Rally Racing With A BRZ: Members’ Rides

Thanks for tuning in here today! Last week on Members’ Rides, we looked at Kurt’s garage that features a vehicle for every purpose under the sun, while also having all three be very unique and fun. That is a very Autopian garage to me. It meets all the basic needs, while being off beat and unusual every step along the way.

Members’ Rides is where we share the cars and stories of Autopian Members. The potential to be featured here is a perk for Autopian Members of every level, from the ultra-affordable “Cloth” tier all the way up to “Rich Corinthian Leather.” Click that link and join today!

This week, we meet Santiago, an Autopian member living in the Detroit Metro area. While he’s got one of those ever-so-common day jobs, he also manages to have a fun side job as a rally racer! It’s my pleasure to introduce you to his fantastic BRZ race car, and the rest of his fleet as well.

How did you get into cars?

I’m a late bloomer, relatively. I went to college in Daytona Beach and got into motorcycles, and with some top gear and friends, I got more and more into cars.

What’s currently in the garage?

• 1980 Plymouth Arrow Pickup
• 2010 Porsche Cayenne
• 2013 BRZ Rally car

I actually had to Google the Arrow!

It’s just a Plymouth rebadge of the first-gen Mitsubishi Mighty Max, also sold as the Dodge Ram 50. The craziest part is that they were in showrooms alongside the Arrow sports cars, which were based on the  Mitsubishi Celeste and were a stylish coupe akin to the early Toyota Celicas.

How did you even find this thing?

Have to give credit to the Auto Off Topic podcast discord, someone shared the Bring a Trailer listing, which was in the next suburb over from where I live. I was driving out of state to see family for Thanksgiving and put a few bids in. I recall telling my wife, “Oops, I bought a truck.” At first, she thought I was joking. Then I showed her the listing. But she did say I shouldn’t buy any more after that until I clear up some space in the driveway.

Is it in pretty good shape?

For being 45 years old, I think so. The paint is pretty rough and there are some small spots of surface rust, one big one on the fender that seems to have been caused by a clogged drain. Mechanically, though, it’s been great after a bit of work. It has some inspection stickers from North Carolina, which explains why it’s not fully rusted out.

Anything else it needs?

It’s pretty good right now. I even got the air conditioning working a couple of weeks ago. For a carbureted truck, it’s always impressing me. As long as the carb bowl has fuel in it, it will start up right away every time.

How do you use it, mostly?

Mostly a Sunday cruiser, and just for random projects. It’s not so immaculate that I’m afraid of taking it to go get a bunch of mulch. It’s the perfect Home Depot truck.

I also used it to run the Rust Belt Ramble LeMons rally in 2023, which has been the biggest event so far. We fought what turned out to be a clogged fuel filter that took way too long to diagnose, but otherwise it completed the entire event. Doing a fuel pump and filter in an O’Reilly’s parking lot was the lowlight from the LeMons rally. I’d like to go run another event like that, although it’s pretty buzzy with no overdrive on the highway. I did find a 5-speed locally before I learned that it doesn’t bolt up to my engine, although it would work with a 4G63, which would be fun when my engine finally lets go.  Interestingly, this is also the vehicle that I’ve received the most offers on once people see it.

How difficult is it to find parts and keep running?

RockAuto still has quite a lot of parts. I did a full suspension refresh on it after I bought it, and I was impressed with how cheap the parts were. I killed the mechanical fuel pump after replacing all the 40-year-old soft lines, and the pump is no longer being produced, so I had to come up with an electric pump conversion. There’s still a decent community around these old Mitsubishis.

What engine is in it?

This is the base model with the 2.0 G52B and a 4-speed manual. It was swapped to a Weber 38 already, but I had to clean that installation up a bit after I bought it.

What’s the best thing about the Arrow?

It’s so incredibly simple. The whole wiring diagram takes up two pages in the manual. The vibes are also incredible. I find myself cruising Woodward with my arm out the window all the time. It’s really just a perfect little truck.

The worst?

I really can’t complain about it much. The bench seat is pretty uncomfortable, so I want to replace it. It’s also sometimes hard to find reverse since it’s not synchronized.

How did you come to use a Cayenne as a “tow pig”?

For several years, I used to use a 1995 Buick Roadmaster Estate to tow until the transmission inevitably failed. For a bit there, I had friends/crew tow me to races, but the time came to tow my own car again. I bought it just about a year ago, also bought in Michigan. It’s up to about 150k and still going strong – although the fuel economy is not great.

Why is this the best platform for towing?

I did a lot of thinking about what to buy before landing on this. I do three-four races a year with an open trailer, and it’s my daily driver the rest of the time. Trucks are wildly overpriced and not that good as daily drivers unless you spend a ton of money. I briefly considered the X5 as well, but all the local diesel examples seemed pretty rough. I would have liked a diesel 958, but that was just too expensive to justify.

I’ve been very happy with it though. All Cayennes are rated for 7,700lb of towing (3500kg is the limit in Europe with a standard license). I installed the tow package equipment myself. The V6 pulls just fine with 280hp, although I don’t love the cost of premium gas. The V8s seem to have quite a few reliability problems, which is why I avoided them. I’ve used it to go to four races now and I’m very happy with it, it’s very stable while towing.

