Lightning Posted August 14, 2005 Posted August 14, 2005 too bad you couldnt swap a V8 into the mustang with the GT parts without voiding the warranty....
myk Posted August 14, 2005 Posted August 14, 2005 Ah yes, the price of gas. At $2.95 a gallon the pleasurable drive to work is starting to lose it's luster. I try to look at it this way though: the cars are a passion, passion being something I feel nothing else for in life, so even if $3.00 or higher becomes the price for enjoying myself then so be it-it's a price well worth paying...The exhaust kits for the Z28 and the GT might have to wait, though...
myk Posted August 14, 2005 Posted August 14, 2005 Speaking of which, my WRX is now down with a blown motor! Evidently, one of the rods was flawed, and under stress, it blew up in the motor and trashed my block! Dealer's pretty sure warranty will cover it, if not, I'm taking it to Easy Street Motorsports and my car will be an STi in a week or to.... 320082[/snapback] So were you running it hard, or something?
Commander McBride Posted August 14, 2005 Posted August 14, 2005 Yeah, I was at the "track". Still, though, the motor's designed to go up to redline all day if you want and still go more than 50,000 miles. It comes down to a flawed engine part that just couldn't stand up to hard running, so it was the running that caused it, but it wouldn't have happenned if the part was the way it was supposed to be, if that makes sense, so that's why it's (hopefully) covered.
reddsun1 Posted August 14, 2005 Posted August 14, 2005 (edited) Yup, it's usually a $2.00 part letting go that will break a $2,000 motor. Do they know what caused Mr. Conrod and Mr. Block to have their falling out? Was it a rod bolt? Edited August 14, 2005 by reddsun1
Commander McBride Posted August 14, 2005 Posted August 14, 2005 (edited) Not yet, as far as I know. My impression, and my gut feeling, is that the rod was cast with a hairline fracture or a bubble in it, and under the stress of hard running, it went catastrophic. The dealer described what happenned as the rod just flying apart inside the motor, essentially the rod blew up. Edited August 14, 2005 by Commander McBride
myk Posted August 15, 2005 Posted August 15, 2005 Sounds to me like the warranty should cover the expense of repairs-it's not as if they could prove that you were treating the car in any way other than the manufacturer intended..........which would be racing?
yellowlightman Posted August 15, 2005 Posted August 15, 2005 Sounds to me like the warranty should cover the expense of repairs-it's not as if they could prove that you were treating the car in any way other than the manufacturer intended..........which would be racing? 320409[/snapback] Unfortunately, Subaru has a reputation for being total cocksuckers when it comes to honoring warranties, especially if they suspect/want to believe "racing" is involved. My friend had to jump through hoops to get his faulty transmission replaced in his WRX because he had a blow-off valve...
Commander McBride Posted August 16, 2005 Posted August 16, 2005 Warranty's been approved and the new motor is on the way. What it comes down to is that it was a defect in the engine, so they had to replace it. Plus, I'm good at playing dumb with dealers when it comes to warranty stuff....
myk Posted August 16, 2005 Posted August 16, 2005 That's great, although I've heard plenty of horror stories about warranty situations such as yours; even situations where modifications that had nothing to do with the failed system on the vehicle were attributed to the failure... The whole idea of providing a warranty, or conversely, denying warranty coverage for a "performance" vehicle is ridiculous though. What do they think is going to happen to their "high performance" vehicle when it hits the streets? I suppose then the public should buy high performance vehicles, then store them in a garage or relegate them to grocery shopping, or something...
Lightning Posted August 16, 2005 Posted August 16, 2005 That's great, although I've heard plenty of horror stories about warranty situations such as yours; even situations where modifications that had nothing to do with the failed system on the vehicle were attributed to the failure...The whole idea of providing a warranty, or conversely, denying warranty coverage for a "performance" vehicle is ridiculous though. What do they think is going to happen to their "high performance" vehicle when it hits the streets? I suppose then the public should buy high performance vehicles, then store them in a garage or relegate them to grocery shopping, or something... 320650[/snapback] I hear Mitsubishi is starting the same stuff too....
yellowlightman Posted August 16, 2005 Posted August 16, 2005 I hear Mitsubishi is starting the same stuff too.... 320841[/snapback] Mitsubishi is even worse, since they go out of their way to track down people racing and cancel warranties. This is of course compounded by the fact that Mitsubishi's are built like poo and the company itself is in serious financial problems, so anyway they can get out of paying for repair work (new clutches at 10k in the LanEvo, anyone?) they'll do it.
Lightning Posted August 17, 2005 Posted August 17, 2005 y'know, if mistu took all the money they spend tracking people down for "voiding" their warranties, they would probably save a bit of cash
areaseven Posted August 17, 2005 Author Posted August 17, 2005 Last set of pics for the month: (When replying to this quote, remove all (When replying to this quote, remove all (When replying to this quote, remove all (When replying to this quote, remove all tags before posting.)
reddsun1 Posted August 18, 2005 Posted August 18, 2005 Lookin' good, A7. You gotta admit, they blended and shaped the lines of the car in such a manner that it really belies their girth. These are actually some pretty big a$$ cars.
