Subaru Impreza WRX STI - Travis Pastrana (Dirt)
Before I met Travis Pastrana and, definitely, before I set foot in his Subaru Rally Team USA STI, I was sure about one thing. I was looking forward to this ride.
Ever since I saw Carlos Sainz and Tommi Makinen fly through the air, I've been enamored with rallying. There's just something otherworldly exciting about flying through forests and streams at haul-ass speeds with only errant rocks and logs to halt your pace. But most all of my personal driving experience has been on the greasy tarmac of closed circuit racetracks. There, the only chance of driving on dirt is to have a major off-track excursion. Generally, this is frowned upon by the local track officials. I've devoured WRC coverage on TV, in print and in person at our local event, the Rim of the World Rally. But I've never done it from behind the wheel.
Blame it on the relative ease of entering a local track day, the expense of having an extra car devoted solely to off-road rally duty, or reading about the seeming nightmare that Coleman experienced with his Datsun 510 rally car, but I've stayed away from the rally circuit. After five minutes sitting next to Pastrana, I'm ready to change my convictions.
After making his name on two wheels as a motocross superstar, Pastrana made the jump to four wheels and entered the rally scene. He won the 2007 Rally America championship just a few months ago and carried the US into the semi-finals at the 2006 Race of Champions-Nations Cup (ROC). Oh yeah, did I forget to mention that all his teammates dropped out due to injury and Pastrana competed in the ROC by himself?
So the man's obviously capable on dirt, but having a really nice car at his disposal doesn't hurt either. Built to Rally America Open Class specifications by Vermont SportsCar, Pastrana's 2007 STI makes 320 wheel-hp and 425lb-ft of torque breathing through the pinhole known as the class-mandated 34mm turbo inlet restrictor. The engine is a 2.0-liter overseas STI Spec-C unit with a completely reworked turbo system, backed by a five-speed dogbox transmission and an aggressive, computer-controlled all-wheel-drive system.
On our test runs, Pastrana makes it look oh-so easy to point his STI in any direction. He demonstrates a few spin turns with a yank of the e-brake handle and even makes a run down a short back road at Joe Friedrich's ranch, drifting side to side in the Subaru with such angle, I swear we're about to eat it into a tree at any moment. Or, if not a tree, maybe one of the bee hives sitting on the side of the road. Wouldn't that be something? I could print up shirts that read 'I ate it with Travis Pastrana and all I got were these bee stings and a life-threatening rash'.
But Pastrana doesn't falter for a moment. Using his left foot on the brake and his right foot on the gas, he manipulates the car's weight transfer, balance and power distribution. The STI seems to float over the dirt as if we're driving on ice, but it doesn't miss a beat.
The key lies in the suspension set-up and all-wheel-drive system. The Ohlins dampers, spring rates, ride height and alignment are adjusted for every rally and every road condition. Pastrana prefers an oversteer-friendly set-up, but regards his STI as so easy to handle that "anybody can drive this thing." The drivetrain, backed by a five-speed dogbox gearset stuffed into the six-speed casing, uses an aggressive all-wheel-drive set-up with a programmable DCCD electronic center differential. There are multiple maps for the DCCD controller, each one carefully tested and programmed by Subaru Rally Team USA and selectable on the fly during a rally.
And it really works. With the launch control system activated, the STI digs into the dirt and rockets off, with Pastrana fighting to stay straight, ripping off shifts as quickly as he can. And with the close ratios and low top speed of the gears, those shifts come really, really quickly. We didn't have enough space to pull off a full quarter-mile run safely, but the car rips off an 8.8-second at 81mph 1/8-mile time, a mere 0.7 seconds and 3mph behind what it pulls on the asphalt at Camarillo Airport. And this is in full rally form, with the spare tire and tools on board.
Because we caught it on its way to the Lake Superior Rally, the STI came on gravel-spec BFG rally tires, which aren't meant to put up all-out dry asphalt performance numbers. Still, the STI posts a time 1.5 seconds faster through the U-turn test than the Solstice. The STI manages to peak 1g in lateral grip through the test, but the real key to its speed is its entrance and exit speed, which are higher due to massive corner-exit acceleration and the ability to put its power down.
The brakes also impress. A rally car needs brakes that can shed heat and stop well time after time, yet can also provide the modulation and feel necessary to balance the car with left-foot braking throughout entire stages. Water-cooled calipers and monstrous rotors are not uncommon on tarmac-stage rally cars. When slamming on the binders in the dirt, Pastrana can be seen fighting the steering to keep the STI pointed straight, against the tugging modulation of the locking differentials. On the asphalt, the STI stops 34 feet shorter than on the dirt and a full 20 feet shorter than the Solstice.
Interestingly enough, because rally cars need to be driven between stages, these brakes also need to be able to handle street duty as well. Pastrana opted to drive his rally car from Camarillo Airport to Friedrich's ranch for the dirt testing, instead of loading it on the transport trailer. Change the ECU mapping for pump gas and this car could become your next daily driver. Your next ditch-soaking, ramp-jumping, fire-breathing daily driver. -Joey Leh
2007 Subaru Impreza WRX STI Rally Car
ENGINE
*Engine Code: EJ20
*Type: 1994cc, horizontally-opposed four, DOHC, turbocharged and intercooled
*Internal Modifications: Unknown
*External Modifications: 34mm inlet restrictor, three-inch stainless steel exhaust system
*Engine Management Modifications: Motec ECU, Premier 88-liter fuel cell, Sunoco 104 GT Plus fuel
DRIVETRAIN
*Layout: Longitudinal front engine, all-wheel drive
*Drivetrain Modifications: KAPS five-speed dogbox gearset, programmable DCCD ECU, Exedy twin-plate clutch, Cusco front differential, rear differential, STI driveshafts, quick-ratio steering rack, front hubs, high-pressure power steering pump
SUSPENSION
*Front: Ohlins coilovers with pressure-sensitive damping and hydraulic bumpstops
*Rear: Ohlins coilovers with pressure-sensitive damping and hydraulic bumpstops, Cusco lateral links, trailing links
BRAKES
*Front: AP Racing/STI Group N gravel-spec four-piston fixed calipers, 295mm two-piece rotors, Ferodo DS3000 pads
*Rear: AP Racing/STI Group N gravel-spec four-piston fixed calipers, 285mm two-piece rotors, Ferodo DS3000 pads
EXTERNAL
*Wheels: Work gravel rally, 15x7
*Tires: 195/70/15 BFGoodrich gravel rally tire
*Body: PIAA HID driving lights, carbon fiber light pod, STI roof scoop, 1/4-inch aluminum sump guard, carbon-Kevlar underfloor protection
*Interior: FIA Group N roll cage, Recaro SPA ProRacer seats, carbon fiber dash w/anti-glare coating, carbon fiber door cards, carbon fiber co-driver footrest, Sabelt six-point harnesses, hydraulic handbrake, Coralba C-Giant rally computer