I had a 2016 ST before my GTI. It is so hard to squeeze power out of those cars without dumping a ton of money into them. I still talk to the ST guys in my area and we all met up yesterday for a car show. On the way home my buddy wanted to do some pulls so we went 3 times on a 30 roll. I'm stage 2 tune Unitronic with Billy boat turbo back exhaust and APR intake. He was every bolt on you could think of with a JST protune. First race I broke traction of the gate but hung in there. Second roll I walked him. Third race he claims he missed a shift and I dusted him. I would put my car up against any ST with confidence as long as the are not running big turbo. My buddy is stage 2 Unitronic on his clubsport and walked a stage 1 protune RS last weekend. Again, being a former ST owner who dumped about $7500 into the car, they remain under powered. Also, it depends on the driver as well. I've met some terrible drivers in cars that can do way better, and I've met great drivers in cars that had no business honking and winning.