Commander McBride Posted August 18, 2005 Posted August 18, 2005 My suspicion is that Subaru REALLY screwed something up with my old engine. They were so quick to approve the warranty and send me a brand new motor that it feels to me like they're trying to cover for something. But, yeah, I've heard of someone getting denied coverage for a strut bar. (!)
Beltane70 Posted August 18, 2005 Posted August 18, 2005 The moment I heard about clutches blowing in Lancer Evolutions in even lower than 3k miles I had to laugh. Then I started wondering why the hell Mitsubishi would put such a powerful engine in such a small car and not have a clutch that was strong enough to handle it.
yellowlightman Posted August 18, 2005 Posted August 18, 2005 The moment I heard about clutches blowing in Lancer Evolutions in even lower than 3k miles I had to laugh. Then I started wondering why the hell Mitsubishi would put such a powerful engine in such a small car and not have a clutch that was strong enough to handle it. 321225[/snapback] The problem isn't really the strength of the clutch. It's because the car has so much power and so much traction, all of that stress is placed on the clutch. In a car with less traction, the tires would have more slip and disperse some of that stress... but in the Evo it's all placed on the clutch.
myk Posted August 18, 2005 Posted August 18, 2005 Maybe it's even more sinister than that. Knowing that 'Evo or other Mitsu' brand "performance" owners would probably be running their cars hard, combined with Mistu's reluctance to honor warranty agreements, I would say that Mitsu's got themselves quite a cash cow here..
areaseven Posted August 18, 2005 Author Posted August 18, 2005 (edited) Time to switch gears on this thread. Right now, what car-related TV shows are you watching? Here's what I've been checking out: 1. Overhaulin (TLC) - "The owner gets tricked, the car gets tricked out." Master car designer Chip Foose and the Overhaulin' team turn a rusted-up heap into a rolling masterpiece in seven days. 2. Rides (TLC) - Where some of the wildest custom car jobs can be seen. 3. American Muscle Car (SPEED) - A comprehensive look at classic American cars of the '60s. 4. Unique Whips (SPEED) - A candid look at the employees at New York-based Unique Automotive and the cars they customize for big-name celebrities. 5. Street Tuner Challenge (SPEED) - Three different teams customize an '05 Chevy Cobalt Supercharged SS, an '05 Volkswagen Jetta and a Nissan Skyline GT-R R32 to see which of the three is the best. 6. American Chopper (Discovery) - The adventures of Paul Sr. & Paul Jr., and the world-famous Orange County Choppers. 7. Texas Hardtails (SPEED) - "I like bikes 'n' beer, guns 'n' girls." Imagine American Chopper meets Seinfeld, featuring the crew of Strokers Dallas bike shop. 8. Pinks (SPEED) - "Lose the Race, Lose Your Ride." Drivers duke it out in a 1/4-mile drag race with their pink slips on the line. 9. Wind Tunnel with Dave Despain (SPEED) - A sports talk show dedicated exclusively to auto racing (and not just NASCAR). 10. Build or Bust (SPEED) - Inexperienced mechanics have 30 days to build a custom chopper in hopes of owning it (if it runs). Edited August 21, 2005 by areaseven
Hurricane29 Posted August 18, 2005 Posted August 18, 2005 1. Definatly, Foose is awesome, Sept. has an episode featureing a 2005 Mustang Gt. 2. Another awesome show, quite cool. 3. Rarely do I catch it, what I have seen was good. 4. Started off interesting, no new eps in a while and Castro is quite annoying. 5. Saw the first ep, none of the others. 6. Cool show, watch when I can. I wish they did something like this for Jesse James, would be more interesting then just Sr. vs. Jr all the time. 7. Saw once, no need for a scripted show with the likes of American Chopper and such on tv. 8. Very cool show, try to catch it each week. Those where some damn fast go karts on the other night.
Golden Arms Posted August 18, 2005 Posted August 18, 2005 The ones I watch since I no longer have the Speed channel (in no particular preference): Rides Car and Driver Horsepower TV Overhaulin American Hot Rod Street Fury Formula D Bill Goldbergs show on History Channel ( I've seen only a few eps) Funkmaster Flex's show There is another show that airs on History Channel as well, where two teams compete by building a muscle car, then they race the cars on the track. The winning team gets ownership of both cars.
Commander McBride Posted August 18, 2005 Posted August 18, 2005 (edited) I don't get SPEED (or G4, for that matter, I've got non-digital cable), so half those shows I've never even heard of. The TLC ones are mostly mediocre. I like Horsepower and TRUCKS! (not a huge truck fan, but the buildups are fun to watch), and, even with its shortcomings compared to the UK version, Top Gear kicks arse. I do like Goldberg's show, as well. Edited August 18, 2005 by Commander McBride
yellowlightman Posted August 18, 2005 Posted August 18, 2005 I generally loathe car-related shows on TV, outside of downloaded epsodes of Top Gear and Fifth Gear (Tiff Needles rocks your face), I don't bother with much. Fifth Gear is on SPEED I think now, and Discovery Channel (?) is showing an oddly edited version of Top Gear, both are the best thing for cars on television. For non-BBC shows I like watching Pimp My Ride, because at least it's honest about the fact it's just ridiculous and there's a fair amount of skill put into the cars. Although it troubles be how little they focus on the drive train of the vehicles, leaving the kids with POS cars with a nice paintjob and interior, but the same unreliable motor/transmission/etc. SPEED is such a complete joke, with it's NASCAR-centric programming. If they aren't showing renecks going around an oval, they're showing rednecks TALKING about going aroudn an oval. The coverage of the race at Infineon was pretty amusing, and just proved how utterly uninformed most NASCAR fans are about proper racing and the variety of racing in the country.
