METHOD for our Madness

When METHOD Race Wheels teamed up with Subaru Rally Team USA to create a tough-as-nails wheel for competition, they couldn't have asked for a better result right from the start.  David Higgins and Craig Drew secured a National Championship riding on the METHOD 501 Rally Wheels and the rest is history.

Coming up on 5 years later and fans of these durable rally wheels get to welcome another design to the family.  The 501 started things off in Rallying, the 502 got tougher, and
now the New METHOD 503 Rally got LIGHTER.

These 503s will be available in 17x8 +42 which will weigh in at 16.5 lbs per wheel.  There's also an 18x8 +42 size that will weigh 17.8 lbs. "Flow Form construction" cuts down on weight while maintaining rigidity and overall strength.  But unlike the 501 and 502, these lightweight wheels are intended for use in autocross events or track days.  They come in matte black or gold finishes and will include a carbon fiber snap-in center cap for each wheel.

These wheels are ideal for the Mitsubishi EVO, Ford Focus RS, and Subaru WRX STI, all of which are ideal to use on both loose surfaces and on grippy tarmac, so it's nice to have a METHOD option that rounds out that option.  Run 501s for daily use, some 502s for rallycross fun in the dirt, and 503s for that weekend at the track.  Come to think of it, I'm already 2/3rds the way there with that plan!

METHOD 503 Rally wheels are slated for release in February of 2018.  Just in time to show your love for your all-purpose machine on Valentines Day!

Rallycross Season Wrap-Up

The 2017 Rallycross Season for the Nebraska Region SCCA was a bit of a rollercoaster.  Battling weather, site conditions, and break-downs, the NRSCCA managed to have record-setting turnout, excellent course design, and even bring home some hardware from the National Championship.  All kinds of extremes highlight a busy season of racing in the dirt here in the Heartland, yet the overall feeling from this season coming to a close is how much we've managed to accomplish with our program.

In February, things got off to a muddy start.  The day before our very first event of the season , snow and ice covered the site.  It looked to be a slippery snowy setting for the coming event the next day.  However, a quick change in temperature turned that layer of ice into several inches of mud for a slip-n-slide Rallycross through a soupy course.  We ended up calling off the event mid-way through the day as competition was pretty impossible to carry out in those conditions.  To add insult to injury, the following month's event was also cancelled due to poor site conditions.  I wondered if we'd ever get to have a race!

Things turned around just in time.  In April we hosted a Super Weekend with a Rallycross School and Twilight Rally on Saturday and a full day of competition the following Sunday.  It was a great opportunity to get some well-needed seat time in and energize our faithful racers that had been waiting for two months to compete.  The entire event was a rousing success and looked to set things back on pace until the following event in May fell victim to yet another cancellation.  Bad timing with weather had made the site unusable for competition yet again.  Midway through our 8-race season, we had only managed to compete once.

The turning point for our season seemed hit right at the start of the second half of the season.  Our Rallycross event in July also coincided with the Boxers @ Baxter event, bringing Subaru Rally Team USA's Display Trailer Program to our patch of dirt in Greenwood, NE.  Despite record-breaking heat, fans and drivers got to check out Chris Atkinson's GRC Supercar and the rest of the display brought to us as the racing unfolded.  Food and Giveaways were provided by Baxter Subaru.  It was a great way to escape the heat and enjoy the event together.

Each event after that point went by pretty seamlessly.  Great course design, no weather delays or issues, and record-breaking attendance continued right into the final event in November.  The Nebraska Region SCCA also had a great showing at the DirtFish Rallycross National Championships held in the fall, including a class win by Doug in the Rally Bug.  It was a fantastic finish to a season that was off to a rough start back in February.  With the following the NRSCCA Rallycross program has recently been enjoying, it's a good sign of continued growth to carry us into the next season.

