Standard Impreza handling v New Impreza handling
Discussion
Which chassis, assuming suitable enhancements are installed (i.e. if you were happy to spend a few £1000), has the potential to offer the best handling on a standard British back road? I was recently watching the Top Gear report where the new Sti was about two seconds faster round their track than the old Sti. Obviously the newer car has a stiffer body and a more sophisticated drive train (maybe) but I was wondering, to make the best handling and fastest across British roads, car - would the newer version simply need to have money spent on it to be the very best it could be, or would the older version end up being quicker assuming perhaps that it adopted the 6 speed DCCD gearbox from the later car and any other important bits of technology. It could be that the older version has a lower centre of gravity, is obviously lighter, it may even have better weight distribution, really don't know. I understand that in some tuner track based time trials that the Impreza tuning Co's use the classic cars as their base vehicles.
Classic STi type-RA in chassis/drivetrain terms anyway - its the lightest (1200kg or just under) and has the 64:36 DCCD drivetrain with the close-ratio gearbox, but they gradually sized up the rubber on STi's over the years so the new cars may well have more outright grip than the 205/50R16" on a standard classic RA.Engines is another matter though, despite the nominal '280 bhp' limit every new model has had a bit more, as well as more torque over a wider range.
For outright A-B b-road pace I think my money would be on either the STi s204 or the RB320. Unless the Type-25 is in the running, but thats a bit of a different case.
Edited by GravelBen on Thursday 19th July 12:47
hewlett said:
Thanks for the info
No worries. Its all IMO etc, there may be someone else come along shortly to disagree with me 
And I should clarify that even if the newer cars are quicker overall I'd expect the 64:36 DCCD cars (classic STi type-R and RA) are still more fun - wonderful balance, understeer isn't an issue, and they're quite capable of power oversteer. Haven't driven any newage STi's to compare but the impression I get is they're perhaps not quite so playable.
Smaller rubber also means you shouldn't have to be going quite as indecently quick to feel like you're actually doing something, though most turbonutter rally-reps still have the sort of limits where any sort of 'playing' could easily result in walking home if the BIB were watching.
Edited by GravelBen on Thursday 19th July 14:02
Your posting prompted some research, on one of the cars you mention, the S204, there's an innovation that seems to provide the holy grail of great control with great comfort:
'But it's the innovative step of fitting what STI calls "performance dampers" to the body structure between the front and rear suspension strut towers that makes the difference.'
Couldn't find any pictures of these but I wonder if they good be retro fitted??
'But it's the innovative step of fitting what STI calls "performance dampers" to the body structure between the front and rear suspension strut towers that makes the difference.'
Couldn't find any pictures of these but I wonder if they good be retro fitted??
The s202 also had a reputation for very nice handling, even without DCCD. Not sure if there were any trick bits to that or just a nice setup.Gassing Station | Japanese Chat | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff