Ok, the short part is this; I'd like to hear from ITR owners that have driven a WRX, modified, stock, or even an STi. If you want to just fire something off that's cool.


Here's the reason:
I own an '04 WRX, with turboback exhaust and engine management. Probably putting down about 225whp depending on the dyno. After driving it for almost a year, then getting back in my hail damaged GSR with only suspension work and 140K miles, I find myself wondering why I didn't just get a type R. I mean, especially now that the STi is out, there isn't any point in modifying the WRX, IMO.


This brings me to now, where I find myself considering selling my WRX (it's almost paid off) and buying an ITR cash. Another part in the decision is the fact that I have a garage space now, live in a nice neighborhood that is patrolled often at night, and my car sits outside my window where I can see it all day. What would you guys do?

 

Keep the Rex. By the sounds of your lay out the R will get stolen.

 

Opie, He said he has a garage and nice hood, so what are you talking about?

If you want something in life and you are able to get, GET IT.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Import Cowboy &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I have a garage space now........and my car sits outside my window where I can see it all day.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I'm confused. The Type R would be in a garage, or outside your window?

 

ohpee, what the??

he said he has a garage? anyway, they are two totally different cars, can't even compare the two...

What do you want the car for? Daily driving, drag racing, autox, trackdays????

 

LOL on me.

I misread, thought he didn't "have garage space available right now."

Hey if you got it then get it man!

 

Mugen Mike - I guess that did sound funny. I have a garage at home to park my car in at night. At work my car sits where I can see it. I guess that wasn't very clear.

It would be my daily driver plus auto-X on some weekends.

 

I'm very interested in hearing thoughts from those of you that have tracked or at least driven both cars "in a spirited manner".

I haven't driven an R in a long time, and when I did I didn't exactly beat on it. I'm assuming most people around here with ITRs for sale aren't going to want me drive their cars in a way that would give me a good feel for that either.

 

It would be my daily driver plus auto-X on some weekends.
[/QUOTE]

That fit an ITR definition. Go for the "R"

 

I drove my buddies 03 WRX a few times. He's got an HKS CarbonTi exhaust, Cartboy end links, Cusco Swaybars + strut bars, HKS Grounding kit, and now HKS Hypermax RS's. I haven't driven it with the new coilovers on but it feels kinda sloppy. Of course it's not as tight as the purpouse built ITR but that's a given.

It's a nice car and all but I think if I were you I'd get the R. The power seems to die off top end. I hang/out accelerate him all the time in my stock R. Choice is yours though. Only advice I can offer is that you won't be getting any sleep unless that car is garaged or within running distance all the time.

Ed

 

Been there... done that...

My ITR is still out of commission from an attempted theft's damage, etc. (not to mention my slow-**** insurance company) on 04/02/04. So, I've been without it for a while. If you DO get an ITR (either instead of ___ or in addition to ___), I have two words for you: "two-way alarm" (it's hyphenated and counts as one-word, ok?).

I got to drive an EVO and a STi in my time... They're fun, sure. But NOTHING has given me the visceral love of driving and feel of the road as the ITR. Yeah, it's a little POS in the scheme of things... but the "fun factor" goes beyond performance.

Oh, and at the moment, I'm driving a F-250 Crew Cab. When I go to Hell (I've done enough to deserve it, I'm sure), I expect the Devil, himself, to give me credit for "Time Served" in that beast.

Had my ITR been stolen or otherwise unrecoverable... I'd have to get another one. I'm keeping this one until the wheels fall off... and then I'll rebuild it.

 

You don't really describe why you are considering selling the WRX. I'm not saying you should keep it, just that it's not clear what (if anything) you are trying to improve on.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Import Cowboy &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I'm assuming most people around here with ITRs for sale aren't going to want me drive their cars in a way that would give me a good feel for that either.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I would not make that assumption. If I were selling mine, I would expect any serious prospective buyer on a test drive would want to push it a bit.

 

Sorry, I've never driven a WRX but I couldnt resist posting. You gotta get the type r man. I know people w/ other faster drag cars and such, but I can't imagine loving driving more than now(unless it was an NSX ) Really, you have garage space and can see it at work, and as long as you heed the aforementioned advice of getting a 2 way alarm(i also have and appreciate the 2 way) you will be good. Type R is my opinion sir.

 

One of my best friends sold me my R because he wanted to see it on the track (and it was a STEAL)...

He eventually bought a WRX and everyday since has wanted the R back. (Lucky for me it was already guted with a custom welded roll cage.)

I guess it depends on what you plan to do with your car. Even for everyday driving he thinks the WRX is way to softly sprung compared to driving an R regularly, and this is around city streets...