The only concern lingering after this whirlwind season is the condition of the site at I-80 Speedway.  With a reduced area to use, it was difficult to fully utilize the space.  Rough rutted sections, road construction debris, and poor timing with weather early in the season made this the only constant concern through the season.  Site renovations will be needed for the NRSCCA to continue utilizing the site.  There are plans to grade and seed the site that will hopefully allow us to utilize more areas so we're not constantly running over the same paths and inhibiting grass to grow back and hold the site together.  I know that with the momentum of the 2017 season propelling us forward, it will be important to address the site at I-80 Speedway for continued use.

Overall, and especially considering the poor luck with weather early in the season, the 2017 NRSCCA Rallycross Season has been a rollercoaster worth riding.  This would not have been possible without all the support from competitors, workers, and even spectators who came out to watch the action unfold at each event.  A big "thank you" to all those who helped us put together a fantastic season of racing!

Winter Mode: Hyper Blue STI

Sure, I've got two Subarus so I could technically leave my STI in the garage all winter... but what's the fun in that?  As such, I've upgraded my winter wheels for this season and I'm pretty stoked with how things turned out with this setup.  I've got Method 501 Rally Wheels with Michelin Pilot Super Sports for the summer and now Method 502 Rally Wheels with General Altimax Arctic winter tires for the snowy winter months!

While my summer wheels are 18s, these are 17s.  I figured more sidewall wouldn't be a bad idea and they clear my Brembo brake calipers perfectly.  The dimensions are 17x8 with +38 Offset so these Method Rally Wheels fill out the wheel wells nicely.  These include a hub ring for Subaru fitment (56.1mm hubs) just like the other Method 501s I have for summer.

The General Arctic Altimax winter tires have served me well before on other cars, so I lucked out when I found a set that had hardly been used.  This tire and wheel combo will not only serve me well in the wintertime with the STI, but also be a great set to use when I play in the dirt with the NRSCCA Rallycross program.  I plan on using this car more for racing in the coming season but I didn't want to scale down my brake calipers to fit 15" rally wheels and tires.  Winter tires seem to do well in rallycross competition, so we'll see how these do!

Overall I'm really happy with the setup and how it looks!  Now we just need some snow to play in and some rallycross events to enjoy!

Why did Subaru stop making the Baja? - Video

Since I purchased my '06 Baja Turbo last month, I've been getting all kinds of questions about it.  Some people didn't know Subaru built this thing in the first plac, but the majority of the questions ask "Why don't they make the Subaru Baja anymore?"  I kind of assumed it just didn't sell well, but I wanted to know more myself.

After some digging, I found a laundry list of things plaguing the Baja's lifespan from start to finish.  It was interesting enough to me to learn how things played out that I wanted to share it, so here's an explanation of how things went for the short life of the Subaru Baja.  Feel free to chime in if I missed anything!

Baja Blast: First Fixins

I've had this '06 Baja Turbo long enough to put plates on it, so I've been fixin things as I go.  Getting it safe, running right, and cleaned up has been my priority before I start having fun with modifications.  Right off the bat, there were 3 things that needed to get tackled.

Even before I could start to fix a few mechanical problems, this Baja needed a bath inside and out!  Years of dirt and grime caked the interior and exterior.  A good scrubbing and power wash got most of the outside done, but inside was a different story.  Carpet treatment, an air system flush and two "Chlorine bombs" got the cabin air breathable while the dash, door cards, and seats got the scrubbing of their life.  I wish I had taken a photo of the interior before I started, but it took me a whole two days to get it looking like this.

To be safe to drive around town the tires, brake pads, and brake rotors needed to be changed next.  While we had the wheels off to change out rotors and pads, I swapped on a set of 2016 Subaru Crosstrek wheels with winter tires on 'em.  They look great and will get me through the snowy months ahead!  Some of the bolts on the brake calipers were rusted stuck so we had to use some heat to break 'em free.  After new brake fluid and OEM Rotors and Pads, the Baja can now stop all 3,600 lbs of itself easily.

Now that the Baja can stop and I can breathe in it, the last major bit to tackle was under the hood.  It didn't take long to notice the radiator was starting to leak.  Signs of coolant sprayed under the hood tipped me off at first, but it became obvious that the problem was worsening quickly when the temperature spiked after a simple 15 minute trip.  We replaced the leaky radiator along with the upper and lower coolant hoses with OEM Subaru parts and filled it up with fresh coolant.  Haven't seen an issue since!

