Flatirons Syndicate Motorsports Podcast

All ready this year, Tariffs have started to have an effect on both Auto Manufactures and the Automotive Aftermarket.There has also been a fair amount of confusion around possible changes in the way that the EPA is going to enforce regulations as well which has left shops and enthusiasts alike with questions.SEMA is always at the forefront of any of these changes that affect the Automotive Aftermarket, and on this episode of the podcast, we have a conversation with Karen Bailey-Chapman who is the Senior Vice President of Public and Government Affairs for SEMA.We go over the current best information on these topics, and at the end we also talk about the issues around the Right to Modify vehicles that may be the next big challenge for the industry.If you would like to see more information about the topics we discuss, here are links to resources on SEMA's website:https://www.sema.org/advocacyhttps://www.sema.org/advocacy/tariffshttps://www.semagarage.com/Thanks for watching and Stay Tuned!

The 2026 Subaru Outback and Outback Wilderness have now been revealed. But Subaru has another new car up their sleeve.The 2026 Subaru Trailseeker EVThis looks a lot like a Legacy Wagon of old, but this new EV will be both the most powerful and fastest Subaru ever if it actually hits the advertised performance markers of 375 hp and a zero to 60 time of 4.3 seconds.In this episode we talk about those new vehicles, and what it means that Subaru is set to build an EV with this level of performance...What does this mean for the STI? Thanks for watching and Stay Tuned!

There is a good chance that you know Dewey from IAG's Thursday Thing. Or Devin Giles from Professional Awesome.But did you know that these two guys (and James Houghton) have now formed another Podcast called Heat Exchanger where they talk about everything that is going on in Grid Life.Devin and Dewey have been building cars and driving competitively for a long time now, and for this episode, I wanted to pick their brains about where they would start out now, having done all that they have done, and knowing what they know.If you have been thinking about getting out to the track more, and especially if you are thinking about competing, give this a listen. There is a ton of good information here for you.Thanks for watching and Stay Tuned!For more on what Dewey and Devin are up to, make sure to check out their Podcasts here:https://open.spotify.com/show/3AHKdpHieVMBD7zIIUEJdahttps://open.spotify.com/show/0zfW8Q3aut0Adr6oj67IiFhttps://open.spotify.com/show/43TNLQ142rz9o0PPoso097

When a car is fun to drive and fast on track, it doesn't typically stay a secret for long. As a car gets a reputation with enthusiasts, they quickly become more expensive because they are more sought after.With the lack of new fun cars to choose from at a reasonable price for the last couple of years, there has been a lot of focus on cars that are 5 - 10 years old. It can certainly seem like all of the good options have been picked through and are not as affordable as they should be.But are there some good track cars left that everyone has forgotten about?This is the topic of discussion today with Mike Pettiford of Go 4 it Racing.Maybe there are still some diamonds left out there.Thanks for watching and Stay Tuned!

Damien Bradley of Team Legacy UK is entered to run the 2025 Pikes Peak Hill Climb. He will be piloting a 1992 Legacy that has been setting hill climb records in the UK.Damien has been working with Roger Clark Motorsports, AET Turbos, and Alcon brakes and many others through the years as he developed and improved his Hill Climb Monster, and we had the opportunity to chat with him about competing in Time Attack, Hill Climbs across the UK, and what it means to him to be able to compete in the 2025 Pikes Peak Hill Climb.Be sure to follow Team Legacy UK on Instagram and Youtube for all the latest as they get ready to Race to the Clouds in just a few months!https://www.youtube.com/@UCXp2U31MvKNalY7a8zy3hvg https://www.instagram.com/teamlegacyuk/https://www.teamlegacyuk.co.uk/Thanks for watching and Stay Tuned!

