Has anyone ever built a stage rally Forester before?

No. At least not in North America. At least not that I ever laid eyes on.

done 50-some rallies in US, CAN, Mex...nebber ebber seen no steenkin rally Forester.

it's built on Impreza platform, so most available rally upgrades should be more or less bolt-on. cage would have to be custom x10, and you'd never get the extra weight out of that tall butt.

prepped foresta would make a great recce car, tho.

paint it white with interlocking black hexagons..."Team Soccer Mom."

I remember when they first came out, the first place I ever saw any reference to them was in the stage results for some rally and thinking to myself, "what the **** is a Forester??". If I recall, there were several listed too.

How's that for a non-specific answer? :lol:

Not that I'm aware of, but it certainly wouldn't be hard. Rear suspension might be a bit different, but the rest is no different from the oodles of Imprezas built. Do eeeeet!

I'm sort of surprised nobody has.

The 2.5XT w/ 4.44 final drive should make for a pretty quick PGT car, even with the extra weight.

Is the Forester eligible for Subaru contingency money?

Is the Forester eligible for Subaru contingency money?
Not according to this quote from the program:
Plan "A": 2002 Model Year or newer Impreza-based, 2000 Model Year or newer Legacy
Plan "B": All other Impreza-based and 1995-1999 Model Year Legacy models
But I would inquire to Chris Yandell at Vermont SportsCar to see if an exception could be made!

Dooooooooo eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet!

http://galeria.forocoches.com/data/500/8604subaru_forester.jpg

i think PE ran one in a few rallys not to long ago COBB ran one in the one lap. i'm sure they had a few"offs" that would almost be considered rallyin :lol:

<--- misses his FXTsti

http://galeria.forocoches.com/data/500/8604subaru_forester.jpg

Looks like they've got that lowered quite a bit too. What country is that from?

paint it white with interlocking black hexagons..."Team Soccer Mom."

Or yellow with a black stripe: Short Bus Racing.

<- Rallycrosses a Forester. It does ok. With the extra ground clearance I never have to lift for ruts or snowbanks...

Or yellow with a black stripe: Short Bus Racing.


^^^ That's deffinately the winner. :lol:

Several Foresters have competed in the East Africa (Safari) rally.

Paul Eklund has run one in the Alcan alaskan TSD a couple times.

Not that I'm aware of, but it certainly wouldn't be hard. Rear suspension might be a bit different, but the rest is no different from the oodles of Imprezas built. Do eeeeet!

the suspension is the same all around.

Paul Eklund has run one in the Alcan alaskan TSD a couple times.

Yup.

http://www.writerguy.com/primitive/img_racenews/racenews04f.jpg

I believe traditional rally rules limit you to 2.0 or 2.2 litres or something like that. This is why the rally STi's have smaller displacement engines than street ones. if im not mistaken, the forester has a 2.5 (no need to flame if im wrong) so i think, if someone's gonna build a rally car, they would be more inclined to use a WRX because of its already legal displacement, shorter wheelbase, and lighter weight.

no i have never personally seen a forester in a rally

my $.02

Yup.

http://www.writerguy.com/primitive/img_racenews/racenews04f.jpg


i've been underneath that forester! they made a service stop with all 3 alcan rigs at my dealer that year. that thing had all kinds a mods...

http://galeria.forocoches.com/data/500/8604subaru_forester.jpg
That's ice racing and not stage rally.

TSD isn't stage rally either...

Ya. I'm talking about stripped out interior, full rollcage etc. If that's an iceraing Forester it at least has a cage. The Alcan one is about the only one I could find online, but it's not caged.

I believe traditional rally rules limit you to 2.0 or 2.2 litres or something like that. This is why the rally STi's have smaller displacement engines than street ones. if im not mistaken, the forester has a 2.5 (no need to flame if im wrong) so i think, if someone's gonna build a rally car, they would be more inclined to use a WRX because of its already legal displacement, shorter wheelbase, and lighter weight.

no i have never personally seen a forester in a rally

my $.02

I believe the 2.0L restiction was on turbocharged cars (I know CARS rules now say 2.5L is allowed with a turbo). There are lots NA 2.5L RS's rallying.

