Flatirons Syndicate Motorsports Podcast

Subaru's and Dirt Roads go hand in hand. But over the last decade or so, lots of you have been taking your Subaru's much further, and into more challenging terrain. On this episode of the Podcast, I wanted to dive into taking Subaru's Off Road, and I was able to find some great guests to bring me up to speed. Ryan Douthit of Driving Sports TV Carey Lando - aka MtnSubi Milton Salguero - aka silverbulletxv So how good is X-Mode? And how capable is a Forester Wilderness? Or a Forester Hybrid? What is the most Off-Road Capable Subaru on sale right now? We get into the weeds and the rocks on this episode. If you want to find out more, be sure to check out these pages for lots more Subaru Off Road content: https://www.youtube.com/@drivingsports https://www.instagram.com/silverbulletxv/ https://www.instagram.com/mtnsubi/ Thanks for watching and Stay Tuned!

For Episode #210 of the Podcast, Dewey, Tanner, and Art are back. This episode starts out with a quick discussion of a new Shirt design that we are launching here at Flatirons Tuning. You can check out the new shirts here: https://www.flatironstuning.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=Sprue From there, we dive into our main topic which is the Subaru Market. If you had $10,000, $20,000, $30,000, or more, what Subaru would you buy? Or what Non-Subaru would you want? We all go through our picks, and land on the best choice at each price point. What does this tell us about the current Subaru market? And what does this tell us about how Subarus compare to other makes in those price points? Let us know who found the best choice at each price point in the comments. Thanks for watching and Stay Tuned!

Olly Clark of Roger Clark Motorsport is back on the Podcast for this episode.We catch up with Olly first about the latest developments of Gobstopper 3.Matt Clark has found a way to add AVCS to their GS3 spec shortblock, and this is in part motivated by getting the car to a point where they think it would be ready to race up Pikes Peak.We talk about how Pikes Peak and the Nurburgring are similar, but also very different.Subaru has a long history in Rally and RCM has been right there through a lot of that time. What would it mean to Olly and RCM if Subaru returned to the WRC?Also, Olly's son Archie has been working his way up the driving ladder in Europe, building the foundation for a professional racing career. What does that look like, and would it be possible for Subaru to develop a car that could fit into one of those series?Thanks for watching and Stay Tuned!

Dewey has just locked up his 3rd Gridlife Street Mod Championship this year, and more and more Subaru's are not only competing, but making it onto the podium in both the Street and Street Mod class. Not long ago, it seemed like most everyone was building anything but a Subaru as a race car unless they were building a Rally Car. But now Subaru is back, and it seems like there are more Subaru's turning up at local track days, Gridlife events, etc. So what has changed? In this episode, Jon sits down with Dewey and Nick from Subimods to try to figure out where this new wave of Subaru's is coming from. Thanks for watching and Stay Tuned!

Tanner Foust is just back from driving the RUF B8 at Goodwood. He has won championships in US Rally Cross, Formula Drift, he has 4 X-Games Gold Medals, and this is just the top line of his racing resume.He was also one of the hosts of Top Gear America, which is most likely where many of you know him from.Having been part of motorsports and media for more than 2 decades now, he is now part of the Driven Media Platform.But way back at the beginning of his career, one of the first National Championships that he won was the 2005 Rally America Production GT Championship with his Co-Driver Scott Crouch, driving the Flatirons Tuning WRX.In this episode, we catch up with Tanner about what he is doing now, reminisce about those early days, and we talk about the new Driven Automotive Enthusiast platform that is launching soon.If you want to follow along with what Tanner is up to, check out his Instagram here:https://www.instagram.com/tannerfoust/Here is a link to the Driven Streaming Platform you can check out as well:https://www.getdriven.co/Thanks for watching and Stay Tuned!

Subaru's Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive allows them to excel in many different applications, but one that might not be as obvious is Drag Racing.Through the years, this has presented a number of different problems. The first of which was, how do you make big power with a Subaru EJ engine? Then, how do you keep the drivetrain together once you are aggressively launching the car and making big power?There are no shortage of challenges here, but there are a few people that have been diligently working through all of these problems, finding solutions, and making Subaru's faster and faster each year.One of the shops that is at the front of making Subaru's fast in the 1/4 Mile is Prime Motoring.For this episode of the podcast, Jon sits down with Demetri from Prime Motoring and Harvey from The Boostcreep to find out more about all that it takes to make a Subaru fast.Thanks for watching and Stay Tuned!

For Episode 205 of the Flatirons Syndicate Podcast:Dewey just locked up his 3rd championship in Gridlife Street Mod class out at Watkins Glenn last weekend competing in Gridlife Summer Apex. We start out talking about all that went into making that happen.Art is just back from Subie Fest California where he was in the Overtake booth, but also got to ride in a couple of very cool Subarus as well.From there, we talk about the State of Subaru Enthusiasm. What are people excited about, and how well is Subaru connecting with us as Enthusiasts?Thanks for watching and Stay Tuned!