There are a ton of things to consider if you are looking for a new car. Do you want a car or an SUV? What transmission are you looking for? What features do you definitely want? And what features do you want to avoid?On this episode of the Flatirons Syndicate Podcast, we have Mike Pettiford as a guest, and we talk about all of these questions and more. Thanks for watching and Stay Tuned!For more information about Go 4 it Services, follow this link to their web-site:https://www.go4itservices.com/

Tanner aka Smeedia is back on the podcast! In this episode, we catch up with him on the progress of his RSTi build, and we end up talking about hard to find Subaru parts, old Vs. new cars and the direction that we see Subaru moving in.But we also have big news. Flatirons Tuning is now Smeedia's primary sponsor for Subaru parts!We go over the details of that here, and you can now support both Flatirons Tuning and Smeedia by using his coupon code on our site for OEM Subaru or RCM parts!Thanks for watching and Stay Tuned!

As we sat down to record this episode, the 24 Hours of Daytona had just happened, so we start out talking about the race this year. Endurance races like Le Mans, Daytona, and 24hrs of the Nürburgring are getting more popular every year it seems so we talk about the appeal and the challenge of endurance racing. Also Auto Manufacturers have now appealed to the NHTSA for Emergency Braking Systems like Subaru's Eyesight to not be mandatory. Cost is one reason, but we talk about some other reasons that this move might make sense. Here is a link to the article mentioned in the episode: https://www.wired.com/story/emergency-braking-will-save-lives-automakers-want-to-charge-extra-for-it/ If you would like to follow Mike Pettiford and Go 4 It Services and Go 4 It Racing, here is a link to his website: https://www.go4itservices.com/ Thanks for watching and Stay Tuned!

Just a few weeks in the 2025, and there has been a flurry of Subaru news. At the Tokyo Auto Salon, the new S210 STI was revealed, but it is based on the WRX S4 and is the first "S" car to use a CVT transmission. How does this compare to the previous "S" series cars? The new 2026 Outback has been leaked, and it is a big change from the current design. The problem is it looks almost exactly like the Forester and Ascent. They all look like very similar SUV's... So what does this tell us about the direction that Subaru is moving for the future? Is there anything for the Subaru Enthusiast to be excited about? Thanks for watching and Stay Tuned!

Now that we have the WRX TR Brembo brakes and Cusco Zero 3-G Gravel suspension on our VB WRX, we needed to get our Subaru out onto its natural habitat... A dirt road. Carter and Jon take the car out to shake it down, and talk about first impressions of the car with these parts installed. If you would like more information about the brakes, here is a link to them on the Flatirons Tuning web site. https://www.flatironstuning.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=flatirons%20tuning%20wrx%20tr%206-pot Once we are ready to release the Cusco Zero 3-G suspension we will put a link here as well. Thanks for watching and Stay Tuned!

Is drifting around a corner faster or slower? Why do Rally Cars drift around corners? A couple of episodes ago, Tasso mentioned in the wrap-up that drifting was slower. For this episode we tackle that question and talk about drifting, sliding, and car control. Thanks for watching and Stay Tuned!

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!

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!

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 - Intro 00:44 - iWire is ending their harness merges 07:55 - Are Standalones the answer? 14:00 - Our plans for the 2024 WRX Suspension 33:00 - 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 Rally 55:00 - CHCA Rule Changes for the Rally class for 2025 1:02:00 - Minimum weight Vs. Restrictors 1:20:00 - Final thoughts

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-wrx We 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!

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!

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

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!

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!

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!

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!

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!

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 Tuning https://www.epa.gov/enforcement/cobb-tuning-products-llc-clean-air-act-settlement https://www.epa.gov/system/files/documents/2024-09/cobbtuningproductsllc-cp.pdf Cummins Diesel https://www.epa.gov/enforcement/2024-cummins-inc-vehicle-emission-control-violations-settlement Rudy's Performance Parts https://www.epa.gov/enforcement/rudys-performance-parts-inc-and-aaron-rudolf-clean-air-act-settlement-information-sheet Thanks for watching and Stay Tuned!

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/go4itservices Thanks for watching and Stay Tuned!

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!

