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DRIVEN: Subaru WRX, STI Raise Performance Ante
Suspension tweaks highlight improved technology-laden 2011 road rockets.
Bob Golfen  |  Posted July 20, 2010   Aspen, CO
Subaru WRX STI boosts its game with a performance-tuned suspension that improves handling precision without harshness. (Photo: Bob Golfen)
%aWe already had the 2011 Subaru WRX STI on a tight race track in Aspen, Colo., and we were hurtling along a winding mountain road when an unbidden thought suddenly crossed my mind.

“This is a really nice car,” I said to my driving partner in the passenger seat, who paid me no mind.

So what? Well, I have driven Subaru Impreza WRX and WRX STI quite a few times over several model changes and I certainly enjoyed their raw-edged performance. They were aggressive and fun, tightly honed and just possibly, somewhat adolescent.

The appearance is the same but the STI five-door is a whole new breed of Subaru. (Photo: Bob Golfen)
What struck me here was that the 2011 versions had gone into a realm of refined performance that sheds the boy-racer image of the past to become better all-around cars, while enhancing their acclaimed handing and grip. The turbocharged four-cylinder “boxer” engine is strikingly smooth and powerful, the steering is exact and the big Brembo disc brakes are powerful.

The changes in the STI’s stiff suspension allow you to carry more speed through the corners, with Subaru’s sophisticated all-wheel-drive system pulling the car around the curve with electronic precision. Yet the ride is well-controlled, never harsh or buffeting.

The regular WRX now gets the same wide-body treatment as the STI with the same widened track front and rear, firmer subframe bushings and bigger performance tires and wheels. The difference here compared with last year’s WRX is equally impressive, if not more so.

The STI adds a four-door sedan version for 2011 as well as the five-door hatchback.

The WRX gets the same wide-body treatment as the STI for 2011, with the four-door sedan model shown. (Photo: Subaru)
When the 2008 WRX models came out, there was some feeling that Subaru had lost its way with its techno-performance tuner cars, that they had become soft around the middle. The difference between the 2011 STI and the 2010 version was starkly demonstrated on the track, a twisting private-club road course named Aspen Motorsports Park.

The narrow pavement and tight turns made for a perfect proving ground. While the 2010 STI made quick work of the 1.1-mile circuit, it took plenty of driver input and screeching tires. The new STI absolutely romped the course, easily eclipsing last year’s car with higher speeds and quicker transitions. In the hands of a professional driver, the difference was even more pronounced.

On Colorado’s mountain roads, the STI was nicely tossable, never biting back while tracking beautifully through the curves, electronically enhancing my middling driving skill. The WRX, though less sharply tuned than the STI, also proved enjoyably responsive on the back roads.

According to Hiroshi Mori, who oversaw the update of Subaru’s performance car and spoke at the media event, the chassis engineers focused on making changes to the suspension that would “improve driver confidence, handling and response.”

Key to the STI handling improvements is a set of front-suspension bushings that come straight from race-track duty. Called spherical bearings, or what the Japanese know as “pillow-ball” bushings, these steel ball-and-socket fittings provide a direct connection between the subframe and the aluminum control arms.

To reduce harshness, they’re mounted in rubber donuts but still provide much greater resistance to unwanted changes in suspension geometry during hard-cornering forces. The rear suspension gets stiffer bushings of the standard rubber type.

The 2011 STI gets a new sedan version and a towering wing with improved aerodynamics and a higher top speed than the five-door model. (Photo: Subaru)
The new bushings permit stiffer spring rates, bumped up 15.6 percent up front and 53 percent in back, thicker antiroll bars and a five mm lower ride height. Body roll is reduced by 33 percent, Subaru says, while maximum lateral grip has been raised to .93 g from the previous STI’s .90.

The result is crisper turn in and greater precision while cornering. The front tires have more consistent contact with the pavement because of the increased rigidity, which reduces understeer as well as helping keep the outer edges of the front tires from wearing out prematurely.

Along with Subaru’s Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive, the signature feature of all Subaru vehicles, the STI gets a driver-selectable three-mode center-differential control for fore and aft traction variations: a full automatic mode, an automatic-minus mode that adds more torque to the rear, and a manual mode that allows the driver to select from six different settings.

The stability-control and traction-control systems are also driver selectable: a Normal mode for full engagement of stability and traction control, a Traction setting for less-restrictive performance driving, and an Off setting that disengages both systems for more-spirited driving, mainly for track use, to allow garish slides and fishtails.
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