Packed with capability and convenience, WRX and Legacy turbo wagons are not unusual sights at local track days, though far from the standard choice. Nevertheless, there's something really cool about a fast wagon. So when Subaru's North American management decided to try its hand at Grand Am Cup (GAC) racing, it did so with a 2005 Legacy GT wagon and validated every closet wagon freak's fetish.
Along with fielding a time attack-dedicated STi (driven by infamous Japanese hooligan Eiji 'Tarzan' Yamada), Subaru has thrown its corporate road racing efforts behind the Subaru Road Racing Team (SRRT), a joint effort between Dave Rosenblum's Inner City Youth (ICY) Racing and Joe Aquilante's Phoenix Racing.
Both Rosenblum and Aquilante boast success in SCCA Club Racing. In 2005, they campaigned a pair of STis to win two divisional championships and a national title in the Touring 2 class. In just three events last year (entered in the Street Tuner class), the team posted a sixth-place finish at Lime Rock, ninth at Mid-Ohio and a second at Barber-a respectable showing by any measure.
"What made it more compelling," says Subaru marketing spokesman James Han, "is that we only ran one car. We weren't able to swap set-up, practice or qualifying data between two cars, and our drivers did a bang-up job securing those results."
The endeavor was short-lived, however, as the team switched to Legacy GT Spec B sedans for the 2007 season. Piloted by drivers Rosenblum, 2005 SCCA national champion Chuck Hemmingson, '05 runner-up Kristian Skavnes, and Davy Jones, the cars have brought home two first-place finishes already. Even so, the wagon's 2006 effort is still spoken of with fondness by SRRT members.
We ran across this trunk-less wonder participating in a time attack event at the automotive amusement park series known as GT Live, surrounded by full-blown time attack cars, monster Evos and Japanese-imported beasts.
The GAC Street Tuner class allows minimal performance mods (nothing in the block, head or valvetrain) and counts cars such as the Mazda RX-8, Chevy Cobalt SS, Acura RSX and TSX, and a variety of BMWs as typical entries. Also, the class is limited to four- and six-cylinder engines, although turbos and superchargers are allowed. Minimum weights range from 2200 to 3125 pounds. The Legacy wagon, notes crew chief Klevis Prifti, came in near the top of the scale, at 3100 pounds, some of that bulk attributed to Subaru's Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive system.
With only minimal engine and aspiration mods, including a Fluidyne radiator, Denso Iridium spark plugs, three-inch open exhaust and a stock ECU tuned by noted UK chip tweakers EcuTek, the Legacy turned a claimed 250hp and 280lb-ft of torque on the dyno. In a class like Street Tuner, the strategy involves maximizing every ounce of that power.
"Speed is a function of how much power and torque we make, but more importantly how we get that torque down to the track," says Aquilante. "We spend a large part of our time at the track examining suspension settings-the shocks, the valving, the overall handling of the car to a particular track-so drivers can get the power down sooner, stay on it longer, and brake later. Speed is a very, very tricky equation. And a lot of our time is spent optimizing the handling to get that power to the ground."
The Legacy wagon formula for putting down power includes three-way adjustable remote reservoir JRZ shocks and Eibach springs, with bushings made to ICY/Phoenix spec by VAC Motorsports. Up front, an OEM anti-roll bar, custom end links and DMS camber plates allow for precise setting of turn-in characteristics. Up top, an STI strut tower brace stiffens up the engine bay. A Perrin anti-roll bar and custom end links help rein in play at the rear.