Top Times in the Tundra!

February 22nd marked the first rallycross event on the 2015 NRSCCA schedule.  Appropriately dubbed "The Chili Bowl", this event was bitterly cold.  With high temperatures in the mid teens and wind chill to knock it down to the single-digits, you'd have to be CRAZY to attend, right?  One look at the roster for the event tells a different story.  27 entries, with 16 of them Subarus, made for the biggest rallycross season opener for the Nebraska Region SCCA ever.

It was quite the show!  There were plenty of familiar faces in attendance, but the bulk of the entry list were drivers that were new to rallycross.  For many, this was their first event attacking on dirt with their road warriors.  Still, that didn't stop them from improving with each lap and learning with every corner.  After the dust had settled, Subarus occupied the top spots of all three of the All-Wheel Drive categories: Stock, Prepared, and Modified.

Speaking of top times, in a previous post I mentioned that my car would have a co-driver.  Jon Simmons gave me awesome advice and helped me and my 2.5 RS Coupe to improve lap after lap and go toe-to-toe with other seasoned drivers at the event.  Thanks to his guidance and expertise, I managed to land 3rd in my class and 5th overall.  Not only that, but Jon wheeled his way to 1st in our class and overall for the entire day!  I'm admittedly proud that he did it (and beat out other "faster" cars) with my RS.  It's encouraging to see a result like that in a car I've been working on.

Regardless of the results, I was personally most happy with the experience overall.  Working with people at the event, talking with drivers in-between runs, and the fantastic support and help from my co-driver made the event more than enjoyable.

Check out pictures from the event here> Rallycross Photos

Strömung Exhaust - '00 2.5 RS Coupe

As preparations for the 2015 NRSCCA Rallycross season come to a head for my Impreza RS Coupe, there's a bit of boxer rumble in the air.  That's because we've fitted a Strömung Axleback Exhaust to this project car and it sounds brilliant!  While it certainly won't help with better times or quicker cornering, this car sounds like a Subaru again.

The exhaust was found through Boxer4Racing.  With the help of Russ' Garage and a mid-pipe from Aki's GC4, we bolted up the new system and fitted COBB 15mm Hangers to secure it into place, as the stock hangers were too flimsy and loose to grab hold of the new shiny Strömung axleback.

This exhaust really lives up to it's name.  Strömung literally means "flow" and you can hear and feel it while you're driving.  The spirited driving I did around town with it is only a prelude to what I'm hoping to hear with the aggressive cone-dodging coming up this weekend, so I'm really looking forward to kicking up dirt with that smooth yet distinctive growl!  I'll be adding a video with the exhaust note once I figure out a half-decent way to capture the sound on this page for reference.

Preparing for Chili Bowl!

The first Rallycross event for the NRSCCA is fast approaching, so my revived RS is getting prepared for the start of the 2015 season.  There's still a few changes in store, a few adjustments to be made, but I'm more than just excited to go hit the dirt like I was last year.  This season will take the RS and it's silly owner (me) to a new level.

I started off the new year by becoming a Member of the SCCA.  Plans are to attend all 6 Rallycross events this year and be more involved with the organization.  I still have a lot to learn, but another key component to that involvement is some guidance from veteran drivers in the area.  Last year, I learned SO much just from sharing a car with a fellow RS owner and Subaru Enthusiast.  I quickly discovered that the car was not limiting success... but my abilities as a driver.



For the first event of the 2015 Season, the guy driving that Impreza in the video above will be co-driving with me.  Jon Simmons has competed at the National level for SCCA Rallycross before and was very involved with the NRSCCA Rallycross and Autocross programs.  On top of his work behind the wheels, Jon also started the Nebraska Subaru Owners Club in 2003 and has owned an impressive lineup of Subarus, so he's no stranger to these cars.  I'm excited for the chance to share the wheel of a car I've been working on with him!