No, that's wrong. There is no limitation on running a 2.5l car in any all-wheel drive class in Rally America or NASA. And a 2.0, 2.2, and 2.5 now all use a 34mm restrictor.

If you want to run in PGT, you'll have to ascertain that 15" wheels will fit over the stock brakes - that's the reason you don't see STi's in PGT.

- Christian

the suspension is the same all around.
Same as an Impreza sedan, or same as an Impreza wagon?

http://galeria.forocoches.com/data/500/8604subaru_forester.jpg

just noticed that thing has lexan windows all around.

i wonder how much it weighs?

Same as an Impreza sedan, or same as an Impreza wagon?

both. pretty sure they are the same aside from spring rates and valving. Pat R. ran OBS suspension on his RS that first year IIRC.

although if i am wrong i am sure i will get completey torn apart here. but i am pretty sure i am right.

DMS 50s or RS&SP or HotBits gravel struts for Impreza would bolt right on. Coilover spring perch adjustments would fix any issues with ride height differences. You'd have to fiddle with strut tops and the like no doubt.

virtually all Impreza-based suspension/drivetrain rally bits would fit -- quick steering rack, brakes, wheels, skidplates, diffs, gearboxes, yada yada.

cage, bodywork, light pods and the like would be custom.

we've actually employed numerous Forester bits in our rally cars: rear diff carrier (beefed up vs stock Imp part) and driveshafts (1 mm thicker than Imp), and the Forester 5MT gearbox carries same ratios and 4.11 final drive as the vaunted 2.5RS. Forester S automatic rear diffs have 4.44 ratio with very nice viscous limited slip. So there's considerable potential for a great grassroots rally car there.

Main drawback to building a rally forester is the inflated resale value of used ones for a donor shell. Decent Imp GC donor cars are getting down to just a few hundred bucks, and even rough WRXes can be had for $3-4 thou. My g/f's semi-beat-up, 170,000-mil, box-stock base 00 Forester L is still worth stupid money, $6-7K.

although if i am wrong i am sure i will get completey torn apart here. but i am pretty sure i am right.

Jamie is the expert, here, but when we were chatting at the 2008 Impreza unveiling at NYIAS, she mentioned that having sedan suspension on her wagon was one of the biggest problems she faced in running her car. I believe the issue was one of shorter overall travel on the wagon, or something...

Jamie is the expert, here, but when we were chatting at the 2008 Impreza unveiling at NYIAS, she mentioned that having sedan suspension on her wagon was one of the biggest problems she faced in running her car. I believe the issue was one of shorter overall travel on the wagon, or something...

that probably is a factor. i guess just beacause the physically fit doesnt make them ideal.

that is probably true (regarding travel) and probably why the OBS stuff worked OK on Pat's RS.

i think i have used up my daily allowance of probablys in that post. maybe.

Main drawback to building a rally forester is the inflated resale value of used ones for a donor shell. Decent Imp GC donor cars are getting down to just a few hundred bucks, and even rough WRXes can be had for $3-4 thou. My g/f's semi-beat-up, 170,000-mil, box-stock base 00 Forester L is still worth stupid money, $6-7K.

i havent seen a forester for less than 4,500. and that was for a very high mileage beater 98.

i paid 5,500 for mine, with a rod bearing out... '99 sohc. that was two years ago but yeah even with a blown motor they cost money.

i've though about this too, as mentioned its too bad they hold value so well

Paul Ekland's ex Alcan Forester amazing car is in So Calif and is *Ray Hocker's every day driver and course layout cruiser, recce racer. An amazing fun car!. Paul Ekland is the expert on the set up. Contact him at Primitive Racing for info. It will be at the RIM doing hard work behind the scenes.
*NASA, CRS, Rim Rally, Gorman Rally, Laughlin Rally