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Flyinglemur posted:If they can't get the blue one I could take the red STi they have here but both the wife and I like the blue. I liked the blue one too, but the last one in town was red so I got it. I have never seen another red STI in person (until I went to Subiefest, one of the tuner shops had a red hatch). I've seen almost every other color, but never another red one on the street. Somone even joked to me at Subiefest, "You're doing it wrong, don't you know Subarus aren't supposed to be red!" Whenever I'm at an autocross I just say, "yeah I drive THE red Subaru" and everyone immediately knows which one it is.
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Jan 15, 2012 06:22
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| # ¿ May 17, 2024 19:01 |
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Whelp, it looks like my 08 STI has a blown piston ring again. For those of you not keeping score at home, that would be blown engine #3 in this car (first was spun bearing, second was blown piston ring). Now, I do autocross the car but on this last engine I have tried to be extra good and put a few gallons of 100 octane in it every time I do anything like autocross, I have a 91 octane map I run on the Accessport and I try not to hit the rev limiter too much. Even so, driving home the other night I noticed the car was shaking a lot while idling at a stop sign. When I got home I opened the oil filler cap and sure enough there was excessive smoke coming out. Now when I crank it I can hear it skipping a beat like the starter isn't getting resistance from one of the cylinders. To top it off, while driving it yesterday the check engine light came on and it went into limp mode. I uninstalled the AP after that and after a bit more driving the CEL came on again. I plan to take it to the dealer sometime this week but have a bad feeling they won't cover engine #4 under warranty, even though engine #3 has less than 6k miles on it. Here's what I'm thinking my options are: 1. Take it to the dealer and they cover engine #3 under warranty. Drive the car for another year or so while still under power train warranty then hopefully trade in for a BRZ before it blows up again. 2. Take it to the dealer and they don't cover it under warranty. Take it to an independent shop and have them modify the engine to be more reliable (forged pistons, etc.), keep the car and drive it forever like I originally planned when buying it. My question is, if I take it somewhere else on my own dime, what should I have them do to keep this from happening again and what should it cost? I don't want to do any crazy power mods or anything, stock power has been fine for me, I just want it to be reliable and not have to worry about it blowing again. I originally bought this car new expecting to drive it until the wheels fell off but with all of these engine failures I've been planning on trading it in to get a BRZ before the power train warranty runs out. That isn't for a while since I've had it a little over 3 years and it's got a little over 35k miles on it. I figured I had some time for the hype to settle and for them to become more available before I trade it in for one, but if I'm going to pay to fix it right I'm going to keep it.
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Mar 11, 2012 15:33
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THE BLACK NINJA posted:Have you had an accessport and uninstalled it before bringing it in with the previous motors? That definitely sucks. Any other power mods? I got the AP after the first motor went and installed it after break in on the second one. I tried to be good to the second one so it wouldn't have any problems but the AP and 100 octane at autocross wasn't enough. I uninstalled it before I took it in after the second one blew but drove it around for a while before I actually took it. I heard that when you uninstall it the ECU has to go through some re-initialization checklist or something and if that's not done it will throw a red flag with the dealer. They didn't say anything about it and ended up covering it under warranty so I guess that worked. All I've done as far as engine goes is the AP running a Stage 1 91 octane map and a K&N filter. BoostCreep posted:
I haven't looked into it but this car has also had it fair share of other problems that have been covered by warranty. The transmission had to be rebuilt when 3rd gear went out, they had to replace the AC a while ago because it wasn't working and they tried twice to fix it unsuccessfully, the ipod dock I didn't even want when I bought the car doesn't work right anymore and the expensive mirror I was forced to buy because it was already installed fell off the other day due to some stripped threads. I'm worried that if I claim lemon law they look too far into it and see that I autocross sometimes and they'll say it failed due to "racing" and not cover anything.
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Mar 11, 2012 20:16
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(((k))) posted:That sounds amazingly frustrating. The 2.5 turbo motors could all benefit from better pistons. Where are you located? At the very least you should have someone tear it down, machine it, and have new pistons, bearings, and rods put in. I'd do that even id they give you a new short block. Is that what they've been doing, or just replacing broken pistons? That will give you a solid foundation to either build on later, or at least solve the weak piston issue for good. Pistons will give you the durability to drop in a bigger turbo etc down the road without this headache returning. The first time they replaced the longblock and the second time they replaced the shortblock, each time put the car in the shop for about a month. The transmission put it in the shop for a month as well so for the 3.5 years I've had it it's spent over 3 months at the dealer. I'm thinking I'm going to try and pursue the lemon law angle first (if anyone has any tips regarding how to do that please let me know). If that doesn't work they'll hopefully still fix it under warranty and then I'll drive it until I can trade it in for a BRZ. If they won't cover it under warranty I'll build up the engine a bit to be more reliable, but at this point that's my last resort. If I go the build the engine route a dyno tune will be in the mix as well. I was actually running the Perrin 91 octane map (I'm in CA and we only get 91), I heard it was better than the Cobb one. That last time I blew a ring it was the one time I had switched to the Cobb tune to try it out, haven't touched it since.
