3rd Generation Specific (1993-2002) 1993-2002 Discussion including performance modifications and Technical Support Sections.
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FD or STI

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Old Nov 22, 2005 | 08:53 PM
  #1  
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FD or STI

Hey guys whats good? Well I should be gettin a settlement soon from my accident back in august for my back injuries and surgerys to my knee.... I've decided im goin to sell my FC once I get that back since that has to much money in it to risk. The guy at our local rotary shop has a friend with a 93' fd red 5spd 65k miles... But I also like STI's they just seem like a really fun car to drive and look really easy to drive and move plenty quick for around the town driving... I loved my 10ae to death leather seats, nice looking steering wheel, and how the momo shifter just felt so nice. I love how 99' spec fd's look but I have heard of many problems with fd's like overheating, the stock twins having problems. If I did buy a 93-95 FD do you guys believe a full exhaust and intake setup would make the car plenty fun to drive? I would like a high 12sec car or low 13sec car and not do worse then 14mpg, what do you guys think?
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Old Nov 22, 2005 | 09:00 PM
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Please read the FAQ thread stickied at the top.

An FD with full exhaust, intake, intercooler, and PFC (or Pettit ecu) should be in the mid to low 12s with a good driver. As far as getting 14 mpg, well it depends on your driving style but you likely won't average much more than that. Some people get less. I average about 6-7 mpg at the track...
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Old Nov 22, 2005 | 09:11 PM
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From: rotary world!!!!!!!!
fd!
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Old Nov 22, 2005 | 09:12 PM
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Well for daily driving I usually shifted at 2k I've just read through the faq it all seems straight forward but I would rather hear from expierience!
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Old Nov 22, 2005 | 09:34 PM
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sti drivers are too cocky, dont join that crowd.

you do know that you are going to get a biased opinion here on the "rx7club"
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Old Nov 22, 2005 | 09:35 PM
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The FD is fun to drive stock. (?) So is the STI. Coming off a FC, I'd imagine both will be a big improvement unless your FC was a TII heavily modded.

If it's going to be your only vehicle, get the STI. It's low 13s stock, and a simple tune from COBB or some other Subaru tuner will net a tenth or two. They (or the WRX, can't remember which) comes from the factory tuned pig rich. It's going to likely have a lot less squeaking, clunks and groans, might still be under warranty (I'm assuming you're looking for a 04-05 STi), and just a lot less headache, period.

If you want a dedicated track weapon, get the FD. And a beater.
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Old Nov 22, 2005 | 09:36 PM
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STI vs FD..... Well it really depends on what you expect from a car. Some people use thier FD's as daily drivers, which is fine. I only put like 300 miles a month on my FD, but I work from home and have 2 other cars to tote the kids around.
STI's are fast and roomy enough to make a decent family car. But if you want something a alot more exotic, difficult to work on(not alot of rotary mechanics out there, most of us work on our own cars), curve huggin', stare gettin', money grubbin', tons of potential havin' more rwhp car....... Get an FD. Ask the same question on the STI forum, and they'll tell you to get an STI. We're all FD nuts, what do you expect? Check out the stickies. They'll explain what you're getting into when you buy an FD.
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Old Nov 22, 2005 | 09:44 PM
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a buddy of mine has a 04 sti and its given him a few electrical problems and gas mileage ranging from 17-19 mpg with only a dp and catback.
theyre fun to drive and theyre totally streetable.
you cant really compare the two...but id say either choice is a good one.
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Old Nov 22, 2005 | 09:45 PM
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for a the MSRP price or low mileage used, you probably
can get a pretty Bad azz single turbo with exterior and rims
that would run circles around the STI.
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Old Nov 22, 2005 | 09:46 PM
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Originally Posted by yuichiror
STI vs FD..... Well it really depends on what you expect from a car. Some people use thier FD's as daily drivers, which is fine. I only put like 300 miles a month on my FD, but I work from home and have 2 other cars to tote the kids around.
STI's are fast and roomy enough to make a decent family car. But if you want something a alot more exotic, difficult to work on(not alot of rotary mechanics out there, most of us work on our own cars), curve huggin', stare gettin', money grubbin', tons of potential havin' more rwhp car....... Get an FD. Ask the same question on the STI forum, and they'll tell you to get an STI. We're all FD nuts, what do you expect? Check out the stickies. They'll explain what you're getting into when you buy an FD.
i couldn't have said it any better....very well said; i like the note about the FD being money hungry the most
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Old Nov 22, 2005 | 09:53 PM
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Easy, get the STi. I have an '02 wrx with 3" turbo-back exhaust and Cobb Accessport engine management, and it's just as fast as my stock '93 FD (won't be for long, as I have plans for the FD ). Plus it's my daily driver and far more reliable. My friends '05 STi has the 3" tbe and Cobb EM as well and it is much faster than my FD, not to mention he still gets 20mpg mixed city/hwy. With custom tuning he'd get even better mileage and probably make more power too. By comparison I'm lucky to get 13mpg in my FD. As someone else said read the FAQ's, I love my FD but it is by no means a daily driver. The STi will be extremely fast, reliable, easy to mod, and easy to drive well. Maybe get an FD later as a track/project car. I must say you've picked two great cars to choose between, good luck.
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Old Nov 22, 2005 | 09:56 PM
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You know if i just wrote read the FAQ's in the newb post's i could have 1000 posts in a month easy.
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Old Nov 22, 2005 | 10:07 PM
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I actually owned a 2004 Sti and let me tell you when I changed to the FD I would never go back. The car is too high on the road and the tires are too sticky.

so you get thisn direct but truck like feel. Acceleration is amazing first 2 it takes FD but after is an all rotary game. Also Sti motors blow as much as FD's so there is no advantage on that side. Also in the price difference you can build yourself an amazing FD.

