Currently looking at purchasing a blob sti however I have recently seen some nice looking bug sti for sale. Can someone list the main differences other than appearance between a 2002 and 2003/04 STi (I know the 05 had wider track dccd etc) Are the engines as good better or the same in terms of internals? Are the turbos the same? What about the JDMs? Is the resale value better or worse? I have seen this JDM example: http://pistonheads.com/sales/2627487.htm

 

The bugeye sti have sti forged pistons and will take 450bhp on the standard internals. The blobeye sti has non forged pistons, cant remember what they are called so just do a search. They will still take over 400bhp on standard engine.

 

hypereutectic or something

 

There are some blobeyes with the sti forged pistons in. Maybe sti were trying to use up old stock?

 

Some synchro issues with early bugeyes, if it is slick to shift walk away.

Front suspension geometry was supposed to have been tweaked for improved feel, when the (ugly !) facelift was done.

Mine has been running 2+ bar of boost to make well over 400 bhp !

Tez is aiming for 500 bhp on his JDM STI

JDM has folding mirrors and a rear wash/wipe + auto IC spray setting. The gearbox has shorter 5th & 6th gears which is more fun on track, less fun on the motorway...

The engine has a higher rev limit too !

HTH

dunx

P.S. Rare models have DCCD which is worth the premium, IMHO.