Bar & Track - 2015 Subaru WRX Review

[FT-86 SpeedFactory]

Originally Posted by Forester4now

Cool video...I've watched a lot of the others you guys have done and have enjoyed them. However, I was kind of expecting based on the title that there would be driving on a track, and maybe some discussion in a bar. Not sure why it's called 'Bar and Track' if you aren't gonna do either of those things. Regardless, thanks for making the video...I'm looking forward to see what you guys and other aftermarket companies come out with for the new model year. I'm gonna test drive both this and the BRZ as I'm still undecided on which I want.

The review of a stock car is something new we wanted to do without the "bar" aspect. We did just film the "bar and track" portion this weekend for the car @ MAM just outside of Omaha. Should be good to go. Much like our Road Atlanta video.

[Andrew025]

Originally Posted by fatoni

it would have to be a huge improvement over the previous gen to say that. looking at car and drivers lightning laps, the last one was slower than v6 mustangs despite the mustang being pinned to the speed governor for almost 10 seconds. 40k is a fuckton of money.

The STi can be had in the low 30s

[fatoni]

Originally Posted by Andrew025

The STi can be had in the low 30s

from a performance perspective, thats still not a good deal.

[SirBrass]

Originally Posted by fatoni

from a performance perspective, thats still not a good deal.

Why not? The Mustang still needs thousands in suspension mods to make it competitive b/c of its obscenely compliant suspension from the factory (a fact told to me by Mustang owners... They own up to it as easily as we do to the stock torque dip). The new STI's suspension is quite good & only a little bit of money needed in exhaust & tuning to really get the power on.

Sure as a daily it's too much of a gas hog in my opinion, but as a rally or track weapon it's quite well prepared.

On phone I am. Therefore, if mistakes I make, Frank Oz blame you should.

[fatoni]

Originally Posted by SirBrass

Why not? The Mustang still needs thousands in suspension mods to make it competitive b/c of its obscenely compliant suspension from the factory (a fact told to me by Mustang owners... They own up to it as easily as we do to the stock torque dip). The new STI's suspension is quite good & only a little bit of money needed in exhaust & tuning to really get the power on.

Sure as a daily it's too much of a gas hog in my opinion, but as a rally or track weapon it's quite well prepared.

On phone I am. Therefore, if mistakes I make, Frank Oz blame you should.

i doubt the new sti is as fast around a track as the mustang gt. the last one wasnt. this really does have the potential to be the first wrx that i would like based on what i have read but the fact that it has an aging drivetrain and is pretty ugly even in real life imo kinda bums me out.

[SirBrass]

Originally Posted by fatoni

i doubt the new sti is as fast around a track as the mustang gt. the last one wasnt. this really does have the potential to be the first wrx that i would like based on what i have read but the fact that it has an aging drivetrain and is pretty ugly even in real life imo kinda bums me out.

Aging drive train for now. The new WRX has a brand new drive train & I suspect the STI will soon get something similar but more powerful. Take out much of the spool lag out of the STI with a twin scroll, and even if it stays at 305bhp it'll be significantly faster.

On phone I am. Therefore, if mistakes I make, Frank Oz blame you should.

[fatoni]

Originally Posted by SirBrass

Aging drive train for now. The new WRX has a brand new drive train & I suspect the STI will soon get something similar but more powerful. Take out much of the spool lag out of the STI with a twin scroll, and even if it stays at 305bhp it'll be significantly faster.

On phone I am. Therefore, if mistakes I make, Frank Oz blame you should.

and those are concepts i would be welcome to. that doesnt change the fact that the current drivetrain is pretty old and that its more expensive and slower than the mustang gt.

[thill]

Originally Posted by fatoni

and those are concepts i would be welcome to. that doesnt change the fact that the current drivetrain is pretty old and that its more expensive and slower than the mustang gt.

If you want performance per dollar nothing will beat the Mustang GT with the huge Ford incentives and discounts.

The problem with the Mustang GT is:
- not nearly as drivable in in-climate as the WRX
- backseat is useless. You can comfortably fit 5 people in a WRX
- gas mileage

A Ford Mustang GT is more of a weekend toy car and not nearly as practical as a WRX as a daily driver. The current Ford Mustang chassis also feels really dated vs the new WRX chassis. Sure you can go fast around corners in a Mustang GT but you are going to do it white knuckled vs a WRX.