What’s your favorite thing about this?

That it just kind of works. I had to baby the roadmaster like crazy (4L60), and I still blew it up eventually. This feels way more solid. It also handles way better than a 15-year-old SUV should.

Does it need anything, or has it held up pretty well?

It’ll need some exhaust work soon, which I’m not looking forward to. The body is in good shape, but the salt really kills the exhaust.

Any long-term plans for this?

I’d like to keep it reliable for a long time. I don’t really plan to do any off-roading.

Did you have to do anything for it to be good for towing?

It did not come with the tow package, but that was simple enough. The hitch replaced the rear bumper beam, then the harness runs under the trim in the rear and gets installed along with the “trailer ECU”. All the connectors were already present with a bit of foam covering them, so the install was pretty straightforward. It detects when a trailer is plugged in and automatically changes shift maps and other things. The brake controller isn’t even powered unless there’s a trailer connected, which I thought was cool.

How did you come by the BRZ?

I bought it in 2018 from a shop called Thompson Racing Fabrication. They did the cage on my first rally car and had been operating this BRZ as an arrive-and-drive rental for a bit before putting it up for sale.

What is your rally team?

I use “Escuderia Boricua Rally Team” for my social media. Escuderia is the Spanish version of Scuderia, like the Italians use. When I looked it up, it came from horse racing. Then Boricua comes from the native name of Puerto Rico, where I was born.

Why did you want this for your rally car?

At the time, The American Rally Association (ARA) was newly formed, and they were launching a junior championship similar to what a lot of countries in Europe have. The car had to be less than 10 years old, though, so I landed on the BRZ as I had already had experience with RWD with my e36.

How does it do?

It’s done pretty well. Once I worked out some electrical gremlins, it’s gotten me many class wins and podiums.

What class do you compete in?

The class is Limited 2wd. It’s for any 2WD car (FWD or RWD) with minor modifications. I think they’ve done a good job with the rule book, as over the years I’ve had close competition with Fiestas, Golfs, and various BMWs. That said, I do beat a fair share of AWD car,s which is always enjoyable. It’s also more fun in my opinion because I get more sideways. ARA has a partnership with Subaru of America, where the first few Subarus that register for the race get a discounted entry fee. It’s kind of the best of both worlds.

What mods have you done to make this do well on the rally stage?

The biggest change is in the suspension. The strut tops are raised 3.5 inches, and the car has Bilstein Motorsports dampers, getting me a bit over seven inches of travel at the wheels. The engine and transmission are mostly stock to fit with the rules. One of the bigger upgrades was a 5.29 final drive ratio (from 4.10 stock). It makes transits – time spent on public roads between the closed stages – a bit unpleasant, but it works really well on stage.

What sort of races do you compete in with the BRZ?

I mainly stay close to home, as I just don’t have the budget and vacation time to crisscross the country. Our home event is the Sno*Drift Rally in Atlanta, Michigan. It runs in February, and studded tires are not allowed, which makes it a fun adventure. I also do the Southern Ohio Forest Rally in Chillicothe, OH, and the Lake Superior Performance Rally in Marquette, MI.

What well has the car held together?

I’ve had many small issues that have taken us out in the past. Twice, the car shut off and wouldn’t refire, but for different reasons. Once I hit a bump that led to part of the air box cracking off and pinning the throttle plate shut.

I’ve cracked teeth off the rear end gears, but managed to nurse it to the end. Last year at Lake Superior Performance Rally (LSPR), I managed to get brake leaks on both ends of the car at different times and finished the last three stages with front brakes only. Once the front end of the car got ripped off trying to get rescued from a snow bank and it took the oil cooler with it, so we dumped a few quarts on the ground before shutting it off. Miraculously, that engine is still in the car and running fine.

I’m sure you have plenty of fun rally racing stories.

Every rally comes with stories. We’re all out there fighting the elements and trying to go as fast as we can without crashing or breaking something. My crew has needed to break out the welder in the middle of our service breaks (timed 30-45 minutes typically) when I ran over a giant rock that damaged my seat mounts.

Losing the brakes coming to the finish line of the last stage one year at LSPR. Getting stuck in the snow and having people appear from the woods to push you out and save the day. Trusting the notes and staying full throttle into a wall of dust because you know your competition is doing the same. My favorite though was getting a fastest 2WD stage time and P10 overall time once at LSPR, beating many cars with a lot more power and better suspension. It’s truly an incredible sport, and everyone should go experience it.

What is the best thing about your BRZ?

The handling is wonderful. It’s a very predictable chassis. It also looks great sliding through the woods. Despite the items mentioned above, it has been relatively reliable with few expensive fixes.

What do you wish was different, or what could you change that would have the biggest impact on its performance?

I’ve been kicking around some ideas. The single biggest upgrade would be swapping in an FA24 from a new 86/BRZ because that is class legal. I’d also like to try a different limited-slip. I’m using the factory Torsen LSD still, as I don’t want to get a mediocre clutch unit that will end up giving me understeer on turn-in. I could also do something like a K swap, but that would move me to the open 2WD class with a lot of fast cars and drivers.

Thanks Santiago!