With the new STI Concept cars, and their new focus on Performance and Adventure, it seems clear that Subaru is changing their direction to some degree.It is easy to say that bringing back the STI is a huge step in the right direction, but is it as simple as just bring the car back?

What does Subaru need to do to really connect with their Performance Enthusiasts?

To talk about this, we brought on Dewey from IAG, Smeedia, and Art from Overtake to discuss.

We hope you enjoy this episode, and let us know what you think in the comments!

Stay Tuned!

Damien Bradley has been running in the UK Hill Climb and UK Time Attack series for a while now.

But this year, he decided to take on the challenge of the Pikes Peak Hill Climb!

Now that some time has passed, we had to reach out to Damien to talk about his experience on Pikes Peak, and what it was like to Race to the Clouds.

Thanks for watching and Stay Tuned!

Subaru just revealed the STI Performance B and STI Performance E concepts at that Japan Mobility show.The BIG news is that the Combustion STI Hatchback seems to be a hit.This could mark the return of the STI drivetrain with DCCD, and even though Subaru didn't give any specifics, many enthusiasts are excited.Even the STI EV concept is getting a fair amount of attention.So what does this mean for the future of Subaru? And will we see the return of the STI here in the US soon?Jon and Art from Overtake USA take a deep dive into the concepts and what this could all mean.Thanks for watching and Stay Tuned!

There has been a flurry of Subaru news the last couple of days, the most noteworthy being about the 2 STI Concept cars that are going to debut in a few days at the Japan Mobility Show. The Performance-B STI that has a combustion engine, and the Performance-E STI which is fully electric.But there has been some big news about the BRZ as well, which is that Toyota looks to be switching to Mazda for their next generation GT86. So what does this mean for the Subaru BRZ? Will it stick around? Or are the BRZ's model years numbered?And Subaru is now doing the Press Launch for the Subaru Uncharted in Europe, and the way that they are showcasing that car may be the biggest hint of all about the direction that Subaru is going in the future.Thanks for watching and Stay Tuned!Here are links to the articles that we reference in this episode:Motor 1 2025 japan Mobility Displayhttps://www.motor1.com/news/775825/subaru-sti-concept-duo-teaser/Subaru moving away from EJ20 in GT300 BRZ:https://sportscar365.com/other-series/super-gt/subaru-announces-retirement-for-brzs-ej20-engine/Article w/ clips:https://www.dailysportscar.com/2025/10/14/subaru-to-replace-ej20-engine-in-brz-gt300.htmlUncharted Test Drive Article:https://www.carmagazine.co.uk/car-reviews/subaru/uncharted-suv/Toyota and Mazda team up for GT86:https://www.gearpatrol.com/cars/toyota-mazda-shared-sports-cars/https://www.forbes.com/sites/peterlyon/2025/09/28/toyota-and-mazda-team-up-to-develop-new-mx-5-and-gr86/

Our guest for Episode #179 of the Flatirons Syndicate Podcast is Devin Hofmann of Devine Force Racing.

Devin always had a passion for cars, and a curiosity about how they work. That passion has not only lead her into the field of engineering, but has also inspired her to not only track her STI, but compete in Grid Life Time Attack since 2020.

Devin is also using her engineering background to inspire kids that are interested in STEM and Engineering through a couple of different programs and camps, and teach them how science and engineering relate to Real World things like Race Cars.

We also talk about how Devin has seen Time Attack change in the last few years, and what her future plans are, including a shift to Wheel-to-Wheel racing.

If you want more information on any of the programs that Devin mentioned in the podcast, here are links to them:

https://www.nextengineers.org/

https://www.clemson.edu/cecas/departments/peer-wise/outreach/

https://drivecrs.com/

Be sure to follow Devin on her Instagram page and website for all the latest info about what she is up to:

https://www.youtube.com/@devineforceracing/

https://www.devineforceracing.com/

https://www.instagram.com/devineforceracing/

Thanks for watching and Stay Tuned!

In this episode, our guests are Justin Grimm and Art Petrakov of Overtake USA.

We start out discussing the origin of Overtake USA, and what Justin's inspiration was to get back involved with the Subaru market.

From there, we talk about the current state of Subaru, and what we think the future holds for both new and old Subaru models alike.

And what does the Future hold for Overtake USA? We get a few hints about that as well.

If you want to check out everything that Overtake USA has to offer, you can find it on their site here:

https://overtakeusa.com/

Flatirons Tuning is proud to offer Overtake USA products on our site as well:

https://www.flatironstuning.com/overtake

Thanks for watching and Stay Tuned!

