Episoder
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A couple of weeks ago now iWire made the somewhat surprising announcement that they were going to stop offering harness merging services for people that were doing engine swaps in their Subaru's. Helping with harnesses seemed like it was fundamental to iWire's business, so why would they move away from it?On this episode, Jon and Jeremy chat with Brian about what went into the decision to make this change, and what exciting things are on the horizon from iWire. Where CAN Bus was a point of frustration in terms of making swaps work, iWire has now found a way to do some pretty cool things with it.Thanks for listening and Stay Tuned!
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For episode #163 of the Flatirons Syndicate podcast, Jon is in the shop with Mike Pettiford of Go 4 It Services, and Jeremy of Money Shift Rally.Jeremy just got back from Ridge Rally in California, so we start with his recap of the event.While he was there, he needed to rent a car, so he got an Automatic VB WRX. Yes, the one with the CVT (aka Subaru Performance Transmission).What if the Auto WRX was good? What if it was fun to drive? Jeremy put almost 600 miles on one, so we had to discuss his impressions.Thanks for watching and Stay Tuned!
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Mangler du episoder?
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For episode #162 of the Flatirons Syndicate Podcast, Jon sits down to talk with Tasso and Jeremy about what has been on their minds.We start off talking about what it means now that iWire is phasing out their harness merge service. Are standalone ECU's now going to be the best solution?From there, we go over our plans to change the suspension on our 2024 VB WRX shop car. Should we build for Tarmac? Dirt? We talk about how important it is to try things out so that you can experience them and learn.And finally, we talk about some of the changes that are being voted on for the Colorado Hill Climb Association in the Rally class. There has been a lot of discussion about the need for Co-Drivers, and how it relates to minimum weight in the class.Thanks for watching and Stay Tuned!In this Episode:00:00 - Intro00:44 - iWire is ending their harness merges07:55 - Are Standalones the answer?14:00 - Our plans for the 2024 WRX Suspension33:00 - Why it is important to try out parts, settings, etc.45:00 - Best budget RallyX car?50:00 - First race of the 2025 ARA Rally Season - Ridge Rally55:00 - CHCA Rule Changes for the Rally class for 20251:02:00 - Minimum weight Vs. Restrictors1:20:00 - Final thoughts
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When it was announced that the WRX TR would be getting 6-Piston Brembo brakes, it sparked two questions.First was how easy it would be to put these on a standard WRX?Second, are these Brembos the same as what came on the 2019 - 2021 STI?We were curious too, and we decided to make this the first modification to our 2024 WRX project car. The install went very smoothly, and the performance upgrade that this offers for the price really can't be beat!Here is a link to the kits up on www.FlatironsTuning.com to do this same swap as well!https://www.flatironstuning.com/flatirons-tuning-wrx-tr-6-pot-2-pot-brake-upgrade-kit-2022-wrxWe go into all the details about what it takes to fit these brakes to the VB WRX, what parts you need, and what wheels fit these brakes as well.This install was really easy, and we can't wait to take the car out to test out the new Brembos!Thanks for watching and Stay Tuned!
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If you have a WRX or and STI, and you have taken it to the track a few times, or have tuned it up to make more power, you may be at the point where you want or need to upgrade your brakes.
There are a number of common upgrades, such as the Subaru 4-Pot and 2-Pot calipers from the 06-07 WRX, or the STI Brembos. And ever since the STI got the larger Brembo 6-piston calipers, those are becoming a more common upgrade as well for both WRXs and STIs.
So when would you want to go with a set of OEM Plus calipers, and when would you want to look at a motorsport brake option from AP Racing or Alcon?
We go through all of these options in this video and talk about the pros and cons of each. If you are interested in any of these kits, or would like to get more information about them, here are links to all of the brake kits discussed on our site:
Subaru 4-Pot and 2-Pots
https://www.flatironstuning.com/subaru-4-pot-2-pot-brake-upgrade
STI Black Brembo Calipers
https://www.flatironstuning.com/subaru-oem-black-brembo-calipers-front-pair-08-17-sti
https://www.flatironstuning.com/brembo-rr-bk
AP Racing 325mm Brake Kit
https://www.flatironstuning.com/essex-designed-ap-racing-comp-big-brake-kit-04-17-sti
AP Racing Rally Brake Kit
https://www.flatironstuning.com/ap-racing-by-essex-rally-comp-brake-kit-front-cp8350-299mm-93-21-sti-wrx-2-5rs
WRX TR Brembo 6-Piston Brake Kits
https://www.flatironstuning.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=Flatirons%20Tunign%20WRX%20TR
Roger Clark Alcon Brake Kits
https://www.flatironstuning.com/rcm2836
https://www.flatironstuning.com/rcm2960
https://www.flatironstuning.com/rcm2837
AP Racing Radi-Cal Brake Kit for the STI
https://www.flatironstuning.com/13-01-10067
Thanks for watching and Stay Tuned!
