Talking Subaru's with Demetri from Prime Motoring

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!

In this Episode:


00:00 - Introduction to the Flatirons Syndicate Podcast 
00:23 - Welcoming Demetri from Prime Motoring and Harvey from The Boostcreep 01:04 - Harvey’s early days with nitrous and WRX drag racing 
02:11 - Harvey’s transition from drag racing to calibration and street tuning 
03:56 - Demetri’s start in drag racing with Audi and VW 
05:31 - The accessibility and community of early drag racing 
07:23 - Demetri Experiments with nitrous on an VW R32 
08:29 - "Race on Sunday, Sell on Monday" - Building the Prime Motoring business 10:11 - Breaking records with the VA chassis in 2014 
11:48 - Digging through the forums for forgotten Subaru pioneers 
13:13 - The quarter-mile as a universal measuring stick 
15:19 - Overcoming the WRX drivetrain weak points 
16:18 - Why people race the "underdog" Subaru platform 
19:35 - Why Subarus aren't the "standard" drag racing choice 
24:04 - Explaining the strategy of Bracket Racing 
27:54 - Chasing the ultimate number vs. competitive racing 
30:25 - The high cost and maintenance of 8-second cars 
33:43 - Getting greedy: When setup changes lead to new problems 
35:33 - Aerodynamics: Breaking through the 160mph wall 
40:48 - Balancing high-speed stability and downforce 
42:37 - Suspension secrets: Why "soft" isn't always better 
44:32 - The "Rich Man's Game" of high-level drivetrain development 
46:43 - Chasing nines in a $1,300 Subaru Baja 
51:46 - The "Rusty" 740hp sleeper Forester 
54:19 - Putting the 4EAT automatic transmission to the test 
57:58 - How drag racing improves the product for street customers 
1:00:52 - Learning the importance of grounding and spark plug gaps 
1:03:35 - Future of Subaru: The FA24 and the potential for a new STI 
1:05:28 - Experimenting with 8HP transmission swaps 
1:07:03 - Final thoughts on the Subaru vs. Mitsubishi rivalry and the 4-cylinder struggle