The event is this Sunday, so I'll be buttoning up things on the RS on Thursday to get it all squared away.

New STI "Impressive" at Sno*Drift

On January 30th and 31st, only one team sat atop the list of times for the 17 snow and ice covered stages of the Sno*Drift Rally in Michigan.  David Higgins, Craig Drew, and Subaru Rally Team USA owned every slippery inch of the rally, starting off the 2015 Rally America season with first place points.  Winning Rallies (or Championships for that matter) is nothing new for this team, but the car that did it today was fresh out of Vermont Sportscar's garage: the brand-new 2015 Subaru WRX STI.  With that in mind, having such a successful and problem-free weekend at one of the most challenging events of the season is quite the accomplishment in itself!

David Higgins put it perfectly.

"It's really impressive to run a full race with a brand new car and not have any problems or setup changes whatsoever. It's a testament to Vermont SportsCar’s attention to detail and preparation."


The team will head to Missouri on the 27th and 28th this month for the Rally in the 100 Acre Wood to put this new car to the test once again.  We'll see if the performance at Sno*Drift was Beginners Luck or if this car really is the next best thing!  Last year, the 100 Acre Wood wasn't a high point in the #75 car's season.  Plus, if Ken Block makes his usual appearance at his favorite event, it should be a fun battle between Ford and Subaru again.

Sno*Drift 2015 wasn't just a shining debut for SRT USA's latest ride.  The new STI was joined at the podium with familiar company.  The top five spots at Sno*Drift went to teams toting that familiar Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive.  Nick Roberts, Lauchlin O'Sullivan, Garry Gill, and Peter Fetela all piloted their Subarus to victory through Michigan's icy back roads!

Over this same weekend, Winter Storm Linus passed over the Midwest.  Omaha-area forecasters underestimated this storm, as the 2-3 inch predictions were smashed by nearly 10 inch reports in some areas.  As such, a few of my buddies and I had a great time enjoying the snow in a similar fashion to the rallying that took place further north in Michigan. 

It was truly a Subaru weekend with rally heritage shining strong!

Snow Hooning

On January 31st, Winter Storm Linus dropped over half a foot of underestimated snow on the Omaha area.  For most, this would mean tip-toeing around local roads or avoiding them all together.  However, for a few Subaru owners, it meant it was playtime!!  We rounded up some local enthusiasts and headed to a big empty parking lot taking turns doing cookies, donuts, and other sweet treats.

Aside from the fun we had, the lineup was pretty sweet!  My 2001 2.5 RS Coupe was the oldest there.  Then we had a Bugeye, Blobeye, an '08 WRX sedan, a '11 WRX Hatchback, an XV Crosstrek, a '15 WRX and a '15 STI.  All we were really missing was a Hawkeye, but we didn't have much time to track one down.  After only a few cars had managed to take to the wide open spaces, some snob in a Volvo proudly professed that she had called the local Sheriff.  We managed to squeeze in another 15 minutes in before some blue and red flashy lights threatened to arrest us all.  Tails tucked between our legs, we vacated the empty lot and split up.

It was a bit of a downer, considering that this parking lot was home to HOURS of play last winter for dozens of enthusiasts when a similar storm had passed through.  Instead of helping stranded motorists or chasing down burglars, the angry Sheriff shooed our Subarus off the lot.  Still, we managed to have a good time with everyone who was there.  We'll need to find a different place to play next time the flakes are falling!

RS Revival: Gettin' Rumbly

A friend of mine working a corner at a local rallycross event made an interesting observation last year.  Thanks to the Gorilla Top-Mount Cold Air Intake, you can hear my RS approaching... but as it passes, it sort of disappears.  At this particular event, it was like my car was a ghost vanishing into a cloud of dust and dirt until, of course, the cloud settled and you saw a familiar RS trying to keep it together on a long banked turn.  Unlike most rumbly Subarus, my car's exhaust is very quiet.  Perhaps... too quiet!