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There is no question that car prices are the highest that they have ever been. This was the topic of our latest Podcast in fact. But that got us wondering what would happen if we looked at current Subaru prices another way.
What if we looked at a 2024 WRX but with 2002 dollars?
What if we took inflation out of the equation to compare the 2002 WRX with the 2024 WRX? Would the current car be a better or worse value?
And how does the STI factor into that?
We ran some comparisons and the results weren't what we were expecting. We go through all of these pricing comparisons in this video, and talk about what this means for the performance value of the 2024 WRX, and why this may well be part of the reason that Subaru stopped making the STI.
Thanks for watching and Stay Tuned!
If you want to play with the calculator we were using for this video, here is a link to what we were using:
https://www.minneapolisfed.org/about-us/monetary-policy/inflation-calculator
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Here in the US, we have only ever had the WRX STI, but in other parts of the world, there have been STI versions of other Subaru models like the Legacy and Forester. In the Legacy STI and Forester STI, the power and performance of the car was tweaked by the STI, which is why they got the "STI" badge.So we got to thinking, since Subaru sells the most Outbacks, Foresters, and Crosstreks of all of their models, why haven't they made "STI" versions of them for the US market?Considering the success of tuned versions of cars like the Porsche Cayenne and BMX X5, it seems like there could easily be a market for this type of vehicle. This would be perfect for those of us that had a WRX or STI, and then needed something bigger for daily use as well.This is out topic for episode #161 of the Flatirons Syndicate Podcast.Give this a listen and let us know what you think in the comments below.Thanks for listening and Stay Tuned!
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For episode #160 of the Flatirons Syndicate Podcast, Jon, Tasso, and Jeremy sit down to try to figure out why cars are so expensive.I'd make the argument that cars that cost more than $60,000 are irrelevant to most of us, but most of the fun cars are sitting just above or well above that mark now.So what happened?And how do cup holders fit in?Thanks for watching and make sure you are following OTC Racing and Money Shift Rally to stay up on what Tasso and Jeremy are up to as well.Stay Tuned!
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A few years ago, Subaru and Vermont Sports Car decided to build a car to push the boundaries of what was possible with a Subaru, and they called it The Airslayer. That car was used to create a Gymkhana video and also went on to set the overall record in the Mt. Washington Hill Climb.And since then Subaru and Vermont Sports Car have gone on to build The Family Huckster, and their latest build, Project Midnight.All of these cars are very fast and very cool, but they are almost entirely bespoke. The only actual Subaru parts on these cars maybe the odd badge, and maybe a grill...So are they actually Subarus?For this episode of the Podcast, Jon, Tasso, and Jeremy talk about these new cars, and what Subaru may be trying to accomplish by building them.Thanks for listening and Stay Tuned!
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For Episode #158 of the Flatirons Syndicate Podcast, Tasso and Jeremy are both in the shop this week.It was September 2022 when Tasso rolled his Rally car at the Alpine Horizon Rally Sprint, and the rebuild that was initially supposed to take 6 months has now been going on for 2 years.Jeremy and Cameron ended up rolling their WRX Rally car at the 2024 Rally Colorado, and so they are in the middle of a rebuild as well.With anything as involved as building up a Race Car or Rally Car from scratch, scope-creep can be a real problem.We talk through Tasso's build, Jeremy's build, and some of the issues that we have been having with the Flatirons Rally car of late and do our best to give you some pointers of what to do when a build or problems starts snowballing out of control.Thanks for watching and Stay Tuned!
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If you have been following with our Podcast, you know that a lot has been changing in the Automotive Aftermarket in the last couple of years.In the wake of the Cobb Tuning EPA settlement, one question that was on the top of our minds lately is how building a car has changed in the last 5 years. Is it better or easier to build a car now compared to 5 years ago?In this episode, Jon, Tasso of OTC Racing and Jeremy of Money Shift Rally sit down to try and answer this question.Can we still build a Project Car in 2024?Thanks for watching and Stay Tuned!
