0:00 / 0:00
GRIDLIFE Champion, Dewey Dewitt talks GRIDLIFE sale, building RACECARS in 2026

GRIDLIFE Champion, Dewey Dewitt talks GRIDLIFE sale, building RACECARS in 2026

Konig - Behind The Wheel Podcast Mar 18, 2026 67 min
0:00
0:00

About this episode

Dewey Dewitt dives deep into the recent GRIDLIFE sale, reassuring fans that the new ownership by a media company with racing roots aims to grow the community and improve the series. He shares insights on building competitive Subaru race cars, discussing engine platforms like the EJ and FA, and the challenges and opportunities in tuning and reliability. Dewey also explores chassis preferences for time attack, the future of transmissions with the eight-speed automatic, and the expansion of IAG into off-road platforms like Broncos. The episode wraps with a lively debate on gold wheels making a comeback in the Subaru scene.

Cars: Porsche 911
Filter:
|
Technical Too Afraid to Ask
Car

Porsche 911 (997)

"or even, even some of the 997 stuff that has obviously come down in price sort of. ... But, you know, the thing is like the 997, as long as you didn't have the bore scoring issue, it was a good car."

The Porsche 911 (997) is a version of the famous 911 sports car made between 2004 and 2012. Some of these cars had engine problems called bore scoring, but many are still great to drive and own.

Term

bore scoring

"But, you know, the thing is like the 997, as long as you didn't have the bore scoring issue, it was a good car."

Bore scoring means the inside of the engine's cylinders gets scratched or worn out, which can make the car run badly or break down. Some Porsche 911 (997) cars had this problem.

Concept

race series

"knowing how, you know, race, you know, race series are supposed to be conducted. So I think that there's, there's a potential lot of good things that could happen there for grid life on the race series organization side."

A race series is like a sports league where many car races happen over time, all following the same rules.

Concept

live stream

"we're going to do a good job, we're going to, you know, get this stuff, you know, take the live stream to a new height, do this thing that, or it can potentially go the way of trying to use partners and different things like that to essentially try to build this huge monetization tunnel."

A live stream is like watching a car race on your phone or computer while it is happening.

Concept

Formula Drift

"I would argue the same thing has happened with Formula Drift and some of the other series,"

Formula Drift is a car race where drivers slide their cars around corners to show skill and speed.

Concept

GRIDLIFE

"So kind of bridging off of of the of the grid life, you know, kind of recent update. It brings it."

GRIDLIFE is a type of car race event where people race on tracks and also have fun with car shows and drifting. It's like a big car party with racing.

Company

IAG

"But so how does the IAG I mean, obviously, we know you work for IAG, but how does the IAG circle work and kind of weave into your program?"

IAG is a company that makes car engines and parts better, especially for Subaru cars. They help make cars faster and stronger for racing.

Brand

Subaru

"So on the on the Subaru level, I mean, like you said, going a whole season, you had you had a number of wins, a lot of wins, you guys stack them up, but in addition to that, you also like you said, campaigned a car that the engine didn't have to be messed with all season long."

Subaru is a car company from Japan that makes cars known for being good in races and on rough roads because of their special engines and all-wheel-drive. Many people like to race and modify Subaru cars.

Term

platform

"It's a really good thing, but, but so when we start talking about platform, there's a few things that come to my mind for, for some of those people watching. The first thing is we obviously have the chassis platform and then we have the engine platform, right?"

A platform is like the basic structure and parts that many cars share, like the frame and engine setup, so they can be built more easily and perform well.

Term

K series engine

"That's kind of the question we're going to, are you going to start to see the FA engine move into the older platforms, kind of like how, you know, we've started to see the K series go into the older platform. That's the perfect way to see that too. I was a Honda head back in the day also. So I, I saw the whole B series into K series. I lived through that. Um, and now all you see is K series put and that's cause you're crazy."

The K series engine is a type of Honda engine that many people like to put into older cars because it can make them faster and is easy to work on.

Term

B series engine

"I was a Honda head back in the day also. So I, I saw the whole B series into K series. I lived through that. Um, and now all you see is K series put and that's cause you're crazy."

The B series engine is an older Honda engine that people used before the K series came out. Many swapped it out for the newer K series to get more power.

Term

cast piston

"They're not bad. Um, the short block itself, it's still a cast piston."

Cast pistons are made by pouring melted metal into a shape to make the piston. They are cheaper but not as strong as pistons made by squeezing metal under pressure.

Term

ring land issues

"Um, it doesn't have the ring land issues of the, uh, the EJ 25 specifically."

Ring land issues happen when the thin parts of a piston that hold the rings crack or break, causing the engine to lose power or get damaged.

Car

Subaru EJ25 engine

"Um, it doesn't have the ring land issues of the, uh, the EJ 25 specifically."

The EJ25 is an engine made by Subaru that has four cylinders lying flat. Some versions had problems with parts inside the engine breaking under stress.