Cobb Tuning has been at the center of Subaru Performance basically since it was founded in 1999. When they released the first version of the AccesPort in 2004, they completely changed the way that Tuning worked, and established the foundation for what the future of Subaru Performance would be for decades to come. In this episode, Jon and Dan (Mach V Motorsports) sit down with Tadd Crayton (President of Cobb Tuning) and Billy Brooks (Chief Technical and Compliance Officer) to get a clear picture of where Cobb is now, and what they are working on for the future. We start out the conversation talking about the Green Speed initiative which was the point where Cobb set a new standard for CARB compliance for all of their Performance Parts. We then talk about the changes that are happening at Cobb this year as they re-structure to work with some of the brands that their Parent Company (Engineered Performance Technologies) has added to their group, specifically Grimmspeed, PRL, and Hondata. From there, we talk about some of the things that Cobb has been working on for the future, specifically a CARB approved Down Pipe (which still has a little development to go, but is getting close) and the possibility of a CARB approved Flex-Fuel kit in the future. Thanks for watching and Stay Tuned!

The path of the Automotive Enthusiast is one that is full of fun and excitement, but there are many traps and challenges that await you along the road. Those of us that have been building, tracking, or racing cars for years will tell you that those traps and challenges are how you learn and that finding your way through these trials is as much a part of being an enthusiast as having a perfect trouble-free day at the track. There is an argument out there that the less you know about what could go wrong, or how challenging a task may be, the easier it is to get excited about it, and the more likely you are to jump in head first to the challenge. Ignorance is Bliss as they say… I was having a conversation with Dewey about some of the recent issues that we ran into with our Pikes Peak car, specifically about how a very simple and cheap part caused a somewhat significant issue on our run up the mountain this year, and how frustrating it can be to work through these problems. He said that there has to be something like the Dunning-Kruger Effect that applies to Race Cars that related to what we were working through now, and which is something that most all of us who have frequently tracked our cars, or worked on or around a race team have run into. It was immediately clear that this was a broader conversation that we needed to have, and we decided to bring in Tony from Turn in Concepts to help us work through all of this, and hopefully gain a clearer perspective on why we push through all of this. I think that there is likely something in this conversation for anyone from a true novice that is just starting to think of taking their car to the track for the first time, through to someone like us that has been working around race cars for a while now, with full knowledge of what it takes to properly prep a car, and all that could go wrong when you are pushing a car at speed. I hope that you enjoy the conversation and Stay Tuned!

On this episode of the Podcast, we talk to Matt and Austin from North American Motorsports Research, better known as NAMR.They have developed and released the Subaru Tuning software - Atlas which is a free software that lets you get access to the ECU of yourFA20DIT or FA24DIT Subaru WRX and see what the ECU is going, make changes, tune your car, Datalog, etc.It has been a long time since a new Tuning software come out for a Subaru, so when we heard about this, we had to reach out to the folks at NAMR to learn more.If you want to learn more, here is a link to the NAMR site:https://motorsportsresearch.org/Thanks for watching and Stay Tuned!

Mike Kojima is someone that needs no introduction because of the notoriety that he has from his roll at Sport Compact Car magazine, and more recently MotoIQ.Mike was at Pikes Peak this year with the Evasive Motorsports Ioniq 5 N and our paths crossed and I was able to get him to come on and have a chat on the Podcast!In this episode, we talk about what it was like working with the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N, and how it compared to some of the earlier cars that he helped get ready to run up Pikes Peak.We also talk about Subaru, what he likes about the EJ and FA engines, and what needs attention.We also talk about how the STI stacks up compared to an EVO, and what might be coming out from Subaru in the not too distant future.I hope you enjoy the conversation and Stay Tuned!We mention a couple of videos that Mike has made about Subaru on his MotoIQ channel, and here are links to them:EJ vs FA engines:https://youtu.be/AU9U9JCCwqo?si=1uGLY7Z01_6tR3CrHow to build a Subaru that won't blow up:https://youtu.be/cRr2pc9ctgE?si=EVkG7V7y772-c7N0Why Subaru engines blow up:https://youtu.be/ZrnHrNla17o?si=6dU4Aat3FcGb4lcw

In the Automotive Aftermarket world, there has been a change happening in the background that has been under the radar up until the last few years.A few Private Equity groups have been slowly starting to take hold of more and more Automotive brands, and in some cases of late, the changes that are coming out of this are becoming more and more noticeable.With this in mind, Jon sat down with Justin from Overtake USA, and Dan from Mach V Motorsport to dive into the subject.For this episode, we decided to take a look at:- What it looks like when Private Equity invests in a company- How and why it can go well- When it can go wrongJustin has lived through both sides of this experience with the first company that he founded, Grimmspeed, so he has a lot of experience and perspective on this to share.Thanks for listening and Stay Tuned!

There has been a lot that has gone on since we last had this group together, and we wanted to cover all of those topics in this episode.Dewey was just running his car Boogie at Gridlife Midwest Fest, and we start off talking about how that all went.Subaru has now announced that they are working 3 new Manual Transmission cars that should be coming out by the end of next year, the most exciting of which is what they are saying will be the production version of the STI Performance B Concept car. But it sounds like they may also be making the STI Transmission (TY85) available in at least some WRX models???What does this all mean, and what will we see here in the US market? We give you our thoughts.Finally, Tanner has picked up a 2005 STI, that is very close to stock, and it is basically a Time Capsule to 2005 (It has been tuned on a V1 AccessPort for the last 19 years). Thanks for watching and Stay Tuned!