[fatoni]

Originally Posted by thill

If you want performance per dollar nothing will beat the Mustang GT with the huge Ford incentives and discounts.

The problem with the Mustang GT is:
- not nearly as drivable in in-climate as the WRX
- backseat is useless. You can comfortably fit 5 people in a WRX
- gas mileage

A Ford Mustang GT is more of a weekend toy car and not nearly as practical as a WRX as a daily driver. The current Ford Mustang chassis also feels really dated vs the new WRX chassis. Sure you can go fast around corners in a Mustang GT but you are going to do it white knuckled vs a WRX.

thats true. my view with cars like these typically is pretty specific to performance. if fun was a high priority, we would all be driving the miata or frs. if its daily driving, back seats and 30 mpg would reign. its obviously a matter of preference but the sti in my head doesnt provide a very good value outside of a very specific groupset

[SirBrass]

Originally Posted by fatoni

its obviously a matter of preference but the sti in my head doesnt provide a very good value outside of a very specific groupset

That's how it was designed. It's always been intended as a 4dr production track/rally weapon.

On phone I am. Therefore, if mistakes I make, Frank Oz blame you should.

[fatoni]

Originally Posted by SirBrass

That's how it was designed. It's always been intended as a 4dr production track/rally weapon.

On phone I am. Therefore, if mistakes I make, Frank Oz blame you should.

and i understand that but i dont think its a very good track weapon considering other cars in its price range. it doesnt provide the feel of the cars like the brz/miata and it doesnt provide objective performance of cars like the mustang. i guess you get 4 doors and awd but the mpg takes a lot of its usefulness out of the equation in my book. with the evo gone, i just hope it can be successful enough to continue because whether i want one or not, its a niche i want to exist.

[serialk11r]

Originally Posted by WolfpackS2k

And it's crap that they gave the WRX electric power steering! The STI retains hydraulic so why can't the WRX? I don't wanna hear any crap about fuel economy savings - the WRX is a low volume seller that won't affect Subaru's CAFE rating in any significant way.

You'd rather have 7 less horsepower for steering that is not guaranteed to be better? That's how much power a crank driven hydraulic pump eats. I think that dull electric PS is mostly intentional, cranking the wheel of a new Porsche reveals that the steering column is extremely stiff torsionally compared to the usual hydraulic rack, and it doesn't take much effort to "fight" the unpowered motor, so all they need to do is cut the assist. Unfortunately most people like their steering feather light.

Anyways, I actually really like that interior, very utilitarian looking, and the dash is very creative.

The STI with EJ20 is extremely stupid IMO, you can just swap the turbochargers and bam the FA20 WRX will have more power output than the STI. If you were given the difference in cost to spend on a WRX, you could raise the compression ratio by a tiny bit, buy a new turbine housing, and have a faster car plus more money to spend on suspension or cosmetics or whatever.

[chulooz]

Originally Posted by serialk11r

The STI with EJ20 is extremely stupid IMO, you can just swap the turbochargers and bam the FA20 WRX will have more power output than the STI. If you were given the difference in cost to spend on a WRX, you could raise the compression ratio by a tiny bit, buy a new turbine housing, and have a faster car plus more money to spend on suspension or cosmetics or whatever.

There is more to an STI than the HP, I figured this forum would know that but it is usually all people talk about when comparing the wrx v sti.

The EJ is far more proven and understood than the new mills, sure you can mod your wrx to sti power... but it will still have an sti suspension, and sure you can mod that too... but it will have sti brakes, sure mod those.... After all that the prices are getting closer. But you wont have SI drive modes, DCCD tech, BBSs, or the interior of an STI.

[serialk11r]

Originally Posted by chulooz

There is more to an STI than the HP, I figured this forum would know that but it is usually all people talk about when comparing the wrx v sti.

Hahaha yea I'm one of those people who doesn't know that.

For the engine at least, the new engine comes from the factory with a similar torque output so the STI turbo should be okay as far as reliability goes, it just slightly moves the powerband.

The rest, sure.