High mileage STi's?
 

Well I have made the decision to sell my WRX and get a 2005 or 2006 STi. Yes insurance has been checked and is actually affordable for me. So looking at used cars I have seen most STi's in my price range with around 50k on the odometer.

I'm just wondering if this is too much. My WRX is at 51k. The STi would be my daily driver. I would not take the STi any farther than Stage 2. My job is driving around during the day but not very far just around town and I am not very lead footed.

I am just hoping with proper care and maintenance that an STi will be reliable even up to the higher miles. The same would go with my WRX, religious oil changes and following the Subaru service manual. Does this at all sound feasible?

My '04 had 85K and was bone stock and well maintained when I got it, and was fine. I bumped it to Stage 2 and started to flog it at the track pretty hard and it was blowing oil by pretty hard by 100K but that was likely due to a failed ring land. So, I would say a STI should be good for at least 100K.

Oh, and if you have any wheels or mods, they might fit an '04...

MattR's '04 may also be up there...

Yeah, I thought about picking up an 04, but I like the stronger hubs, better struts, and slightly more refined 05-06 offerings. Thanks for the reminder though. Thats good to hear about your STi. That was another concern of mine, what causes a failed ringland in the STi motors?

Detonation, but don't know yet for sure on cause in my case. Current theory is an under performing injector.

With proper care and maintenance, turbo Subaru's can go a really long ways. Most, however, don't get that sort of care. There are many, many turbo Legacy's out there with over 200k. They weren't making 300hp, but they didn't have a lot of modern technology either.

Yeah, it's really getting up there, I just clicked 40k!

:lol:


Nik, I'd keep the WRX if I was in your shoes. It's just too easy to convert to STi-sized turbo and intercooler and have all the same power, but without the older car that you don't know the history on.

Good point Kevin. I forget when they went to the 2.5 WRX. The STI is nice, but if all you want is a bit more power, turbo/intercooler/tune is an easy upgrade.

Especially since he already has those things now. :lol:

Yeah... I'm a little confused. An STi isn't going to be much faster than what you've got right now Nick, other than having some beefier hubs and the 6MT. Unless you're planning on tracking the car a lot, you're not going to gain much, and you're risking getting a beat-on STi when you know you're car front to back already. Plus, your current suspension already whoops on the stock STi stuff, especially since a stock STi with 50k will probably have blown rear struts the day you get it.

I'm not saying "don't get an STi"... I'm just trying to make sure you're not blinded by the STi badges to the point you're not remembering how nice your WRX is.

Thanks for the reminder, but for me it's just been worrying about drivetrain stuff. I literally haven't used 3rd since I swapped in the 39 and for me that just seems ridiculous. I know that there are gear set options out there that would let me handle the power for around 3k, but I'm a little hesitant to drop that kind of money for a solution that will probably hold the power and my driving habits. So that leaves a serious set like PPG's for 6k, well if I am going to drop 6k into my trans why not spend that 6-8k on an STi and get stronger axles, beefier hubs, the bigger brembos, R180, stronger pistons, ect.

I guess long term for the car I would plan on making it a weekend or track car, so the STi seemed a better starting point. I would love to have 450awhp with a 30r or similar. I can't afford to do that now so I will just stick with stage 2 and have a reliable quick car. I think its a combination of transmission woes and the fact that I'm not really happy with how the APV2 ots map for the 39 is. I have ridden in a stage 2 STi and it felt fast, my car doesn't feel like it has that same speed. And to get a tune I would like to run it on a dyno, which again calls into trouble the trans.

It's been a long time considering process, I think I started a thread a year ago or so thinking about getting an STi. I would also feel a littler safer with an STi with tbe and a tune rather than all the stuff I have put on my car. Oh and I probably should have listened a few times now lol, coils on the street everyday with how much I drive around town...suck. They ride pretty harsh, even though they are valved for street driving, and make quite a bit of noise.

Yes, I am posting again lol, I am bored out of my mind in my IS class.

But regarding finding an STi and be careful of what I purchase what is there to worry about? The car is quite bulletproof isn't it? Anything that I would need to be aware of would show up in a leakdown and compression test right? Transmission shouldn't be a worry, rear diff is pretty solid. Struts...possibly but replacements can be had for cheap.

Am I forgetting anything? IDK, I am just trying to reason through it, does it really seem like that bad of an idea?

Entirely off topic but, what's your major?

lol, I just changed it. I'm looking to get into the Radiology Technician program at TMCC. This is my last semester at UNR and I just had to clear up two prereq's.

You don't need to worry about your gearbox. It's fine.

This part makes sense. If you really want to build a fast track car, you should use an STi. But you should also have a daily driver to keep you out of it on a day to day basis.

Stock STi suspension is nothing special. More importantly, all suspension options are going to have basically the same characteristics on your car or on an STi. And again, your car's drivetrain isn't really int he realm of the risky- and if you want to go to 450bhp, the STi engine isn't going to be factory reliable either.

It seems to me that STi motors aren't any more dependable than any other motor, what with the ring land failures. I realize STi's tend to be pushing more power than WRX's, but it just seems to me that if you can afford to buy an STi, you can afford to start a transmission fund.

And your coilovers suck on the street. Oh well. Slap on something more apropriate, not biggie.

As I hear it, the Variant 1s are pretty darn good on the street. So pretty clearly, Nick is gonna need a separate track car at some point. :lol:

To fortify Kevin's statements:

If your driving habits will break that transmission in your car, then they will probably break the STi tranny too, which is even more expensive to service/replace.

How many used STi's have *not* been driven hard?

We don't know many people that have a dedicated track car that have *not* done major motor work. Assume that if you get a dedicated track car that you will be rebuilding the motor sooner rather than later.

Blown STi shells will be cheaper every year. When do you think realistically that you will be able to support a track car budget?

Again, your car pretty much will do anything the STi will do on the street, and you already are farther along in the mod process....

you'll regret it.

You have a nice car, keep it.

I feel old.

My 04 sti has stock suspention and it's quite rough on the streets let alone how noisy it is around tow, I would take a wrx for daily d then an sti, but I woult much rather have an sti for the track. The sti is going to need some mods aswell if you want to track it every weekend.

I really appreciate everybody's advice and input. However, I have made up my mind on the subject. I have wanted a 2005 STi for a long while now. For me I am in a financially comfortable place where I can own one and drive it daily. I was just looking for a little advice on what to look for in an STi with some miles on the clock. But thanks anyway.

Alrighty then. Basically, as long as the engine is healthy, the gearbox works, and you can't see any evidence of accidents then it's worth buying. The more complete history you can get though, the better obviously. If it's been modded, make sure it's also been tuned by someone with a good reputation.

I'll sell you mine, just let me know.

Hell yeah. One less driver between me and top PAX. :p

He wants an '05...

05' is the best STI evar! If I had my way originally, I would own one now. Nick, what color do you want?

Well, I would like a white one but they have a nasty habit of getting stolen around here lol. So pretty much any color.

I would look for a stock one, you make sure all haetshields are there, give dccd a try and look for any changes in paint color(means it could have been crashed) and I think the best advice I can give is be patient look around for a while, try to get the least amount of miles as you can

yes sir.....BE PATIENT i wish i was when i got mine...

That's why I said it because I was not patient and ended with an 04 with 40k insted of an 05 with 20k

Alex says that the '05 (and maybe others?) have a rear diff that wears out after ~60K miles? I forget what type of diff it is, but I guess they moved to a clutch based rear diff later that has a longer life...or something like that.

No issues with the diff on my '05.......63k on it so far.