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=_uAi4uyZ4PY6zSPH And here are links to the recent videos that Verus Engineering has put out about their pan: https://youtu.be/DIMl-jgNzZM?si=1SgZlaiKYwzD_uBF https://youtu.be/kVEpMu6YHeo?si=_ZxprMwecS6SLG-d https://youtu.be/eBHT5b3sf9o?si=0O7uc7Eq4JrOstAp

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 - Introduction 00:23 - Your Youtube questions about our Pikes Peak WRX STI 01:08 - Thoughts on chassis stiffening, and difference in approach between a caged and non-caged car 08:52 - 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

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/

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!

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 Intro 00:29 Trying something different with this episode 01:17 Subaru differential Pros and Cons Aftermarket Vs OEM 12:05 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

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_g Thanks for watching and Stay Tuned!

Scott Crouch is the driver of the Flatirons Tuning Pikes Peak car, and he put down a new personal best time of 10:46 in the 2024 Pikes Peak Hill Climb. But believe it or not, this year also marks 20 years since the first time that Scott competed on Pikes Peak as a Co-Driver in the Flatirons Subaru rally car driven by Tanner Foust. For this episode of the podcast, Jon and Viet sit down with Scott to talk through his our race went this year, and reflect on some of the lessons that he has learned after racing up Pikes Peak in a Subaru more than anyone other driver. Thanks for watching and Stay Tuned!

This is the week of the 2024 Pikes Peak Hill Climb, and our car and the team are up on the mountain getting ready for the race this Sunday. With all that is going on, we didn't have the chance to record a new episode of the Podcast, so this seemed like the perfect time to go back to our Pikes Peak Roundtable from episode 30 of the Podcast. This was recorded as we were getting ready for the 2021 Pikes Peak Hill Climb, and we had on a number of guests with a ton of experience on Pikes Peak. We talk to: Scott Crouch - Flatirons Tuning driver Andy Kingsley Stephan Verdier Victor Kuhns Dave Kern It was a great discussion, and definitely worth checking out if you missed this episode. Thanks for watching and thanks for your support!

Cobb Tuning has just released their NexGen Flex Fuel for the 2015 - 2021 WRX, which comes after the release of their first NexGen Flex Fuel kit for the Sti. We were definitely glad to see Flex Fuel come back as a function of the Cobb Accessport, but when we saw that the new system was running through the CAN Bus on these new cars, it was clear that there was a lot more that Cobb had to rework to make Flex Fuel available again. We were able to sit down with Lance and Billy from Cobb Tuning to go over everything that was involved in getting Flex Fuel back on line, and the processes that they go through when developing a product like this. We also talk about the benefits of running E85 and Flex Fuel as well as touch on some of their future plans for this system as well. Thanks for watching and Stay Tuned!

For episode #144 of the Podcast, Jon and Jeremy sit down to talk about taking an old car to the track. Jeremy has a number of Subaru's that he has driven on track, and all of them have some years on them. As more of us are looking back to the earlier WRX and STI to build track cars, this is becoming a more common thing to see at the track. So what should you do differently to prep an older car to take to the track? And what should you do differently once you get there? And is a newer car really the solution if you want to avoid some of these issues? Thanks for watching and Stay Tuned!

We just had Dominic Acia of GetaDomTune on the podcast a few weeks ago, but he happened to be in the area and when he stopped by the shop, we had to sit down and record another conversation. One of the biggest questions or suggestions that we got after talking to Dom last time was about the Subaru FA20DIT and FA24DTI engines. So that is what we talk about here. Dom only had a limited amount of time so this conversation is somewhat short, but there is a lot of good information in here. If you have any other questions or topics that you would want us to discuss with Dominic, make sure to leave them in the comments below! Thanks for watching and Stay Tuned!