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Mar 12, 2012 04:57
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BobTheFerret posted:Good on you for keeping the car and trying to work with it despite the problems - I would say though to bite the bullet and go with forged pistons, or else to go through the lemon laws. The reason I highlighted this part of your explanation is to suggest that in the future you spend the extra cash on a real tune - the california 91 cobb map is better than stock, but 91 (particularly california/arizona 91) is hard on an engine that was really made for significantly higher octane gas. A custom tune for your engine would make it much more likely to survive, and would give you an idea of whether there may have been any other niggling underlying problems that were too small for you to notice but significant enough to toast the engine. Normally I only hit the rev limiter at autox in particularly fast sections where I run out of gear but don't have time to shift to 3rd. On the street I have the shift light set for 5k and usually shift by 5500 at the most. I've stuck with it so long because I really do love the car. It can do everything I want it to do and I think it looks great too. I always thought STIs were awesome and when the hatch came out I really wanted one so when I was able to get this one on sale it was like a dream come true. I bought it with the impression it was a high performance car that was durable and reliable and could keep up with cars that were twice the price. Unfortunately that has been somewhat tainted by the amount of time it has spent in the shop at this point so some of the magic is gone. I'm thinking the best option for me, even though I love the car and planned to keep it forever, is to take the warranty fix and trade it in for a BRZ when I can. I've always wanted a little Miata like car but couldn't have one because I need a back seat I can carry my kid in. My wife has a hatch we can use for going on road trips and to the store so I just need something to carry myself and my son or someone else. If I do the lemon law thing it may leave me with a chunk of cash, but the only other car I'd really want to buy with it would be the Toyobaru so I'd have to find some other car to use for a few months to a year until I could get one. I really wanted to wait it out for them to hopefully announce a higher performance (turbo) one but it looks like I may get one sooner. I've found that having a high horsepower car on the street isn't that fun anyway unless you don't mind getting tickets. I stretch its legs at autox but don't get to use it even close to its potential on the street, especially in SoCal where it doesn't rain much and doesn't snow. If I was going to keep the car I'd get the forged pistons and the custom tune but now I'm not going to want to get anything else for the car if I'm just going to trade it in. Part of me hopes they deny the warranty so I can just go get it built right and keep it, but I know that wouldn't make the wife happy.
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Mar 13, 2012 04:47
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Flu Roo posted:This is why I made the decision that I loved the car enough to go for the engine rebuild and forged pistons. The service manager at subaru was a douche, so I went for the rebuild to negate this issue from happening again. Just got a call from the Subaru dealer, they say they won't fix it under warranty because their internet detectives found evidence of "racing". Do I have a leg to stand on here or should I just give up and pick it up and get it fixed right? I was all ready to lemon or trade in this car and now it looks like I may be stuck with it. Other question is if I do get it rebuilt what should I have them do, how much should it cost, and how long should it last after?
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Mar 14, 2012 18:39
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jamal posted:You could try and go up the ladder to SOA. But I really dislike the stock pistons anyhow. Cobb is the place to go down there. Yimisport is probably my second choice. I just shot an email to Cobb. I'll ask you too though, assuming it's blown rings what should be done to make it reliable and about what should it cost?
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Mar 14, 2012 18:52
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Amandyke posted:I would definitely go after them to disclose this "proof" they discovered. Unless of course you go around posting your actual name along with striking tales of how you thrashed your subaru about at the race track last weekend. I'd also go to another dealer as apparently "my last dealer couldn't get the engine fixed after two tries, so that's why I brought it to you competing subaru dealer." I didn't post anything, but when I did a search some results came up like an entry list for a Speedventures autocross event and my second place finish in a rallycross last year. The local SCCA autox guys are good about posting non-searchable results but apparently other groups aren't. The service adviser at the dealership said that the Subaru rep was there and gave him printouts from my "file" that had these things in it. This is actually a different dealer than the one I took it to the first time, another dealer did the first engine and this one did the second engine and the transmission. I mean I can't deny that I have autocrossed the car but we all know that as a high performance automobile it should be able to handle that. Of course to SOA anything timed is "racing" and voids the warranty so if that's their definition then I really don't have a leg to stand on.