This is because of a quick fix that still hasn't been revisited.  When this rust-bucket RS changed hands, it had a lot of problems.  Cracked windshield, down on power, mismatched wheels and tires, body rust, rotting suspension, bad wheel bearings and, the most noticeable issue when I first fired it up: missing 45% of it's exhaust.  In that first month of repairs, part of a 2004 WRX STI exhaust was welded on to the midpipe where the axle back had rusted and broken off.

This temporary fix is still in place, but now the system is leaking.  It whistles pretty loudly when on the interstate and it's high time something was actually done about the exhaust.  The plan is to repair and improve the entire system.  The great people at Russ' Garage are helping me once again with this, and I got some advice from the exhaust master himself.  After hearing his recommendations and ideas for it, we came up with a plan to bring some boxer rumble out of the RS.

I've decided to turn to Strömung for an axle-back exhaust and then repair and redo the rest of the stock exhaust.  To my delight, I found that there aren't many here locally that have heard of this system... which is great for someone like me who wants something unique.  Additionally, I've found that the Strömung exhaust has been embraced by many enthusiasts and GC owners.  One of the video clips I found featuring this distinctive exhaust note was on a car from RS25.com, which I frequently use to find parts and get ideas from other 1st Generation Impreza owners.  The Strömung exhaust should be here in a week or so.  I'm excited to finally get the ball rolling on this!

You should Rallycross!

Whether you know it or not, at the heart of the Subaru in your driveway is a heritage paved in dirt.  Rally and Rallycross have been the staple motorsport for these cars for decades, so why not bring that out of your car?  If you have even an OUNCE of interest in motorsports with your Subaru, finding a local Rallycross to attend is probably the easiest and most accessible ways to have fun and get dirty!

What's Rallycross?   It's the most widespread and readily accessible form of extreme dirt motorsport. Drivers dodge cones through a course on an unpaved open lot running against the clock.  The reason I say it's accessible is because, unlike a full-on performance stage rally, roll-cages are not required.  You can literally take your daily driver to a Rallycross, borrow a helmet, and blast through the dirt!

There are different classes organized by how many wheels get power and what kind of modifications are on the car.  It's not how fast the car is... it's how good of a driver you are!  Runs are timed and end results are made up of the total of multiple runs, not a single-best run like Autocross. Garage Queens need not apply!  That doesn't mean you'll trash your ride, but it's certainly going to be hard for those who keep their All-Wheel Drive beauties locked away in the winter or who park in the boonies of the grocery store lot.  Unless you're getting ultra-competitive and getting after it like a bandit, you can still dodge those cones and have fun with very minimal risk of damage to your car.  The most I've broken on my car in rallycross was an end link, and it was old and gross anyways.  Of course there's risk with anything, but there are safety stewards on-site to make sure the track is safe and to help out if there are issues.

In 2014, I was able to make it to 3 NRSCCA Rallycross events with my 2.5 RS Coupe.  Not only is it a lot of fun to throw this car around in the dirt, but I try to improve with each pass and get better as a driver.  It's also a lot of fun hanging out with the drivers, getting help and advice, but also the camaraderie of being with fellow Subaru owners, as the field of cars is usually full of them.  Many of us meet up in the morning to drive down to the site together.  So it's not only fun for the individual, but it's also a blast because of the people that are there.

Subaru is also an Official Contingency Sponsor of the RallyCross National Challenge for the SCCA.   Eligibility of the Subaru contingency is specific and pertains to certain classes in Rally.  Simply bring your Subaru to an event, put 3 "Subaru" stickers on it, drive it like you stole it, and get a cash prize if you finish in the top 3!

Many programs don't even require membership, just a quick fee, a waiver, and off you go!  Actually, starting off as a non-member is a great way to start off with these groups, as they usually discount membership fees if you've attended an event as a non-member before.  It's very easy, very accessible, and tons of fun!