[annointed]

Will we get the big Brembos?

And even more important, I forsee that we'll get gyped out of the overseas style STi seats!!! Our problem is the USA side airbag issue. That's why overseas even the regular WRX's get the Recaro seats that most of us know as the STi style seats. I personally have a set of STi Ver 4 front and rear seats in my '94 Impreza, and they are phenomenal! They blow away our stock WRX seats, no comparison! I hope SOA can work out a way to put real racing seats in the STi and not the crappy USDM WRX style seats we got...

 

[CloNeGTS]

No one knows anything for sure....it's all speculation.

We should get the Brembos (No reason not to) and at least a version of the STi seats should come over.

 

[annointed]

No one knows anything for sure....it's all speculation.

We should get the Brembos (No reason not to) and at least a version of the STi seats should come over.

I wonder what tires they'll put on the 17's w/Brembos...they'll need to do some sort of all-season tire, I would assume. In the UK, they come with RE011's, which are not suitable for snow or ice.

No STi seats ever had side airbags, and that seems to be the reason why our WRX has crappy seats compared to WRX's in the rest of the world, where side airbags are not needed. Does Subaru HAVE to do side airbags, or is it optional. Obviously it makes the car "safer" by federal and insurance standards, but I'd rather do without the airbags if it forces SOA to downgrade the seats.

 

[m ben]

I believe that the new STi in Japan _does_ have side airbags, so it is logical that if they work for Japan, they would work for the US. I do not believe there are regulatory differences for side airbags between countries like there are for the fronts, which means the development cost for the system is shared between markets, rather than requiring unique spending for each.

the pictures of the WRX & STi interiors for the facelifted WRX make it appear as if the STi seats are merely re-covered (in alcantara & cloth) versions of the WRX cloth seats, but sometimes pics on the web are deceiving/wrong.

I would rather have the side bags because they will potentially reduce insurance costs (from a personal injury standpoint) but conversely will drive up the collision repair cost portion of the coverage. so it's a safer car with little or no added insurance cost, which sounds fair to me. it seems unlikely that they will increase the sticker price explicitly for side airbags, but I guess we'll be able to compare apples to apples when the price the WRX.




Ben