Bad News for Sport Compact Car Fans - Subaru Kills the STi

Yes, and the standard WRX (with FA20 engine as opposed to the old EJ25) has had the equal-length headers since 2015 model year.

You can still hear the burbly character of the boxer engine under certmain circumstances, but, by and large, it sounds like any other 4-banger.
Incidentally, that '15-'21 has direct inj... It is not "dual-injected". When considering purchase of the WRX I gave thought to how I'd de-carbonize that engine at interval... and when I peered-in to the underhood area I realized just how much work it'd be to access the intake manifolds for removal, etc, to do that work, and how lousy it'd be to do the walnut shell treatment. That scared me. I ended up buying a Mazda6, admittedly absolutely not in the same performance realm, but very easy for underhood access, for the same operation.

Do the '15-21's, the WRX's, have a carbonning-up issue? I heard there may be one...?
 
Incidentally, that '15-'21 has direct inj... It is not "dual-injected". When considering purchase of the WRX I gave thought to how I'd de-carbonize that engine at interval... and when I peered-in to the underhood area I realized just how much work it'd be to access the intake manifolds for removal, etc, to do that work, and how lousy it'd be to do the walnut shell treatment. That scared me. I ended up buying a Mazda6, admittedly absolutely not in the same performance realm, but very easy for underhood access, for the same operation.

Do the '15-21's, the WRX's, have a carbonning-up issue? I heard there may be one...?
Are there even issues with the Subi engines and carbon buildup due to DI? This is somewhat of an internet boogie-man at this point is my take.
 
When considering purchase of the WRX I gave thought to how I'd de-carbonize that engine at interval... and when I peered-in to the underhood area I realized just how much work it'd be to access the intake manifolds for removal, etc, to do that work, and how lousy it'd be to do the walnut shell treatment.
I didn't think the work looked too terribly difficult. There's a couple pretty good videos that show the process step-by-step, and a neat little adapter bracket available that bolts on to the cylinder head allowing you to blast the walnuts while keeping your evacuating vacuum sealed. It's one of those tasks that can be tedious because moreso than anything else, neatness counts.
 
Cars i'd consider buying if in good condition and stock...

Impreza 2.5RS (blue)
850R or T5-R (yellow)
Corrado VR6 (green)
1995 GTi VR6 (plum)
 
I should view that video; it seems to me though that the manifolds are a deep reach downwards into the underhood area, rather than (fairly) up-top for a non boxer engine.
Oh, it does look like a deep reach for sure, but fortunately once the intercooler and plastic intake manifolds are off there is a lot more room opened up.

I think as the years go by, I might start looking hard online for pics of typical carbon buildup on the FA engine. Who knows, it might be a little, or a lot. Doing all that work cleaning it might not be worthwhile if the buildup is minimal. I'm years away from that point though.... Just 1600 miles currently.
 
Oh, it does look like a deep reach for sure, but fortunately once the intercooler and plastic intake manifolds are off there is a lot more room opened up.

I think as the years go by, I might start looking hard online for pics of typical carbon buildup on the FA engine. Who knows, it might be a little, or a lot. Doing all that work cleaning it might not be worthwhile if the buildup is minimal. I'm years away from that point though.... Just 1600 miles currently.
The fuel dilution and carbon build-up in FA engine are soooo 2003.
Which tells a lot.
 
U mean they have a tendency to build up carbon, and have no designed-in carbon reduction methods? Honda Earth Dreams has a valve rotation methodology, with some intake mixture reversion to wet the valves with high detergency gasoline. Mazda Skyactiv-G has hotter valve running temps to bake off the deposits, Toyota has direct + port inj (the gold std)...
 
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Yes. I loved that blue color and thought the lines of those were pretty classic.
Agree that Subaru’s styling used to stand out (especially WRX & Legacy, but even including Outback, Forester).

But then about 11-12 years ago, they started to go more mainstream with their exterior design. Example: The 2009 Legacy was a good-looking car.

The styling was very “Japanese”, which, to me, being a Japanese car guy, is a good thing.

It was a car you could buy if you wanted something Japanese, but that stood out from your typical, everyday, Accord, Altima, or Camry.

And you could get it with a turbocharged engine and a stick!

Then, in 2010 model year, they redesigned it, and the result was a car that looked like everything else on the road. Gone we’re the sharp, origami-like edges, and unique taillights, and in its place was Subarus version of a Toyota Avalon.

And no more 5-speed stick or turbo.

Same with Outback XT and Forester XT. i think they hung on for a bit longer, but they eventually bit the dust, too.

It worked for their bottom line, though. Becoming more mainstream and broadening their appeal made them into a much bigger (if less enthusiast-oriented) car maker.
 
And no more 5-speed stick or turbo.

Same with Outback XT and Forester XT. i think they hung on for a bit longer, but they eventually bit the dust, too.
The 5-speed died in the FXT because only magazines and people on the internet talked about it, but only me and like 10 other people bought one. :p Same goes for the FXT in general.

But at least the Outback XT came back in 2019 with the Ascent's 2.4DIT. Definitely a bit more refined than the EJ25x, but I do miss the EJ "rawness".

Here's more detail on why they dropped the STi:

 
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