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On September 16th, news broke that Cobb Tuning had settled with the EPA and was fined $2.9 million for violating the Clean Air Act.With Cobb Tuning being so involved with the Subaru community, this definitely caught a lot of our attention. Jon and Harvey from The Boostcreep talk about the implications of Cobb's EPA settlement, and what it could mean for the Tuning industry going forward.If you would like to take a look at the the Cobb Tuning EPA Settlement, or the other cases mentioned in the podcast, here are links to them:Cobb Tuninghttps://www.epa.gov/enforcement/cobb-tuning-products-llc-clean-air-act-settlementhttps://www.epa.gov/system/files/documents/2024-09/cobbtuningproductsllc-cp.pdfCummins Dieselhttps://www.epa.gov/enforcement/2024-cummins-inc-vehicle-emission-control-violations-settlementRudy's Performance Partshttps://www.epa.gov/enforcement/rudys-performance-parts-inc-and-aaron-rudolf-clean-air-act-settlement-information-sheetThanks for watching and Stay Tuned!
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It seems like every year EV's are getting a bit better, and this year, a couple of them have made a big jump forward.As I have hinted at in a few earlier videos, I am now driving a 2024 Tesla Model 3 Performance, and when Mike Pettiford of Go 4 it Services heard this, he was initially couldn't believe it. Mike brought down his 2023 Golf R and we both took a drive in the others car to get a sense of how they were to drive, then we sat down to discuss how close EV's were starting to get to something like a classic Sport Compact car to drive.Was the Tesla fun to drive? Could it handle anything like the Golf R?We talk about it all on this episode of the Flatirons Syndicate Podcast.If you would like to stay up on what Mike is up to at Go 4 it Racing, make sure to follow him here:https://www.instagram.com/go4itracingteam/https://www.facebook.com/go4itservicesThanks for watching and Stay Tuned!
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You all had a lot of good questions about Rally Suspension, and for Episode #154 of the Flatirons Syndicate podcast, we are going to answer them.Subaru has a long history of competing in Rally with the Impreza, WRX, and STI. If you want to take your Subaru out to run a Rally-X event, Hill Climb, or Stage Rally on dirt, suspension is going to be a key component for success.There are a lot of options out there, and we go through your questions in this episode to hopefully give you a better idea of what to look for as your are building up your Rally Car suspension, and some other key details as well.Thanks for watching and Stay Tuned!
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If you have been following our Podcast, or the oiling issues that have come to light with the FA24 BRZ/GT86, then you may be familiar with the testing that Brian aka. 900BRZ has been doing with his BRZ and the work that Verus Engineering has been doing to develop an oil pan to solve the issue.Both 900BRZ and Verus have put out a couple of videos recently detailing their results with their higher volume pan for the BRZ, so I reached out to them to have a discussion about how the testing is going, and how close we are to a solution. We talk about the testing that they have been doing, the current results, and how close they think the pan is to a final solution.Thanks for watching and Stay Tuned!Here is a link to 900BRZ's video talking about testing the Verus Pan:https://youtu.be/Pvgg7dl-I5I?si=_uAi4uyZ4PY6zSPHAnd here are links to the recent videos that Verus Engineering has put out about their pan:https://youtu.be/DIMl-jgNzZM?si=1SgZlaiKYwzD_uBFhttps://youtu.be/kVEpMu6YHeo?si=_ZxprMwecS6SLG-dhttps://youtu.be/eBHT5b3sf9o?si=0O7uc7Eq4JrOstAp
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On this episode of the Flatirons Syndicate Podcast, we go through your questions about our Pikes Peak WRX STI!We collected your questions from a post on our Youtube channel last week about our car, the issues that we have had, and some of the details about running up Pikes Peak.The topics covered in this episode include talking about our current and past engine failures, chassis stiffening, running a turbo at high elevation, oil pressure and oil starvation, and the over all results that we have seen running the STI Type RA block.Thanks for your questions and thanks for watching!Stay Tuned!In this Episode:00:00 - Introduction00:23 - Your Youtube questions about our Pikes Peak WRX STI01:08 - Thoughts on chassis stiffening, and difference in approach between a caged and non-caged car08:52 - How does the suspension and tires react to the change in elevation as we run up Pikes Peak?12:21 - What caused the original failure of our STI Type-RA engine?15:08 - What caused our current engine failure? What did we do to address the risk of another failure? What head studs did we use and are we still using the same turbo?17:23 - How do you deal with the turbo getting less air at the top of Pikes Peak?22:43 - The car set a record time with a stock EJ block; are there any plans to upgrade the internals, etc.?23:57 - How do we deal with the issues of oil sloshing and moving through the PCV system with the high incline and g-loads?27:35 - What caused the decrease in oil pressure on our race run up Pikes Peak?32:20 - Final thoughts