Go FD if you want rarity/speed and if you love driving.

Go Sti for a DD or if you have kids and a wife.
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Old Nov 22, 2005 | 10:09 PM
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Pm a guy on the forum "hyperion" he has both, a nice FD and an STI.
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Old Nov 22, 2005 | 10:13 PM
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If you want to be like the common folk buy the STI... I see about 5 or 6 daily.... If you want a car that fits like a glove, turns heads, rear wheel pleasure, and exotic...... The FD is what you are looking for....

PS... What would look better in my Signature?..... My FD or a 4 door grocery getter?....
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Old Nov 22, 2005 | 10:31 PM
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I dont like how subarus look.
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Old Nov 22, 2005 | 11:01 PM
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Originally Posted by kraked
I dont like how subarus look.
I hate how Subarus look (well, the Imprezzas/WRX/STIs anyways - the Legacys are easy on the eyes). I'm probably branded a troll on the NASIOC forums, given how vehemently vocal I am about the WRX looks, especially the 06s.

However, it offers a nice blend of reliability, practicality, handling, and speed, and I'm willing to look past the ugliness. Heck, the 06 I love to bash over there? Thinking of trading in my 02 in for one.

And STis blowing up engines as much as FDs? HA. Maybe highly modified STis, but once you get into the realm of highly modified cars, blown engines are a given, no matter what brand, design, whatever.

The question is - why the **** did I have to replace my bonestock rotary at 60K miles?
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Old Nov 22, 2005 | 11:25 PM
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Go with the STI since you need others to tell you want to do. =)
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Old Nov 22, 2005 | 11:39 PM
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You said you had a T2 10 AE , the FD would me the natural progression . All the kick *** stuff from your old car plus lots more.

I personally really like the STi if i were to buy a new car it would be that.

But the FD is so much sexier. It actually looks like a dreamm .. I mean sports car.
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Old Nov 22, 2005 | 11:47 PM
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Lets see, a 04 STI goes for around 25,000 right. The FD's (good condition) 15-20,000. The FD is a kick *** car. Looks, power, and Interior like your in a F-16. Even if you do have a prob with the FD im sure the 5,000 you saved can fix it and more.
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Old Nov 22, 2005 | 11:58 PM
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Spend the money on something else other than a car. Try a mutual fund or a house.
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Old Nov 23, 2005 | 12:52 AM
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Originally Posted by turbojeff
Spend the money on something else other than a car. Try a mutual fund or a house.
I agree with Jeff... invest it wisely. Don't get me wrong FD's are great cars and a lot of fun, but invest your money in something that's going to appreciate in value. Cars don't typically do that, unless your planning on buying a Ferrari or some other high-end exotic.



Good luck with whatever you decide to do...
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Old Nov 23, 2005 | 02:23 AM
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Before I had my FD I had a classic shape UK-spec Impreza Turbo (208bhp stock) which was running a proven 346bhp when I had finished with it, it also had serious brakes and handling mods, and was pretty damn awesome.

But, I like my FD much better. The only time the Subaru was better is in wet conditions, although to be fair my FD isn't exactly stock either. The FD is definately the most fun.

Stock subaru's don't handle brilliantly, yeah there is lots of grip, but too much understeer when pushed, that can be sorted, but then you get snap-oversteer, as you can see in this vid when I was battling against an Evo 4:

3mb WMV

As for reliability, that 346bhp was still on stock internals, it was done purely with bolt-ons, and it had 110k miles on it. The car never missed a beat in the time I had it, and I drove it hard, it lived in the redline. Did a fair few track days too.

They are very different cars, but for me it's the FD every time, it's just so much more fun.

Last edited by DreXeL; Nov 23, 2005 at 02:25 AM.
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Old Nov 23, 2005 | 04:34 AM
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I currently own both a fd and sti. The fd is quicker than the sti but the sti has this thing called warrenty. The sti makes a great daily driver. Its quicker than 90% of the cars out there and they are an absolute blast to drive in the winter. The price differrence between the 2 cars is quite substantial. It all depends where you live (if you actually get snow in the winter) each car does thing differently. If you choose the fd you will definitly have to park it in the winter and buy a beater car or have the best of both worlds and get the sti.

R.K.
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Old Nov 23, 2005 | 06:10 AM
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I know all of you guys will say go with the fd, since this is a rx7club its obvious! You guys are tellin me why I should buy a FD and why not. I will defiantly be buying a FD.... My 10ae only had about enough mods on it to make 250rwhp ill guess. I always washed it, checked the fluids, maintain the interior, all the stuff your suppose to do and more. When the settlement comes in I will look for iether a black or white FD with a stock body and upgrade everything to 99' spec I just love how they look. I will prolly finance a STI on the side to build my credit im only 18.... and put the rest in a retirement plan and collect interest
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