Help Me Rally Out My Wagon!!!

beesh · 09-07-2009, 06:34 PM

So I have a 07 WRX wagon and I want to rally it out completely but I dont know what the best rally gear out there is. Can anyone help me out? Any info whether its just a good suspension company to look into or if someone gives me a list of everything I should get, it would all be greatly appreciated. Thanx!

newtothegame · 09-07-2009, 06:39 PM

You talking about gravel/dirt rally? Like this will be dedicated to rally now, or you still need to keep it street legal, DD status?

beesh · 09-07-2009, 07:02 PM

Hey man. Yah i still need it street legal but i want to be able to go crazy on back country dirt roads, if you know what i mean

I see your from tacoma? Im at school in Spokane right now

newtothegame · 09-08-2009, 12:04 AM

Probably want to start looking at some good suspension mods then, especially sways, and Im sure tires would be a great help also. Im here in Tacoma for a few more days, then Im headed to Kansas sans the army.

beesh · 09-08-2009, 12:24 AM

Aw good luck out there man. I just lost my roommate in Iraq.
What would some cheap $ but good quality shocks be? And what are sways?
Also what are some good tires and maybe wheels too

sorry i really dont know any of this stuff... thanx for the help tho

02SportWagon · 09-08-2009, 01:34 AM

Alright. Well, for starters, youre gonna have to toss most of the original suspension components, mainly the bushings. You'll want to stiffen the frame(to help with stability and structural integrity in, dare I say, the occasional crash). RalliTek are the guys to talk to. The operate out of Portland, Oregon. They're been tinkering with Subaru's and Volvo's for almost a decade. Frame and suspension work should be thought of first. Then time to dip into the power juice, new 3" full exhaust with at least one cat(I know Cali Emissions laws are crazy), upgrade the turbo IHI VF 37 is a good one for starters, it bolts right up and spools quickly. Then for a simple IC upgrade the STi IC works good if you dont want to spend too much and will work perfectly with the VF37 turbo. Definitely do the snorkus delete until you know what kind of power you want to make then you can drop some dough on a CAI. As for rally tires/wheel combos. The possibilities are endless, BFGoodrich makes some great rally tires, so does micheline and hankook. Hope this helps

man show · 09-08-2009, 01:50 AM

I'm kind of surprised nobody mentioned anything about mudflaps yet... of course, you also have to have 4 or more Hella lights custom mounted on a bar of some sort across the front of your car. Make sure you have plenty of logos and decals on it and the brighter colors you can paint it, the better. Also, wear a helmet everywhere you drive. Make sure you never wash it. A true rally car is dirty all the time. I've never seen a winch on a Subaru before, but that might be a nice touch. Make sure the tire-to-wheel ratio is appropriate - use the smallest wheel you can fit on there with the biggest possible tire. It's going to be tough to clear the 07 brake calipers... you'll be lucky to find a set of 16" wheels that will work. Maybe a few random antennas would look cool too. Or a spare gas tank mounted externally for further aesthetic appeal. OH!!! Paint the thing camoflauge! That's definitely better than bright colors. Instead of an internal roll cage, you could build a sweet exo-cage. Man, you could really have some fun building that thing. Be sure to post pics if you actually do any of that stuff. I think the documentation of a rally car build would be a nice change of pace for this site as everybody seems to be transforming their Scoobs into nasty street machines.

beesh · 09-08-2009, 02:04 AM

thanx for the info guys. keep it coming

ill put up pics of the car if i buy any of the suggested items

newtothegame · 09-08-2009, 02:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by beesh

Aw good luck out there man. I just lost my roommate in Iraq.
What would some cheap $ but good quality shocks be? And what are sways?
Also what are some good tires and maybe wheels too

sorry i really dont know any of this stuff... thanx for the help tho

Very sorry to hear about your friend. I have been lucky and come back from two trips. Sways= sway bars. Having a wagon I would look into the whiteline swaybars. They offer several sizes and are a great quality part. As far as endlinks I would also go to rallitek for their endlinks. Som bracing or stiffening up would do well for the car. There are several different braces that can stiffen up the car as well as bushings to get rid of the rubber mounts through out the car. I cant really help with shocks or coilovers becuase most applications I know are for the street, not the gravel. The tires mentioned above and the theory behind the wheels is what you want to follow.

