I got $17k for my 04 STi with 110k miles.

I wish I kept it. FP Green, APS top mount, EL header, meth etc, what a blast.

 

Lol, I doubt you could kill the STi 6 speed. Ringlands were only an issue if you didn't know how to tune. I was at well over 400whp on my 04 STi (supposedly weakest pistons) and had no issues for 6 years.

 

I had Cobb turbo back, aps front mount, aps sr40 turbo @ 21 psi, perrin big maf, perrin inlet, aps 50/50 recirc, injectors, walboro fuel pump, open source tune and upgraded internals. Mine did not have the reliability yours did...

 

XutvJet, do you plan on daily driving the F? Just curious. I'm in St. Louis and am also looking for an F but the winter has me worried with a RWD car. It would be my only car.

 

Tires make the winter car for sure. Blizzaks keep cars that have no business on the road and driving like they were made for it. Putting the ISF in snow mode helps keep it under control, but I can't stress what a proper winter tire will do to your stability and confidence.

 

Yes, I will be driving it in Kansas City during the winter. I will end up getting winter tires and a set of 18" winter rims. I managed to pilot my RWD 2003 G35 sedan through 7 winters on all season tires with no major issues. Given the additional torque of the ISF, I think winter tires will be a necessity. I may also purchase a set of "auto socks" just in case I get stuck in a major storm. I had auto socks for my G35 and they were flat out amazing. I could completely stop the G on a very steep incline in 5" of powder snow and the car would leave the line without an ounce of spin. I only tested them though and never had to break them out to get around town. Luckily, with my job, I usually work from home during winter events. My wife has a new Outback which will be the primary snow cat.

 

Not directing this at you, but I always found it amusing that people got pissed when their WRX motor blew when pushing more power. In stock form, the 2009+ WRXs and STIs are pushing 120-125hp/liter. That's a huge amount of power per liter and not many cars on the market push that sort of power per liter, even nearly all exotics. All ISF for example is only pushing 83hp/liter. I highly doubt an ISF V8 would live long behind 625hp (125hp/liter).


It's not shocking that ringlands and rod bearings can let go on WRX motors once you go Stage 2 and beyond. It's just too much to handle for a garden variety motor found in a $25K base car. An OEM shortblock is only $1900 for the WRX. Buy a new shortblock, a set of $600 forged pistons, some better bearings, and a couple of other cheap safeguards and the WRX motor goes from becoming rather fragile at 140-150hp/liter to easily handling 175-200hp/liter. Not many motors can claim that type of power and reliability for merely $3,000 and ~$5,000-6,000 installed (all in). A WRX pushing 450hp is easily an 11 second car. I wasn't interested in that though. I'd rather buy a fast car from the start and modify the motor a little bit. Much fewer headaches.

 

Perhaps I had some luck.

Also, I was one of the devs on the Subaru open source tuning programs. I eventually wrote my own and only gave it to friends. What I'm getting at is that I was obsessive about tuning and knock and spent more time on my tune than a normal person should

Great combo of parts you listed!

Above post, the hypereutectic found in the subarus were a compromise. Strong, but more brittle and less happy with knock and ring lands. The upside was that thermal expansion was lessened compared to forged pistons. I loved my STi, though would have gone EVO if they were near as reliable.

 

Owned 06 sti for 6 years and went from stock to professionally built motor, brakes, suspension and just about everything else on the car. With meth injection it was fairly reliable at well over 400whp. Sold it and bought my 2011 isf over the Internet, then drove from ri to Delaware to buy the car. It was such an amazing ride home! This car does not disappoint! Ran a 12.89@111 stock and the car is bulletproof. You won't regret making the upgrade