Smeedia returns to the Podcast for Episode #142 to talk about the end of his 6-Cylinder STI. This is Tanner's third time on the podcast and the original intent was to bring him back on after his 6-Cylinder STI was fully up and running. But now word has come out that he has decided to part out the EG33 6-Cylinder engine he has been working on for all this time, so we had to get him on to talk about it. It is safe to say that Tanner has put his heart and soul into this project, so it is certainly not an easy decision to change course at this point. So we wanted to get an idea as to what went into that decision. We also wanted to get an idea of what direction he might go in next. A big thanks to Smeedia for coming back to the Podcast, and I hope you enjoy the conversation! Stay Tuned!

A rally car goes through a lot on stage between the rough terrain and demands that the driver puts on the brakes, suspension, and especially the engine. One of the keys to success in Rally is to have as reliable a car as possible, and it is with that in mind that Jeremy from Money Shift Rally installed an Emtron Standalone ECU in their Rally car. For episode #141 of the Flatirons Syndicate Podcast, Jon sits down with Jeremy to go over the data that he collected from the 100 Acre Wood rally and what they have learned from it. What is the relationship between oil temperature and oil pressure? What can losing a bumper tell you about your cooling system? Being able to collect and corollate all of the data that runs into a Standalone ECU can lead to some really interesting conclusions. Thanks for watching and Stay Tuned! Be sure to follow Money Shift Rally on Instagram and here on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@UCXHPILKAtgUxyvxkSJQpz3w

Dominic Acia is back for the second part of our conversation in episode #140 of the Flatirons Syndicate podcast. In this second part, we dive into Dominic's experience developing and making parts for the Subaru EJ platform. We talk about pistons, stroker and de-stroker EJ25 builds, and of course we discuss the his Cylinder-4 Cooling mod. We also talk about somethings that he is working on, including a Dry Sump oiling system and Air Oil Separator. Thanks for watching and Stay Tuned! You can find Dominic at: https://www.getadomtune.com/ https://www.youtube.com/@GetaDomTune/videos Here is a link to the GetaDomTune Discord: https://discord.gg/3CX4n6k7Zq In this Episode: 00:00 - Introduction to Part 2 00:54 - How did Dominic start making parts to make these cars and engines run better? 08:40 - The origin story of Maxwell Power 18:00 - Developing a 2.6 Liter Subaru engine for an Airplane 24:50 - Developing transmissions for propellers 27:10 - How developing parts for Aviation translated back to cars 32:13 - Where did the idea for the Cylinder-4 Cooling Mod come from? 45:28 - GetaDomTune Discord Channel 49:23 - Designing parts to fix a problem 53:54 - Dom's Dry Sump that is in development 1:01:54 - Why Dom hates Front Mount Intercoolers - Air to Water? 1:06:00 - Let's talk about the Pikes Peak Hill Climb 1:15:26 - A look at Dom's Air Oil Separator in development 1:23:20 - Wrap-up

Dominic Acia of GetaDomTune has been a constant fixture in the Subaru world for over two decades. For this episode we sat down to talk about how Dom got started working on and tuning Subaru's, and the plan was to talk about what he is doing now with parts like the Cylinder 4 cooling mod, and the new parts he is working on, etc. And we did. It was a great conversation, but we chatted for over 2 hours. So we are going to break this conversation up into two parts. Part one is all about how Dom started playing with, and then working on Subaru's, and how he got involved with tuning them as well. Part 2 will be up next week, and we dive into the Cylinder 4 Cooling Mod, and a lot of other things that Dom is working on now. So enjoy this conversation, and Stay Tuned for part 2 as this is a lot of great information in here. Thanks for watching! You can find Dominic at: https://www.getadomtune.com/

For Episode #138 of the Flatirons Syndicate Podcast, Jon, Tasso, and Viet sat down to talk about the state of both Tasso's new OTC Racing Rally Car build, and the Flatirons Tuning Pikes Peak car. The conversation started out well, and some good points were made.... But then the conversation got a bit chaotic. It is a good chat and we hope you enjoy it. Thanks for listening and Stay Tuned!