Power wise search and find Engine management first. The two best out there are opensource and the Cobb AP. Once you figure that out you can go for the exhaust and other modifications.

Heres a helpful link for beginners that mod their car:Unabomber's Manifesto - NASIOC

Dont feel bad about asking, thats why we are here, and to be honest your subject is a little of the beaten path (yes pun intended, lol). Good luck with it all.

booosted09 · 09-08-2009, 07:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by man show

I'm kind of surprised nobody mentioned anything about mudflaps yet... of course, you also have to have 4 or more Hella lights custom mounted on a bar of some sort across the front of your car. Make sure you have plenty of logos and decals on it and the brighter colors you can paint it, the better. Also, wear a helmet everywhere you drive. Make sure you never wash it. A true rally car is dirty all the time. I've never seen a winch on a Subaru before, but that might be a nice touch. Make sure the tire-to-wheel ratio is appropriate - use the smallest wheel you can fit on there with the biggest possible tire. It's going to be tough to clear the 07 brake calipers... you'll be lucky to find a set of 16" wheels that will work. Maybe a few random antennas would look cool too. Or a spare gas tank mounted externally for further aesthetic appeal. OH!!! Paint the thing camoflauge! That's definitely better than bright colors. Instead of an internal roll cage, you could build a sweet exo-cage. Man, you could really have some fun building that thing. Be sure to post pics if you actually do any of that stuff. I think the documentation of a rally car build would be a nice change of pace for this site as everybody seems to be transforming their Scoobs into nasty street machines.

+1 to building a sweet ass street legal rally scoob

02SportWagon · 09-09-2009, 01:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by newtothegame

Very sorry to hear about your friend. I have been lucky and come back from two trips. Sways= sway bars. Having a wagon I would look into the whiteline swaybars. They offer several sizes and are a great quality part. As far as endlinks I would also go to rallitek for their endlinks. Som bracing or stiffening up would do well for the car. There are several different braces that can stiffen up the car as well as bushings to get rid of the rubber mounts through out the car. I cant really help with shocks or coilovers becuase most applications I know are for the street, not the gravel. The tires mentioned above and the theory behind the wheels is what you want to follow.

Power wise search and find Engine management first. The two best out there are opensource and the Cobb AP. Once you figure that out you can go for the exhaust and other modifications.

Heres a helpful link for beginners that mod their car:Unabomber's Manifesto - NASIOC

Dont feel bad about asking, thats why we are here, and to be honest your subject is a little of the beaten path (yes pun intended, lol). Good luck with it all.

+1 Stiffening up the frame and strengthening all suspension/frame contact points is a must, meaning a full bushing upgrade. Whiteline and I believe RalliTek makes full kits. From there you'll be on the right track to tearin up some back country dirt roads.

VisiX · 09-09-2009, 12:08 PM

Sway Bars limit your suspension travel which may not be something you want to do depending on what type of terrain you drive on while offroading.

beesh · 09-10-2009, 10:13 PM

yah this all helps alot. thatnx guys! So i think the first thing im going to do from what ive read is get a new full bushing kit. would that be a good first step? then what do you guys think, suspension or wheels and tires? should i lift it a little bit? what would be a good hight?

Thanx again to all!

WRXParamedic · 09-10-2009, 11:26 PM

I'd say get some engine management and milk every ounce of power out of the stock setup and when you upgrade anything you can upload an ECU map that supports it. I went with Open Source tuning that uses a Tactrix Cable that plugs into a laptop. Only costs about $125 or so for the cable and free base maps or custom ones for around $50 to $100. I absolutely love getting sideways on the dirt whenever I can....My car will NEVER be lowered or have 18 inch rims because of that. Good luck and more power to ya...Literally.

02SportWagon · 09-12-2009, 01:12 PM

Bushing kit first, but you will notice more NVH(Noise, Vibration, Harshness) from the firmer bushings. But your frame and car will thank you later. Bushings and tryin to suck every bit of power you can get from your stock setup. Really, don't worry about the ride height. Thats the least of your worries right now.