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Mar 15, 2012 02:08
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Amandyke posted:Here's the california lemon law: But would that hold up even with the "racing" factor thrown in? In their warranty it says: "Damage Caused Due to Use of Vehicle in Competitive Events These warranties do not cover damage to any component that is the result of operating the vehicle in any competition or racing event." Maybe I need to contact a lemon lawyer. Lazor fucked around with this message at 02:30 on Mar 15, 2012 |
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Mar 15, 2012 02:09
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THE BLACK NINJA posted:I'm no lawyer either, but this is my way of thinking. I mean, registering doesn't mean participating. And, if they are looking at results, you could say you used a friends car. Or "your other car" but didn't bother to change the registration data since no one cares. Or just deny that it was you unless it has an indisputable picture of you. I could register any name, address, and car in the world, you don't provide proof on the Internet searchable data. Sure you show your license at events, but I don't think many clubs photocopy it and put it in the interwebs. I think if I went with a lawyer I could probably get the car bought back under the lemon law and I would end up getting what I paid for it minus some for depreciation which would come out to about $25k. If I traded it in I'd get about the same amount. In either case I'd have to get a new car in which case I would want a FRS/BRZ which we still don't know the actual price of but can figure will start around $25k. I'd also have to wait at least a few months for it to even be available to purchase. Add on options, TTL, and financing charges and that probably puts it up at least another $3.5k which is about what it will cost to rebuild the engine. If I rebuild the engine I'll probably drive the car for at least another 60-100k miles at which point I could sell it and get the higher performance Toyobaru (turbo?) that I actually want. The more I think about it the easiest and actually cheapest option is just to rebuild the engine to be reliable and drive the thing to over 100k miles as I had originally planned.
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Mar 15, 2012 18:02
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Lord Gaga posted:Depending on where you are you may be able to just go to small claims for the cost of the rebuild/warranty and even if you lose youd only be out around $100. I guess what I haven't said explicitly is that if Subaru rebuilds it again I don't want to keep it. I'm only going to keep it if I get to have it built right which I would have to pay for. If they were going to rebuild it I was going to trade it in the first chance I got. I think my only two choices now are lemon or rebuild and I'm leaning heavily toward the rebuild angle.
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Mar 15, 2012 20:09
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jamal posted:You could try and go up the ladder to SOA. But I really dislike the stock pistons anyhow. Cobb is the place to go down there. Yimisport is probably my second choice. Took your advice and went to Yimisport, good bunch of guys. I just got the car back today after just over one month and just under $4k and now get to break in a 4th engine.
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Apr 25, 2012 05:33
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Lazor posted:Took your advice and went to Yimisport, good bunch of guys. I just got the car back today after just over one month and just under $4k and now get to break in a 4th engine. Got the old pistons cleaned up, turns out there were cracks in two of them. #2 http://i48.tinypic.com/2z7fypk.jpg #4 http://i46.tinypic.com/28hosjk.jpg what they're supposed to look like for reference http://i48.tinypic.com/x6lwl5.jpg Looks like I now have 4 awesome paperweights.
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May 1, 2012 06:02
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War Bunny posted:Anyone here have a newer Impreza/WRX/STi and roll with the maximum-performance accessory Dual Rear Car Seats? Long story short I'm a stay at home dad, been looking at trucks and SUV's, but don't want to give up my 10+ year dream of having a WRX/STi. How does the car seat situation work? Is the car simply too small and make you claustrophobic with two car seats in the back? I roll with the single rear car seat mod in my 08 STI and it works great. It is a bit cramped with a rear facing seat since you have to move the front seat up a bit but since we've gone front facing it's been no problem at all. My son loves riding in it too and whenever he has a choice always wants to ride in "dada's car" so he can instruct me to "go go go" when we get on the freeway.
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Jun 24, 2012 21:57
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War Bunny posted:That's awesome. Reminds me of this video. My wife is pressing me to get a new (bigger) car, but if I only get one car, I want it to be one I really like to drive. She's one of those "Cars Are An Applicance" people, so she doesn't understand my fetish. For any auto enthusiast that can only have one car the STI is the perfect choice. I use mine for autocross, rallycross, mountain road runs, commuting, and carrying the family around. It's not the best on gas but it's safe, comfortable, and roomy. I fit my wife and I, our two dogs, and my son plus our stuff for a weekend trip all in the car with no problem. If you need more space for stuff, it's a Subaru, throw a roof box on it!
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Jun 25, 2012 18:50
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| # ¿ May 17, 2024 19:01 |
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Imperador do Brasil posted:What kind of fuel economy do you see in your STi? I normally get about 24mpg mixed, and this weekend I put 300 miles on it mostly highway with 2 other dudes and my son in the car, with the a/c blasting, and I got 26mpg. I've seen as high as 26 doing 65 on the freeway for extended periods but according the the car computer I usually get about 18 mixed since around here everyone goes 80 on the freeway. That's with a Cobb stage 1 ACN91 tune on crap CA 91 octane gas so you can probably do better if you can feed it the 93 it wants.
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Jun 27, 2012 05:38
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