In this Episode:

00:00 The Genesis of Overtake

05:01 Rebuilding the Team

07:01 Lessons from GrimmSpeed

09:07 Navigating the Subaru Market

12:54 The Future of Subaru Enthusiasts

16:36 Performance Expectations and Innovations

20:23 The Evolution of Subaru Models

24:24 Nostalgia and the Subaru Community

27:48 Project Cars and Future Aspirations

37:05 Reconnecting with the Community

38:02 Evolution of Product Design and Prototyping

43:16 Innovation in the Automotive Industry

48:48 Supporting Grassroots Motorsports

55:50 Future Product Development and Community Engagement

01:08:33 Exploring New Motorsports Opportunities

The Loam Ranger, aka Ryan Kelly, is our guest on this episode of the Flatirons Syndicate Podcast.

Ryan fell in love with Rally Racing at almost the same time as he found Mountain Biking. Because Mountain Biking was much easier to get involved with, that is where he started, but he always dreamed of trying his hand at Rally...

Now that Dream is turning into a Reality

Ryan had already started down the road of building a top tier Rally Driving sim rig when he stumbled across a Barn Find Rally car that he couldn't pass up. He went through his Turbo Impreza L Rally car to get it competition ready, and has already completed 2 full Stage Rallys!

We talk about this process, and what it was like going from racing Mountain Bikes to a Rally Car, and what some of his next steps might be to find more speed and handling in this chassis.

Be sure to check out Ryan's Road to Rally on Youtube!

Thanks for listening and Stay Tuned!

In this episode:

00:00 Introduction to the Podcast and Guest

01:46 Transition from Mountain Biking to Rally Racing

04:42 Experiences in Rally Racing and Car Modifications

07:32 The Canadian Rally Community and Its Growth

10:17 Rally Car Performance and Challenges

13:06 Future Plans and Engine Modifications

15:49 Standalone ECUs and Tuning Options

19:00 Understanding Engine Monitoring and Safety Features

21:54 Tuning and Performance Enhancements for Rally Cars

25:46 The Importance of Drivetrain and Differential Upgrades

33:59 Evaluating Transmission Options for Rally Performance

40:41 Rally Car Evolution and Decision Making

43:16 Building a Rally Car from Scratch

44:50 Driving Dynamics: All-Wheel Drive vs. Front-Wheel Drive

46:37 The Importance of Reliability in Rally

49:32 Learning and Adapting in Rally

51:44 Measuring Success in Rally and Content Creation

55:22 The Role of Sim Racing in Rally Training

This is a short episode of the Flatirons Syndicate Podcast. For Episode #176, I wanted to give a quick update about the state of the Podcast, and a hint about some of the guests that we have in the works to bring on.2026 also seems like it is going to be a crucial year for Subaru, and may determine the direction that they go in the years to come.With the new models coming out like the Uncharted and Trailseeker, could these change the trajectory of future Subaru's?What effect will they have on the BRZ. WRX, and STI?I give you my thoughts and let me know what you think in the comments.Thanks for watching and Stay Tuned!

Pikes Peak 2025 was one of our most challenging years yet. We decided to move to a new Engine and Turbo package this year, running a Turn in Concepts De-Stroked EJ234 engine, and while we saw glimpses of greatness, we were chasing a lot of head gasket issues this year.We have talked about what happened through the course of getting ready for Pikes Peak, and then the engine change during Pikes Peak Race Week, but there is another part of the issues that we were seeing that we haven't gone into yet.Now that we have been able to go through the car, the time has come to sit down with Clint from Turn in Concepts to talk about how we landed on our EJ234 engine package, and to go into the full details of the issues that we saw this year.It has definitely been challenging, but the team from Turn in Concepts has been a huge help to work through what might be going on with our engines.Thanks for watching and Stay Tuned!

We love our 2024 WRX shop car. The more that we live with this car, it is clear that this is the best WRX that we have ever had on offer, but could this be the end for the WRX?No one is buying WRX's now after Subaru had to adjust pricing due to Tariffs...With sales numbers sinking to BRZ levels, can Subaru continue to make the WRX? Can they make a small change to get enthusiasts excited about it again?Or should Subaru just bring back the STI?We dive into what is going on with the WRX and give Subaru our suggestions about what they need to do to save it in this video.Thanks for watching and Stay Tuned!