For episode #137 of the Flatirons Syndicate Podcast, Jon sits down for a deep conversation about Subaru Engines with Ryan from P2P Racing. P2P Racing has been building up a diverse set of engine packages, and they have been doing a ton of testing in their project cars at events like Super Lap Battle, and World Time Attack. From that experience, they have learned a lot about what works on high-power Subaru EJ and FA engines, and they do a few things differently from some other engine builders out there. They are also working on a crazy re-fresh for one of their shop cars, and Ryan shares what he can about that project as well. P2P Racing Engines are now available at Flatirons Tuning as well! Thanks for listening and Stay Tuned!

For episode #136 of the Flatirons Syndicate Podcast, Jon has a deep conversation about Turbochargers with Matt from Turbo Dynamics. Turbo Dynamics has been building high performance Turbo Chargers for Sport Compact cars since the mid 90's, and one of the first cars that the specialized in were Subaru WRXs and STIs. We switched to a Turbo Dynamics MDX555-450 turbo on our Pikes Peak car years ago, and we were immediately impressed by it. In this episode, we try to get an idea of how Turbo Dynamics builds their turbos, and what sets them apart. Thanks for watching and Stay Tuned!

In the last few years, Subaru has been making some big changes which have helped them continue to grow, but some of those changes have not gone over well with enthusiasts. The BRZ has made a big step forward with the second generation, and so has the WRX with the new VB chassis, but we have lost the STI. The Crosstrek and Outback Wilderness Editions are big hits, but they only come with CVT transmissions. In fact, it seems like CVT transmissions are taking over Subaru. So the question is, can we save Subaru? Could a couple of small changes make cars that aren't doing that well like the Ascent all of a sudden become exciting? Or does Subaru need saving at all? Listen to what Jon, Tasso, and Jeremy have to say on the subject, and then let us know what you think in the comments. Thanks for watching and Stay Tuned!

On this episode of the Flatirons Syndicate podcast, Jon sits down with Tasso and Jeremy from Money Shift Rally to talk about all of the lessons that they have learned building a new Rally car/Race car. Both Tasso and Jeremy have been working on building up their cars, and while Tasso is still in the midst of his build, Jeremy has completed the build of his car and run a couple of events, but in doing so has discovered a few things that need attention, or needed to be adjusted. When you are building a race car from scratch, there are ton of things to consider from seating position, how you are going to run lines, electronics, safety systems, etc...  And even once you get everything in place, that is usually just the first iteration of some of those placements, which will need adjustment. Those lessons are the topic of discussion of the podcast today. Be sure to follow Tasso and OTC Racing as well as Money Shift Rally on all of the social platforms! If you want to look at the Bosch sensor that Jeremy mentioned in the podcast, here is a link to it on the Flatirons Tuning website: Thanks for watching and Stay Tuned!

For episode #133 of the Flatirons Podcast, Jon sits down with Harvey from The Boostcreep and Zek from In Boost Performance to talk about Tuning a car and making power Post-Greenspeed. In April of 2022, Cobb Tuning announced that they were making a fundamental change to the way their Tuning software worked with the Cobb AccessPort. Their goal was to move to get CARB E.O.'s for as many parts that they could, but in doing so, they also had to dramatically reduce the access that Tuners had to re-map the ECU when tuning a car. Now that we are nearly a year and a half on from that change, there are almost more questions now about what works and what the Tuning options are now with the AccessPort. The biggest question that most people have is, Can you make Power Post-Greenspeed? The good news is that many options are becoming available again, and Tuners like Harvey from the Boostcreep and shops like In Boost Performance have been working to find those answers, and they give us a lot of good information in the conversation. If you have any other questions that weren't covered here be sure to leave them in the comments below. Thanks for watching and Stay Tuned! Here are links for more information about these guests: https://www.theboostcreepltd.com/ http://mylifeinboost.com/

