86 vs. 2013 STI - a DD perspective.
 

I know there's a thread that covers this a little bit already, but it's degenerated into a bit of a mess and hasn't been updated for a couple of months.

I recently got tired of the build quality issues of my particular FR-S after 11 months of ownership and traded it in for a '13 STI last month.

Went from this:

http://i.imgur.com/RKv8L.jpg

To this:

http://i.imgur.com/WoCvlcc.jpg


Comparing the two is almost entirely pointless considering they are vastly different price ranges and build purpose. But from a DD perspective, I will say this:

I much prefer the FR-S.

Time in shop aside, the FR-S handled in a way I prefer, had a great driving position, had a better shifter (that is, when it wasn't fighting me on 1st and 2nd gear), and just gave me more of a rush when driving it.

The STI is a great car, it has just a ridiculous amount of power. Once you hit 3rd you are pretty much buried in your seat until you hit 3 digits. The STI is also wildy more practical for hauling people around in, which means I do get to show it off more.

But, the STI is a heavier car, it handles like a nimble sedan instead of a pure lightweight import RWD. Which isn't a knock against the STI, that's just how it was designed.

Both accomplish conveying what they were designed to do. I just happen to fancy what the 86 has to say.

2013 is possibly the last year of this generation WRX/STI, and you can really tell. Everything about the refinement and fine tuning of the vehicle just clues you in on how evolved a platform it is. No chirping fuel pump, no shifting problems, no surprise check engine lights.

The STI has known issues (oil pickup, ringland failures), but they are known issues and I don't suspect I'll end up having to explain the problem and cause to the dealership like I've had to with the FRS numerous times.

To break it down between pros and cons

FR-S Pros:

- Handles in a way I prefer.
- Uniqueness of a new platform. Turns a lot of heads.
- Looks sharp.
- After market parts are reliably better quality, buying anything for a WRX/STI requires weeding out all of the Chinese ebay shit.

- Special mention: The community.

Seriously. IWSTI and NASIOC are shitholes of the internet. Weeding through the worthless threads and posts on those terrible forums is tiring and simply not worth the effort. The staggering amount of space dedicated to advertisements is shameful on both sites, and it even commits the worst offense any site can commit, keyword popup ads in random places throughout the forum post message bodies.

FT86club is a fantastic place, if this is your first owner's club forum, then you have no idea how lucky you are.

FR-S Cons:

- Really screams for modification. I will revisit the platform, but next time I'm banking 5k or so for modifications. At least a tune and all new exhaust from the headers on back.
- Just a tad slow. I instantly identified with @Dezoris video depicting him losing to a dodge minivan at a stop light. I had a similar experience with some pickup and I kinda shook my head the rest of the drive home.
- Scion / Toyota's apparently cluelessness about issues that the platform has. I have to assume it's willful ignorance, but either way it translates into every service request being a battle with the dealership.

STI Pros:

- Fast. Goddamn is this thing fast.
- No mods required. Honestly, it really only screams for a Cobb AP with an appropriate Stage 1 tune. Maybe new exhaust, but you aren't ever fighting a torque dip or lack of power.
- Refined. No surprises in the first few thousand miles.
- Practical. I can haul my drunk friends around without having to drive the wife's CX7.

STI Cons:

- Kind of ugly. But I have to say, the kid in me still loves the hood scoop.
- ~*~Turbo lag~*~.
- WRX's are traditionally driven by Douches. I should know, I drove one for 6 years prior to the FR-S and am an incredible douche. (It's sorta a chicken and egg thing though.)
- Expensive. Keep that credit score over 800, kids!
- Online community is borderline useless. If it wasn't for the excellent gents over on the SomethingAwful AI forum, I wouldn't even bother looking up any info online.

Seriously, pick any issue about an STI you want to know about. Say, how to operate the DCCD.

For the love of christ, don't post a thread, else you will be mocked in horribly broken english for not using the search button. Which normally would be fine, except that all searches yield are other threads with no information. Instead your search will only hit threads wherein some other unfortunate soul is being flamed for not using the search button.

It's like inception, only with grammatical idiocy instead of freaky dreams.


So in Conclusion, the STI is great, the FR-S is also great. I prefer the handling of the FR-S, but I also prefer the predicable build quality of the STI. In a perfect world I would buy a FR-S and have money left over for mods, but that exposes me to warranty violations on a platform that hasn't shown me I can trust it yet.

Maybe year model 2015 will have some of my grievances sorted out. I hope so, because I do want to revisit this platform. Until then I'll just have to suffer with this turbo wagon.

Well put, on the forum thing I came from the the tdi club.com and I thought that was an excellent forum, but you are spot on about this forum for the most part minus the brz owners looking down their noses on us frs owners. If my credit was better I would have had the first year of that generation. I love that body style. Just because you don't have an frs anymore doesn't mean you aren't welcome at the meets and events, and I look forward to seeing your sti.

I think you made the right choice for yourself. In the end, it's all about how the cars suit us and our lifestyle. I don't really haul many people around and love driving. It's relatively inexpensive compared to some of the other cars on the market like your STI. The mpg works out best for me with the FRS since I drive somewhat fair distances to work/school.

I hope you enjoy your STI, it's a great car which I wanted since I started getting into cars.

Keep the stock intake as the airbox is rated for 400hp and isn't prone to heatsoak like the aftermarket ones are. A drop in filter is sufficient.

