subaru justy 4x4 (good for amateur rally's?)

Hi, if you have some experience with subaru justy 4x4 please give some info about this car. Is the 4x4 worth anything? Is this car good for amateur rally experience?
What is better option to go, suzuki swift or subaru justy(same car as you know but suzuki is FWD and subaru AWD) ?

Thanks for help

PS. I'm gonna tune up suspension, hand break, seats and maybe a bit engine

Hi, if you have some experience with subaru justy 4x4 please give some info about this car. Is the 4x4 worth anything?


That depends on what generation you're talking about. The earliest Justy (KAD) hat non-permanent 4WD engaged by a pneumatically operated clutch, no center diff. This is OK for helping with traction on slippery hills but you shouldn't use it on dry roads - there will be tension in the drivetrain at low speeds, it will even lock up at full steering lock and it won't help dynamics much.

The second one, the rebadged Suzuki Cultus, has a permanent AWD with a visco clutch at the rear axle which should work better, but a test I've read in the German ams magazine still claimed it gave you trouble when parking. This has a 80:20 torque distribution front/rear, so it'll basically behave like a front wheel drive but hopefully with a bit less understeer.

I don't know about the third one, G3X with the SUV looks - from the look of it, it's way to high cog for decent cornering.

Is this car good for amateur rally experience?

Hard to say. Have you checked the rules of the races you want to participate in? They're bound to have some sort of regulation.


What is better option to go, suzuki swift or subaru justy(same car as you know but suzuki is FWD and subaru AWD) ?


Guess that depends on how much money you can spend, how much power you want, if you are faster with more power or with more driven wheels and how good you are at tinkering.

The only engine option for the Justy II was the 75hp 1.3L in-line 4, while the Suzuki also came with a 101 hp 1.3 L4 which I think is 16-valve, as well as a 95 hp 1.6l L4 which was also available in the 4x4. (In Germany it's called Swift, not Cultus.)

The Swift 4x4 is very rare here in Germany or that would be my choice. I have read some people on the web, like swiftmania.de, who have put the GTI 16V head onto the 1.6 block and claim to have attained 120 hp that way, while obtuse further mods are supposed to yield up to 150 hp. So that's probably your best bet for a "Mini Impreza". Only you need to have plenty of time on your hand and not be bothered about any kind of government regulation...


I'm gonna tune up suspension, hand break, seats and maybe a bit engine
Yeah, sure. Soon as you find a shop where you can get an adjustable suspension for that car, lemme know :evillol: Why would you want to tune the hand brake?

I know you can get a limited slip diff for the Suzuki, probably even by several makers. It'll cost about as much again as a used Justy. (An adjustable suspension, in case you actually find a maker that makes one, will be 1.5 to 2 times as much :lol2:

All in all, you might be better off with an old BMW 3-series (E30). The 318iS weighed just under a ton, at 136 hp. No cam belt to replace (cam chain instead); it has a decent low chassis and brakes right from the start (M3 stabilizers etc). If you want more power, just drop in one of the L6s.

And plenty manufacturers provide all sorts of aftermarket parts. Try to get bigger discs, or even decent sports brake pads, for the Subaru. It's gonna be a pain. And you might end up pouring in so much work and money that you could (almost) have bought a real Impreza or Mitsubishi Evo instead.

I still like the idea of the tuned-up Justy though... if you get the two-door, throw out all the interor trim, spare wheel etc, put in plexi windows and stuff, you might end up with a rather lightweight AWD car at rather low cost. 800 kg at 120 bhp may be realistic, and while that's not quite Caterham territory yet, it'll also be nowhere near Caterham money.