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If you have been following along with our 2024 run up Pikes Peak, you know that we had an engine failure during qualifying. You might also have heard us mention that we most likely hurt the new engine in our Pikes Peak WRX STI on race day.Now that we have a Haltech Nexcess standalone ECU installed in our race car, we finally have the ability to go through the data to see what happened to our car.In this episode of the podcast, we sit down with Harvey Epstein of The Boostcreep to go through all the date, and diagnose what happened to both engines running on Pikes Peak.We have to give Harvey a big Thank You for all his help with tuning the car, and supporting us through race week, as well as helping us to go through all of the data!Thanks for watching and Stay Tuned!If you want to follow Harvey and see what he is up to, you can find his Youtube page here:https://www.youtube.com/@UC5-7rQ5hNTmiR9RAZnmsjsQ And his Instagram here:https://www.instagram.com/the_boost_creep/
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In this episode, we talk with Karen Bailey-Chapman, the Senior VP of Public and Government Affairs for SEMA about the effect that the Chevron Deference ruling from the Supreme Court could have on the Automotive Aftermarket.After our conversation with Lance and Billy from Cobb Tuning about their NextGen Flex Fuel system (Episode #145) a few of you commented that a decision had just come through the Supreme Court that could have an impact on the standards that the Automotive Aftermarket has to meet. But because this was a legal matter, we needed to reach out to find someone that was familiar with and we were fortunate to connect with Karen who works for SEMA where this area is her specialty.In this episode, we cover what Supreme Court overturning the Chevron Deference means, how it could impact the Automotive Aftermarket, and we talk about actions that have already been sent in motion in just the few weeks since this decision came down.If you would like to find our more about what SEMA does and the issues that they are working on, here are links to their page, as well as the SEMA Garage and the SEMA Action Network:https://www.sema.org/https://www.semasan.com/ https://www.semagarage.com/Thanks for watching and Stay Tuned!
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This episode of the Podcast is a little different. We have a Modena differential in the shop, and we are going to be taking a close look at it so I put up a picture in our Community section to see what you all would want to know about it.In response I got a number of great questions about differentials in general. And rather than answering them each in the comments, I decided to answer them in the form of a Podcast!The idea here is that this should be more helpful, and make the information easier for others to find and use.Let me know what you think about this format and if this goes well, I think that this is something that I will try to do more in the future.Thanks for watching and Stay Tuned!In this Episode:00:00 Intro00:29 Trying something different with this episode01:17 Subaru differential Pros and Cons Aftermarket Vs OEM12:05 Which diffs work on a WRX when doing a 6-speed swap?13:28 What about Wavetrac Differentials?22:00 1-way,1.5-way, or 2-way? What specs are best for Rally, Street, or Track?29:21 When should you Upgrade the diffs in a Daily Driver/Track car from stock?31:00 What makes aftermarket differentials better for track use?36:00 What about Quaiffe?38:28 Do you like this format of the Podcast?40:35 Are 5-Speed and 6-Speed differentials interchangeable? Do they all have options?43:50 Closing thoughts
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Roncar aka. Ron Zaras was a core member of Hoonigan going back to nearly the beginning. He has now gone out on his own, and as of a couple of weeks ago, he has now raced up Pikes Peak.For the 2024 Pikes Peak Hill Climb, Ron drove a Hyundai Ioniq 5 N up pikes peak alongside Dani Sordo, Paul Dallenbach, and Randy Pobst.In this Episode, we talk to him about his path from Hoonigan to racing, and how he connected with Hyundai to compete in the Pikes Peak Hill Climb this year. We find out about all the work that went into his 10:49 run, and what it was like racing an Ioniq 5 N up Pikes Peak!Hyundai USA has put together a video series detailing their run up Pikes Peak this year, and you can find those videos here:https://www.youtube.com/@UCx_eAZKDceT1yaY4bRo636A And if you want to follow Ron to see what he is up to, follow him on Instagram here:https://www.instagram.com/roncar/And keep an eye out on Vin's Youtube channel here:https://www.youtube.com/@UCwd7pERggUt7qrBY_keAr_gThanks for watching and Stay Tuned!
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