Either way you choose there is a lot you can do with both cars, and huge support.

Keep in mind the GSR is definately NOT in the same class as a Type R. And only driving skill is a substitute for AWD and a turbo...

 

I've got a '03 WRX (PDE dp, Blitz catback, TurboXs intercooler/BOV, VF30, upgraded fuel system, Cobb reflash, Tein springs, Perrin uppipe/ sway bar/ endlinks/ front strut bar) and my brother has a stock EVO. I bought my ITR a few months ago because I got an absolute steal on it honestly not knowing a ton about it. My Rex and my brothers EVO are faster than the R in the straights (not by much though from a roll), but my in my opinion my R outhandles both cars. It is truely amazing to drive. It's not fast enough (yet) for my tastes but you can't beat the way the car handles and drives. You mentioned the R being a daily driver. If your Rex is anything like mine you get about 15-16 mpg. With how much gas is right now, the 25 mpg I get in my ITR is a welcome sight. I honestly don't think you can go wrong with either car, but if you decide to sell the WRX for a Type R you won't regret it.

 

sadly ive never had the pleasure to drive or even sit in an ITR. I always hear about the fun factor of driving ITR's which is why I want one!

 

I completely understand what you mean, but it really comes down to what you want. Boost and AWD is completely different then the VTEC and front wheel drive handling of the ITR. IMO, i would buy an R and this is coming from somebody whose best friend has a Rex which i ride in all the time. An R is an R for reasons that most dont understand until you have owned one. Now before i start praising the caR too much and somebody goes off on one of there...."Its just a car" tangents....ill quit while im ahead .

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by kendogg &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">sadly ive never had the pleasure to drive or even sit in an ITR. I always hear about the fun factor of driving ITR's which is why I want one! </TD></TR></TABLE>

Aww :sighs: you can take a ride in mine if you come to the Expo!

&lt;--Opie, who thinks that you should get the R since you have a garage

 

I've gotten to drive a WRX and then a STI in the past couple months. I have driven both a few times and in a very spirited manner. As a Type R owner, i wasn't too impressed with either. The WRX to me lacked the go kart feeling of the R. It felt slightly slower (very very slightly) and it defintely comes no where near the handling of the R. Everytime i took a hard corner, it felt like i was pushing it to it limits and i was scared of flipping it over. I think the WRX is a great daily driver but in stock form it just sucks in perfomance, mainly handling. Mods like strut bars, suspension, etc... would fix this but i am only comparing stock for stock.

Now the STI, my friend just broke it in 2 weeks ago. I've gotten to drive it 4-5 times now. I took it on a couple different roads, highways and some twisties. I can definitely feel the power difference. I was expecting it to throw me back into my seat and make me hold on for dear life. Nope, it was nothing of the sort. I felt coming from a 195bhp R, i wouldn't be able to control the 300bhp STI. Nope, i was wrong again. It felt pretty easy to control, probably due to AWD. the handling was impressive, but alot better than my R, no. The STI was definitely stickier than my R but taking some corners with my R vs STI, it felt as though i was maxing the car out and the speeds were about the same in each car. So it didn't impress me much. Just so you know, I took the STI to a parking and spun it to figure out the point where i was maxing the tires out. The last thing, the fun factor. There is no comparison, the Type R is exponentially more fun to drive. The STI feels like driving a box fast. The R feels like a race car.

 

I owned a mod'd wrx before I bought my ITR, I always say, it was boringly fast. I dont think it gives you the same connection with the road that the ITR does. Not saying the ITR is better in every way, but its definately more fun to drive for me.

 

SLCtypeR - Whoa, I've never, ever, gotten less than 20mpg (right around 23mpg average) running a Cobb "Stage 2", with a fairly "heavy foot". I've wondered how upgrading the fuel system and turbo would effect mileage. That is a good point though. I could drive the **** out of my GSR and still get 25-28mpg even with 140K miles.

nsxtasy - To answer your question, I find myself disappointed with the WRX in many ways.

1) The transmission is notchy, 1st is too short, I cannot for the life of me modulate the clutch and get a smooth 1st-2nd shift... this isn't because I can't drive, because I've driven many, many cars and never had this problem. I'm also paranoid to take my car to the track, due to how many people have blown their WRX 5-speed trannies with only stock power!
2) I cannot for the life of me, get a comfortable seating position. I'm either too far, or too close. I know this might be cured with aftermarket seats, rails, etc.

There are many things that I love about driving the car though. There isn't a day that goes by that my wrx does not make me smile, but it's kind of a love-hate relationship at this point.

I think I'm going to take my WRX back to stock either way. I can pay it off and then go from there.

Thanks for the replies