There is no easy form of Motorsport. They all have their challenges, but one of the most challenging forms is Endurance Racing. There aren't many Subaru's that compete on track for hours at a time, but one is the STI run by James "Gator" Hudson of Colonel Red Racing. And he is building up an impressive history of wins. For episode 132 of the Podcast, Jon talks with James about how he found Endurance Racing, and about all of the aspects of the build of his car from cooling to power to aero to find a winning combination. If you want to follow James and Colonel Red Racing, check out these links below: https://www.youtube.com/@UCmNriut_X_jG6H-tCtCYpqg https://www.facebook.com/people/Colonel-Red-Racing/100066410006837/ And if you want to watch the Radiator Cap video or Turn in Concepts video mentioned in the Podcast, here are links to those: https://youtu.be/HzjBJz1Zdmw?si=GdZAZMkyP3c9eVMw https://youtu.be/Xg9OT397IJU?si=iZ7XAziDWohmJoA5 Thanks for watching and Stay Tuned!

For Episode #131 of the Podcast, Tasso, Mike Pettiford, Dylan, and Jon sit down to talk about the newest racing Sims like Forza Motorsport, Gran Turismo 7, and Assetto Corsa. For a lot of us, the first time we got to experience anything like driving a car on track was in a video game. In the beginning, there was a pretty big gap between driving an actual car and playing these games. But with this newest group of games/simulators and the new technology that is going into wheels and pedals from companies like Fanatec and Logitech, that gap is closer to the real thing than ever before. So how close is it? Have these games become realistic enough that you can use them as a tool just like professional race teams? Or is there still a ways to go even for these newest driving games? We do our best to get to the bottom with Tasso from OTC Racing and Mike Pettiford of Go 4 it Racing (who has won more than 50 SCCA Championships). Be sure to follow Tasso at OTC Racing and Mike Pettiford on Facebook and Instagram. Thanks for listening and Stay Tuned!

For episode #130 Jon chats with Micah from 3MI Racing to talk about what all goes into developing a part, bringing a part to market, and why supporting companies that innovate is so important. If you have ever been looking for a part for your car, planning a build, etc., almost certainly you have come to a point where you have found a few different options for a part that are all made by different manufacturers, but a couple of them look basically the same. Why is that? And how do you pick which part is best? Most importantly for this conversation, does it matter which one that you choose? It turns out that it does, and way more than you might think. If we want to have good options for parts that really work and solve problems and help our cars work better, go faster, etc., we have to support the companies that innovate. Thanks for listening and Stay Tuned!

One of the hot topics around the shop lately is how much the car buying options have changed in the last year or so. And to that end, what car would you buy if you had a budget of $35,000? Would you look at a new car? Get something used? Find a project to turn into a new daily? Jon and the Dylan's talk about what they found looking around the internet, and what the key considerations would be with the current list of options. How much of your budget would you want to spend on the car, and how much would you want to keep in reserve for mods? And what about those JDM imports that are so tempting? Give this episode a listen and be sure to let us know what you think in the comments. Stay Tuned!

This conversation was started/inspired by a question asked on our last podcast. Why didn't we talk about the addition of Subaru's Eye Sight on the WRX TR? Mike Pettiford of Go 4 It Services was in the shop that day, and we talked about what might be going on with the addition of some of the new safety systems on new cars, and then we did some research and discovered some interesting things. Specifically about Automatic Emergency Braking systems, or AEB's. How many safety systems are now required to be on new cars? When are AEB's going to be required to be on all vehicles? Are these safety systems starting to take over? And do they all really work as well as advertised? Jon and Mike dive into all of these topics in this episode. For more about what Mike Pettiford is up to, take a look at: https://www.go4itservices.com/ Thanks for watching and Stay Tuned! If you would like to take a look at some of the pages mentioned in the video, here are some links: https://www.nhtsa.gov/press-releases/automatic-emergency-braking-proposed-rule https://www.nhtsa.gov/technology-innovation/automated-vehicles-safety https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a44067783/automated-emergency-braking-could-be-required-2028/