I know the STi has a diff. TMIC, IM and Turdblow (VF39/VF40) than the LGT for the big differences, it also has a catless UP and a few other small things.
Yea, it’s been questioned if the 06LGTs have the cat, I dont’ remember the answer. There has to be some difference with the LGT rated at 250HP and the WRX rated at 230. I’d guess probably turdblow, IM, TIMC, similar to the STi/LGT differences.
The WRX is rated at 230hp but that is not what its making.
Cobb did a dyno comparison of an 05 2.0 WRX and an 06 2.5 WRX.
The '05 is rated at 227hp and saw about 170-175hp to the wheels.
The '06 is rated at 230hp and saw about 200-205hp to the wheels.
Unless they found out a way to significantly cut the drivetrain losses from the transmission and the AWD system, I’d say that the results don’t really translate to a 3hp increase.
The HP curve on the new 2.5 is also much flatter.
Torque, there is no contest. The 2.5 WRX makes tons of it and with a Cobb Stage 2 set up puts down almost 300lb/ft to the wheels.
Which is why I’m curious what, if any, difference there is. It’s possible they threw the same motor in there, with possibly a diff. flavor tune, and then just underrated it to keep some distance between it and the LGT. I thought that the LGT/WRX prob. were recieving the exact same engines, just odd that subaru would undersell it like that.