We have been getting a lot of questions lately about DCCD Controllers and how the Subaru STI DCCD works after we put out some videos looking at the workings of the DCCD.We had enough that we decided to put together a Q and A to answer them, and it was long enough that we decided we should put it out as a Podcast!In this episode, we talk about:Which controller is better, MAP DCCD, or iDCCD?What happens if you don't install a controller after doing a swap?How long can you leave the DCCD controller in full lock?What happens if you always have the DCCD in full open?And more!Be sure to check out our other videos looking at the DCCD, and if you have any other questions, leave them in the comments!Thanks for watching and Stay Tuned!

What is the best Driving Experience?Is it Analog?Or is it Digital?Most of what you will hear lately revolves around an Analog Driving Experience.But is really as good as it gets?Part of the motivation for this topic is the Driver Controlled Center Differential that comes in the STI. The more you start to understand how much of a difference the DCCD configuration can make, it becomes clear that this is one of the key aspects that makes an STI or modified Subaru handle the way that it does.But is that still considered Analog?And are their other more "Digital" aspects of a cars handling or driving feel that also improve the overall experience?This is the topic that Art, Dewey, Tanner, and Jon discuss on this episode of the Flatirons Syndicate Podcast.Thanks for listening and Stay Tuned!

It is almost hard to picture now, but there was a long time when we couldn't get a WRX or STI here in the states, even though they were available most everywhere else around the world.Then, in 2001, the WRX finally landed.In this episode, Jon talks with Justin from Overtake USA and Dan from Mach V Motorsports about what it was like when the WRX finally landed, and how it changed the world of Sport Compact Cars here in the US.What got Subaru to take the chance of bringing the WRX and STI over, and what might this tell us about the Future of Subaru?Thanks for watching and Stay Tuned!

There are two things that Subaru has told us the BRZ will never get from the day that the design was revealed.1. It will never get a turbocharged engine2. It will never be All Wheel DriveBut now they have built the Boxer Rally spec.Z which is both.How did we get to this point?When we thought that this AWD BRZ Rally Car was just going to be a clone of the Toyota Celica that we have seen testing for the 2027 WRC season, it seemed like this was at least going to be part of Subaru's return to the WRC. But it seemed like it was going to be using Toyota's engine and drivetrain.Now we know that the Boxer Rally spec.Z is at least using a Subaru engine (A turbocharged BRZ FA24 from the looks of it), but that also makes it seem like this may not have nearly as much to do with a return to the WRC as we thought.So why is Subaru building this car? What are they testing and what do they hope to learn?After going through a number of videos from the launch of the car, I have a couple of guesses.Thanks for watching and Stay Tuned!

For Episode #195 of the Flatirons Syndicate Podcast, Tanner, Art, Dewey, and Jon sit down to talk about recent events.Art is just back from a two week trip to Japan, and we talk about what he did, and Subaru culture in Japan.Dewey just won Street Mod at Gridlife South Carolina and set a new track record in the process.Subaru Just revealed the Boxer Rally spec.Z All Wheel Drive BRZ Rally Car, and we give our initial impressions about that as well.Thanks for watching and Stay Tuned!

Ryan Douthit of Driving Sports TV is our guest for this episode of the Flatirons Syndicate Podcast.Ryan gets to drive most all of the new vehicles as Subaru releases them, so he has driving most all of the newest Subaru's, so he has a unique perspective on the direction that Subaru is moving in.In this episode, we talk about the newest Subaru EV's, including the Subaru Trailseeker, and Subaru Uncharted, and how they compare to their Combustion counterparts.We also talk about what he thinks about the STI returning to the US market, and the direction that Subaru is going in terms of Performance.If you haven't all ready, check out the Driving Sports TV review of the Trailseeker here:https://youtu.be/bDlvUUzaewM?si=PgkPGqFLz6w5epV6And their review of the Subaru Uncharted here:https://youtu.be/bDlvUUzaewM?si=PgkPGqFLz6w5epV6We also mention the Silver Bullet XV video testing the Trailseeker, and here are links to those videos as well:https://youtu.be/bDlvUUzaewM?si=PgkPGqFLz6w5epV6https://youtu.be/YUp2XQfFx4o?si=93HJbqPF828LCc2LThanks for watching and Stay Tuned!

For Episode #193 of the Flatirons Syndicate Podcast, we couldn't land on a single topic, so we covered just about everything that was on our minds.Were the days of Subaru Forums really the good old days?When was it the PEAK time to modify your Subaru?How does the BRZ fit in the Subaru lineup?Are Bugeyes easy to find these days? What about First Gen BRZs?And lots more.A big thanks to Art, Tanner, and Dewey for making time to chat again, and I hope that you enjoy the conversation.Thanks for watching and Stay Tuned!