Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Common Interests drove a lightly modded WRX Sti

A guy in my Fbody car club just got one, and with all the problems Ive been having with my fbody and my desire to have just one car that does it all (4 door, fast, all wheel drive) Ive been looking at possibly getting one. I also like the lancer evo, but I must admit the 2.5 litre engine (vs. the 2.0 in the lancer) has me more interested in the STi. So I got to first get a ride in it, and then test drive it. WoW!

Some background on the car first. It has a 4" downpipe and full catback exhaust (turbo something), and a boost controller so it runs 17.5 psi vs. the stock 14.5. He estimates the car at 340-350 hp. He dewinged it (traded with a guy that drove down from canada 6 hrs one way), and is running the WRX regular spoiler from the same year car. That wing is tacky, this seems like a good move to me also. The car is also totally debadged, so it definately plays the part of the sleeper, one of the things I really like about the contour also. There is still a neon hot-pink STi on the tach, and sti badges inside, but what are you gonna do. It comes with a radio delete, so you have to put in your own stereo.

Anyhow, this car pulls very hard through all gears. Definately faster than a stock or even lightly modded LS1, I think this thing would run into the 12s no problem. The gears are short, so you are rowing through the six gears quickly. It hugs the road in very impressive fashion. There are cool settings like you can adjust your awd/4wd front/back bias with like 10 settings or go automatic. There is a intercooler water spray button, and an audible shift notifier, which sounds like a series of beeps, so you can keep your eye on the road and know when to shift. All that comes with the car. He also had a boost controller that maps the boost in a line graph that you can see...sweet!

My main complaint is the interior seems a bit cheap for a car that expensive. The seats (recaros) are nice, but the rest of the stuff kinda looks like a lower end scoobies interior. Still not bad, but someone who doesnt know about the car isnt going to ride in and confuse it for a luxury vehicle or anything...I guess you cant have everything.

Anyhow, thats my review, very, very cool car.