'08 Forester Sports XT - good PGT car in a few years?

[Jard]

Is it even legal in PGT since it has a 2.5L turbo motor? The Rally America rules regarding that are slightly confusing to me. It looks to me like the restriction on motor size is for Production class but not PGT? The PGT cars just have to run an intake restrictor?

Anyway...

It has a lot of nice electronic bells and whistles like VDC, short gearing, tons of torque, and it would take any Impreza suspension that I wanted to throw onto it.

It sounds like a winner to me.

Of course I plan to buy an already prepped car in a few years (a NA Impreza as long as I can find one) to get started...

The Forester could be my starting point for building my second car.

[Allwheelsdriven.net]

Is it even legal in PGT since it has a 2.5L turbo motor? The Rally America rules regarding that are slightly confusing to me. It looks to me like the restriction on motor size is for Production class but not PGT? The PGT cars just have to run an intake restrictor?

Anyway...

It has a lot of nice electronic bells and whistles like VDC, short gearing, tons of torque, and it would take any Impreza suspension that I wanted to throw onto it.

It sounds like a winner to me.

Of course I plan to buy an already prepped car in a few years (a NA Impreza as long as I can find one) to get started...

The Forester could be my starting point for building my second car.

You could run it in PGT with a 32mm inlet restrictor, and after you've got your coefficients in a 2wd or NA AWD (GC8, Leggy) car. It would be a bit more topheavy than an Impreza, but could still be very good on stage. The VDC is not so good for gravel (or loose surfaces), as it uses the brakes to control wheelspin. Can you turn it off? You want to be able to pitch the car the way you want and not worry if the VDC is going to start working and throw off your drift.;-) Most importantly, are you ok with wadding the FXT on the first stage? If not, start with a shell that costs less.

A 93-01 Impreza w/ 2.2 5 speed, or a 90-94 Legacy L AWD w/ 2.2 5spd both are great cars to start with. Easy to come by, inexpensive, and easy/cheap to get spares for. All things to seriously consider when bulding your first rally car.

If you have any other questions, please feel free to post, pm, or email me.

Rally On!
Barrett-
www.allwheelsdriven.net (http://www.allwheelsdriven.net)

[Jard]

That's awesome input, especially about the VDC.

Like you said, my plan is to get my coefficient in some 2wd or NA AWD Subaru (just because that's what I know).

I also have an '02 WRX that's my current rally-x car. It sounds like that could make the better PGT car down the road since it's a much cheaper shell to start with.

[Allwheelsdriven.net]

In a 2wd, if you can find a fwd Impreza, run it with the 1.8 or swap in a 2.2, you're golden. If not a Subie, a VW Golf/Gti, Sentra SEr, or Toyota Corolla GTS are all good platforms. There are others out there too.

If you can, start with the Leggy or Impreza AWD. Great bang for the buck. My first rally car was a '90 Legacy, and it ran like a top. That car is still running rallies with no DNFs and many podium finishes.:mrgreen:

Rally On!
Barrett-
www.allwheelsdriven.net

[409industries]

It seems that most of the top finishers in PGT are consistently WRX's. It would be really cool to see a forester PGT rally car though :)