Exhaust is the same way. Enough flow for nearly 400hp. Honestly, a downpipe and tune is all you need to make that thing fly. Altogether, you can get that done for like $600-$800 depending where you look. Good enough for nearly 300awhp just on those two things alone.

That wrx/sti will be available next year as a MY2014 as well. Next gen is a 2015.

I miss my old wrx. Truth be told, I'll probably end up back in an STi-which is crazy cause I was always a die hard Evo fan haha.

Good review though. I agree with pretty much everything you stated. Glad you're enjoying the new car. A couple small changes and you'll love it even more

I had an 08 STi with mods. The FR-S is definitely easier to drive, but I have a work vehicle and a 2011 Ford F150 4x4 so the FR-S is not my DD. What problems did you have with it? Seems fine to me.

Congrats! I went the opposite direction. Had an 09 STI hatch. Now in an FR-S, so I know and agree with a lot of your comparison between the two. Had some good times with the STI. I actually think that stock, the STI is a bit slow for what it is (Evo competitor), but nothing a TBE + tune can't fix. Power is so easy to come by on that platform.

Enjoy the car! Don't forget to red-out those tails =)

To the OP, dont let the mod bug bite to hard! lol The power is too easy to get in those plateform. My obsession with my evo x was spending so much money on it .. got to a point with 430awhp and full Varis body kit in 2 years of ownership. I was planning to get the bottom end rebuild etc but realise I should pull myself out of it and focus on better things.

I know exactly what you mean about 3rd gear in those cars. It just starts hauling ass. I always take the opportunity to drive a friends when I can. Very fun car!!

Yeah, I only plan on some gauges and an accessport for now. Maybe a TBE sometime in the future.

:lol: Thanks for the good laughs. Honesty @ its' finest.

Depending on your mileage you drive, cost of ownership is something to consider as well. MPG is a huge difference between these cars, along with things like tires. So pro for he FT86 there.

If you live in the snowbelt like me, AWD is a pro for the WRX.

I applaud you for your honest comparison. The WRX STi styling is not for me anymore (I am 40+ years old), but they are great cars. My buddy owns a 2012 that he has modded out and the thing is a rocket.. Crazy fast...

Damn FRS owners.... :lol:

I've driven my friend's STI, maybe "fast" is relative to the FRS but it felt really sluggish to me.

But you're 100% correct, kind of an apples to oranges comparo. I absolutely prefer coupes over four door cars, so you can see why I'm slightly biased ;)

GL with your new endeavors. I do agree, this forum is awesome.

Should've kept the FR-S too, that's what I'm doing.
With STI being your only car you'll get used to that power in a few short weeks, and then it will either start annoying you or the mod bug will become irresistable.
I plan on keeping the BRZ, and splitting driving fairly equally. That way I hope I can enjoy the handling of the BRZ more after I switch from the STI, but also enjoy STI power more when I swap back into it from a BRZ.

The MPG thing is killing me. I get about 17.4 average, with a lot of it being surface streets around phoenix. This is 9 shy of the FR-S.

First and second are a dog, thanks to the laggy turbo. The STI can pull strong, but it isn't as immediate. It's one reason I prefer the FR-S.

Setting the throttle response to S# on the STI helps quite a bit.

The first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem!

I've been on NASIOC since 2005 and I can say the forum is a wealth of information if you learn how to search it.

hat being said I only poke out of OT to visit the regional and BRZ forum. Wandering thru general is like walking through a zoo run amuck.

Good forum but it still has it's share of assholes and know-it-all's just like any other forum.

It really is stupid considering what the differences in the cars are, maybe they are all douches that owned STIs :)

In my opinion it was good the first few years I had my jetta, then the last few all the kids from vortex came and ruined it. Also I'm glad a brz owner can say something like that. I can understand why sommeone would prefer a brz over an frs, but this car is one that requires the driver to be completely involved, why change that with climate control and a push button start. What I really wish I had from a brz is the ability to control the level of the headlights from inside the car, and HID's.

I like the STi but the EJ25 motor is just a dinosaur and the interior looks like a plastic factory. I told a kid yesterday who was thinking of trading out of his BRZ to just wait for the 2014/15 WRX because it's going to have a new powerplant and modernized styling.

Another consideration: you could theoretically spend $40k on an STi Limited, or $40k on a three-year-old Certified Preowned Audi S4. The Audi is such a better car it's not funny.

Personally, I'm done buying first model year cars from Subaru for a while. If the BRZ had a turbo, I wouldn't have bought it in the first model year either.

When I looked, a fair share of those used three-year-old S4s (with MT) had a TD1 flag on their file. Which didn't preclude dealers from advertising them as CPO somehow. :eyebulge:

Awesome thread, thanks OP. Honestly, if I didn't want to have one car to DD and autocross, I would have bought a WRX instead of the FR-S. I love the FR-S but the WRX is just so much more practical and fast and really, for 99% of my driving, straight-line speed is more important than handling. (The other 1% being autocross and the 3 turns I have to make to get to work)

Things I loved in this thread:

(So True!)

See, after all of the issues I had with my FRS, I'm totally okay with an older but proven motor. You are spot on with the interior, it's incredibly fisher-price.

And I agree that Audi makes a nice car, but they might be the only manufacturer with a higher douche-to-car ratio than Subaru has with the WRX line.

I wasn't a fan of the interior materials either. I liked the dash design. Much better than the Evo X, but it all feels cheap. Maybe hit up JPM about doing the top half of the dash in leather.

I was debating having it done for my car for a while.