It's not the most exciting work, but it's important to get it running right before I start digging in with modifications and changes.  The suspension still needs work, but instead of straight replacing it, I'm considering a lift kit of sorts.  Now that the basics are taken care of, I can actually start planning that stuff out.  Stay tuned!

RS Finds a New Home

Sometimes when you buy a car you think "Man, I'm gonna keep this forever and never let it go".  That was the case for my 1999 Subaru Impreza 2.5 RS.  I remember picking it up in Detroit Lakes Minnesota after it had made the 22-hour journey from Washington State by way of Tino Fortunato and his All Fours Rally Team and thinking that very thing.  One year later and the story has changed all over again, but I think it's the right move.

A few weeks ago, the Subaru Stars aligned in a very odd way.  A good friend of mine had been in an accident with his older Legacy and insurance had totaled it.  He was looking for a car to replace it and I knew of a 2006 Subaru Baja Turbo that had just been traded in to the Subaru retailer that I work at.  When I mentioned it to him, he said "if I were to buy anything from ya, I'd want that RS."  That got me thinking.

When I bought my 2016 WRX STI two years ago, I've pretty much had two of the same kind of car.  Both my 2.5 RS and my STI were manual transmission sports cars, neither of which my wife could drive.  Neither really worked well to go run errands with or load stuff into and, if I ever needed to steal my wife's Forester to pick up something too big for my cars, she'd be stuck at home with two cars she couldn't drive.  So when he asked about buying my RS, things started to make sense.  Adding an automatic Baja to our Subaru family would still be fun to drive but be more practical to work with.  Plus, of the short list of people I would ever trust this gem-of-a RS with, he'd be one of them.

While I loved driving the RS everywhere, I knew it was the right thing to do and that he was the right person to own it.  We figured stuff out pretty easily and, after I had fixed a few things I hadn't had time to tackle yet, he brought the family over to take it home.  It made me proud that my mentor and friend was so excited to get into a Impreza RS like the one he had owned before, and even more proud to know that maybe the next generation will get to enjoy this Subaru classic.

Meet the Baja Blast!

I recently found a 2006 Subaru Baja Turbo that was in need of some TLC.  With the body in good shape, an accident-free title, and an affordable price, I managed to make it mine.  This one is an Automatic with a 2.5 liter Turbocharged Boxer and 114,000 miles on the clock.  The interior was really dirty and the drivers seat leather was torn, but after some serious cleaning, I got it back in good shape.  It needs some mechanical love but will be great once it's all caught up.  To get it, I had to sell my 1999 Subaru Impreza 2.5 RS Coupe, but it went to a good home and I'm excited to now have a fun AND functional car.  

There's a laundry-list of things I need to repair and replace to get it running right.  The brake pads, brake rotors, shocks, suspension bushings, and endlinks were all pretty shot so I've been going through those to fix em.  As with any vehicle that has lived it's life in Nebraska, the salted winter roads have not been kind to these components and some of the bolts have been troublesome to remove.  Still, I've been making good progress with these items and should have it riding right pretty soon.

Once I'm done getting the "Baja Blast" up to speed, I'll hopefully have a better idea of which direction to go with this in terms of modifications.  I think I've at least settled on the idea of not going any lower than stock ride-height, as I do like the 8.4 inches of Ground Clearance on this.  I've never had a tall Subaru before, so the idea of going off-road and having fun where my 2016 WRX STI can't go.  Light bars, lift kits, knobby tires, there's a lot to consider in this realm.  

It's nice having two different spectrums of Subaru-ness at my disposal.  The WRX STI is great on pavement and has a good time on dirt for Rallycross.  Plus I get my manual transmission fix with it and a good amount of power.  The Baja is a Blast in it's own way, giving me good ground clearance and hauling capacity while still delivering fun with it's turbocharged engine.  I feel like it's a good mix and look forward to enjoying both ends of the spectrum with these two.