Term

turbo engine

"Um, it was designed to be a turbo engine from the get go."

A turbo engine has a special part called a turbocharger that pushes more air into the engine so it can make more power.

Term

cylinder walls

"Um, you can see that the cylinder walls are a little bit thicker."

Cylinder walls are the inside parts of the engine where the pistons slide up and down. Thicker walls help the engine last longer and handle more power.

Term

boost

"And then you guys just slam it with boost in the aftermarket."

Boost means pushing extra air into the engine using a turbo or supercharger so the engine can make more power.

Concept

aftermarket

""But what I'm surprised as the aftermarket though is, and again, I'm saying we, but we don't really do body pieces. No, I understand what you mean. You mean we as an aftermarket, we should have grabbed onto that is this is the easiest thing to upgrade.""

Aftermarket means parts or upgrades you can add to your car that weren't made by the original car company. People use these to make their cars faster, cooler, or different.

Concept

Nürburgring

"But the other thing that killed them too is they were, they were STI prototypes that were running around the Nurburgring already. Like they were running STI."

The Nürburgring is a famous race track in Germany where car makers test their fast cars to see how well they perform.

Term

cable operated transmission

"And if you, you don't know the, the, the VB uses a cable operated trans, not a linkage operated trans, but the VB 100% was designed to take an STI style"

A cable operated transmission means the car changes gears using cables that connect the gear stick to the engine parts.

Term

proper fuel systems

"Yeah, we're talking built engines, proper fuel systems, all sorts of stuff. Now, if you want to compete, right?"

Proper fuel systems mean the parts that bring fuel to the engine are better and stronger, so the engine gets enough fuel when it needs more power.

Term

stage two

"And if you were to it, the stage two for a VB is incredible. It is unreal how quick those cars are."

Stage two means the second level of upgrades to make a car faster. It usually means bigger parts and better tuning to get more power.

Term

transswap

"So we're looking at doing an STI transwap, no matter what, right? ... It's very straightforward. That's the nice thing about, well, STI transwap."

A transswap means changing the car's transmission to a better or different one to make the car work or perform better.

Car

Subaru FA engine

"STI transbolts right to an FA engine. Like the, yeah, the patterns all the same, all the mountings all there."

The Subaru FA engine is a type of engine that Subaru uses in some of their cars. It works well with the STI transmission when swapping.

Term

driveshaft extender

"Like you need a little extender piece to, so the driveshaft sure makes up the distance, but there's a couple of companies who make those and everything"

A driveshaft extender is a part that makes the connection between the engine and wheels longer so everything fits right when you change parts inside the car.

Term

manual transmission

""...doing that on a manual transmission can be annoying to drive on the street. And I've always looked at it as this, the eight HP would give me those best of both worlds...""

A manual transmission is a type of car gearbox where the driver changes gears themselves using a pedal and stick, giving more control but needing more skill.

Term

torquey engine

""...where I can have the, the good powerful torquey engine and not have to have a clutch that supports it. But your second car should be a manual.""

A torquey engine is one that can push the car strongly from a stop or at low speeds, making it feel powerful and quick.

Term

heel-toe downshifting

""...If you can't heel toe properly, like you, you aren't even going to be able to appreciate what that eight HP is doing. Yeah. That's true.""

Heel-toe downshifting is a way to use the pedals in a manual car so you can slow down and change gears smoothly without jerking the car.

Term

brand awareness

"And then there's the, the whole thing of just brand awareness, right? You come from one segment, every, you know, everyone knows IEG. And then you go over here and they're like, what the hell is that?"

Brand awareness means how many people know about a company and what it sells, which helps the company sell more products.

Car

Ford Raptor

"like that and his, and his quick, you know, his quick, uh, right hook to, uh, to some of the Ford Raptor community and stuff like that has been pretty interesting to watch."

The Ford Raptor is a special kind of truck made by Ford that is really good at driving on rough dirt roads and trails. It has a strong engine and special parts to help it go fast and handle bumps.

Term

concave

"Maybe unless you make a concave and then you just lost it again. But that, that wheel already is slightly concave."

Concave means the middle part of the wheel is pushed inward, making it look like a bowl.

Term

wheel clearance

"I don't think it's going to clear Brembo brakes for the performance pack BRZ. I don't think it will clear Brembo brakes in the front for STI, but we can double check that with that said, check that for you,"

Wheel clearance means making sure the wheels have enough room so they don't hit other parts of the car like the brakes.

1 cars featured

Request an Explanation

Heard something you'd like explained? We'll add it to this episode.

Sign in to request explanations for terms you heard.

Want to learn more?

Browse our glossary for plain-English explanations of automotive terms, jargon, and concepts.

Explore Terms

Help improve this episode

See something that's not quite right? Our annotations are AI-generated and can sometimes miss the mark. Click the flag icon on any annotation to suggest a correction.

Report incorrect info
Suggest better explanations
Flag missing cars