mile track in NH. They threw slaloms into 3 of the straights and some gates for the fast back section/all turns, so that's how they justified it as an "AutoX" event for insurance purposes. Had a ton of fun, plowed the hell out of some turns, got 13 laps in and generally enjoyed my first time on the track. Another one coming end of July and I've got some better strategies to limit understeer out of turns and better hit apexes.

Springs are definitely on my list of to-dos...car is plenty fast (just gotta eliminate the low RPM bogging) but you can always use more handles and better tires!

Haven't looked into HPDE - would have to clear that with the missus. Also not sure where around these parts they'd hold one...maybe Canaan or Palmer Motorsports Park in Mass.

https://www.motorsportreg.com/ is a good starting place to find all sorts of track days/events.

Also, look into swaybars! Springs, IMO, are less of a done-deal than swaybars. You can later decide you do/dont want lowering springs, the rate you got was too stiff/soft, want to go to coilovers, etc....

Vs swaybars. Get an adjustable one, then boom, you're done. Well, you can have fun adjusting it, but no buyers remorse. And while you're doing the swaybar, get the endlinks too!

 

[Batmobile_Engage]

And while you're doing the swaybar, get the endlinks too!

...and urethane bushings too!

Sent from my SM-G925V using Tapatalk

 

[Doc Holliday]

How does the STi compare to the WRX? Is there anything the WRX had that was more advantageous over the STi?

Aside from the WRX, what other cars have you had in the past? How does the STi compare to them?

Was a 2014 WRX so the powerplant is largely the same. Body roll is so much better (go figure), the 6 speed is a bit better than the 5 speed (at least with the new 3rd gear ratio), although i miss getting 60+ in 2nd gear. Those are the biggest differences. Quality of life is great with Android Auto too and the sound system is much better. I've driven the a base 2017 and the STi is an entirely different (and much better) car. The new base is so much tamer...not a big fan of the 2.0 plant and the oppressive rev hang that comes with it. Disclaimer: it was bone stock and you can tune that out to a degree, so etc.

Before that I had a 2002 Golf GTI with a decent amount of handling-related work done. It was a lot of fun but not exactly the same caliber of car and doesn't handle the snow nearly as well.

In terms of sway bars, is that really a notable difference? Body roll doesn't seem to be much of an issue so far. Only problem is me plowing through corners because i still drive too hard in my novice state.

And yeah, i'm on motorsport.reg for all my SCCNH AutoX needs. Unfortunately was supposed to get to the track this weekend but it didn't happen due to a chunk of the track getting washed out by flash flooding a couple weeks ago.

...and here's a couple pics, finally. Should be shared.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/4tZkMQp7y8ke5ZQv7

 

[Grinder34]

Was a 2014 WRX so the powerplant is largely the same. Body roll is so much better (go figure), the 6 speed is a bit better than the 5 speed (at least with the new 3rd gear ratio), although i miss getting 60+ in 2nd gear. Those are the biggest differences. Quality of life is great with Android Auto too and the sound system is much better. I've driven the a base 2017 and the STi is an entirely different (and much better) car. The new base is so much tamer...not a big fan of the 2.0 plant and the oppressive rev hang that comes with it. Disclaimer: it was bone stock and you can tune that out to a degree, so etc.

Before that I had a 2002 Golf GTI with a decent amount of handling-related work done. It was a lot of fun but not exactly the same caliber of car and doesn't handle the snow nearly as well.

In terms of sway bars, is that really a notable difference? Body roll doesn't seem to be much of an issue so far. Only problem is me plowing through corners because i still drive too hard in my novice state.

And yeah, i'm on motorsport.reg for all my SCCNH AutoX needs. Unfortunately was supposed to get to the track this weekend but it didn't happen due to a chunk of the track getting washed out by flash flooding a couple weeks ago.

...and here's a couple pics, finally. Should be shared.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/4tZkMQp7y8ke5ZQv7https://photos.google.com/album/AF1.../AF1QipNZg6201vOrIc4uFBcXm7npvNoQ7XFSSk8ZcQbS

Well,
IF you're trying to be competitive in Auto-X, you'll want to mind your mods. Don't know what class swaybars might put you in, but unless you're doing other matching mods, I think you'll come out the worse for wear.
IF you're just Auto-Xing to have fun, I'd say the swaybars are a must. Granted, I have 0 seat time in the newer STIs, but it made a world of difference on my GD. I've had 3x cars, and RSW was pretty much the first mod i did to any of them. Even my old MINI, which didn't have much body roll, benefitted greatly. It's not just about roll, its about handling characteristics. And if you get an adjustable RSB you can get as much/little over/understeer as you want. You can probably change settings during lunch to see how the car handles differently, but I'd think changing between runs might require a full pit crew!


Car looks great!

 

[Alin]

[MENTION=6878]Doc Holliday[/MENTION] , how is your experience with the 6 piston front calipers on the 2018+? Are they a noticeable difference over the stock 4 piston calipers?

The VA chassis is substantially stiffer than the the GD. I personally think he should leave the stock sway bar alone upgrade the end links or just focus on tires for now.

 

[Doc Holliday]

6 pot braking is night and day better than the '14 base, although I have no 4 pot experience in the STi. If there's brake fade, I've yet to find it. Biggest complaints are that the cross drilled rotors are a pain in the ass to detail and there's just so much effing brake dust, always. Keeping rims clean is a lost cause.

I'm certainly not opposed to upgrading the sway bar but it seems like it'd be down the list of needs a bit. There's way less roll than in the GD for sure.

Funny fact - my fiancee thinks the ride is way better in the STi, actually likes driving it much more than the '14. Despite winter driving being a bumpy affair due to stiffness, it throws you around a lot less. Always feel much more locked in.