reddsun1 Posted August 19, 2005 Posted August 19, 2005 (edited) SPEED is such a complete joke, with it's NASCAR-centric programming. If they aren't showing renecks going around an oval, they're showing rednecks TALKING about going aroudn an oval. The coverage of the race at Infineon was pretty amusing, and just proved how utterly uninformed most NASCAR fans are about proper racing and the variety of racing in the country. 321374[/snapback] Hear hear! True dat. I don't watch SPEED as much as I used to; too much flipping to it, then flipping to something else while I wait for something non-NASCAR-ized to come on. Favorite shows [in no particular order] Automaniacs [Goldberg's got some nice rides, but he's just too damn big for that Cobra!] Ride With Funkmaster Flex American Muscle Car Top Gear [only caught a couple eps, but looks entertaining] Rides [keep missing the one w/the Mad Max BoB replica; that guy's in my Yahoo Group] Overhaulin [Most of the resto's kick ass, but Foose gets a bit extreme w/the paint and wheel combos sometimes; at least, extreme for the constraints of the lines of the given car in an ep. 'Bout the only way I could get my car resto'd again any time soon would be to get "nominated" for that show; but if it came back to me like some of those cars did, I think I'd flip the fu-- out on Chip] Shows I can no longer stomach to watch: American Hot Rod [just way too much artificially created tension, w/the rediculous deadlines, the general bickering and disrespect among some "cast" memebers and Boyd. Ea. ep. generally degrades into pissing matches] Pimp My Ride [sure, they're loving the exposure and increased fame, but usually eps are demonstrations of the talent in that shop being wasted on shi--y paint jobs and tacky accessories] Unique Whips [Didn't take long to get tired of watching this guy Castro generally browbeating and abusing his employees. If I worked there, I believe my stint on the show would be real short. I don't care how big he is or how loud his bark; if he constantly talked to me like a dog like that, I believe I'd end up havin' to knock W. Castro straight the fu-- out] Edited August 19, 2005 by reddsun1
reddsun1 Posted August 19, 2005 Posted August 19, 2005 Now you know this owner probably got laughed at.
areaseven Posted August 19, 2005 Author Posted August 19, 2005 For those who watch Overhaulin', which are your favorites among all the cars restored by Foose & Co.? Here's mine: Season 1 1971 Chevrolet Chevelle ("Parts Guy") Ian Zierring's 1968 Chevrolet Camaro ("902-Merlot") 1956 Chevrolet Bel Air ("School's Out") Season 2 1964 Chevrolet Corvette ("Body Off") 1968 Oldsmobile 442 ("The 4-4-New") 1965 Ford Mustang ("Rustang") 1971 Dodge Challenger ("Challenging Mopar") Lance Armstrong's Pontiac GTO ("Live Strong") 1970 Ford Mustang ("Gambler 514") 1952 GMC Pickup ("Butterscorched") Chevrolet Camaro ("Thievin' Teacher") Chevrolet Chevelle ("Double Haulin'") 1966 Chevrolet Chevelle ("Soldier's Ride") Season 3 1956 Chevrolet Bel Air ("Bel Air BBQ") 1969 Plymouth Road Runner Convertible ("Wiley and the Road Runner") Check out the Overhaulin' Gallery for pics (except for the Season 3 cars, which aren't up yet).
Jawjaw Posted August 19, 2005 Posted August 19, 2005 Speedchannel rocks - when it's not Neckcar season. Goodlord, every time I switch over to that channel during the week they are talking about Neckcar. How much is there to talk about? I guess I can't blaim them since that's what is most popular. They are decent car shows like HP tv, Trucks, and Car and Driver. I am not a big fan of hot-rod shows, though. I have not seen the Overhaulin yet but might check it out. The absolute best car show is Top Gear and not the hacked up American versions - the real ones. The chemistry between the hosts is great and very entertaining. It's the kind of show everyone can enjoy whether you are a car person or not. Fifth Gear is pretty good too and should be better this Fall when they go to 1 hour episodes.
reddsun1 Posted August 19, 2005 Posted August 19, 2005 (edited) Oh yeah, I definitely liked 4-4-New My uncle's got one rusting away in a field right down the road from me Body Off Vette Challenging Mopar kinda like D. Schramm's concept sketches Soldier's Ride love Chevelles; wheels are 2 damn big though Double Haulin Chevelle Parts Guy Chevelle I guess it can be a hit or miss thing. Foose has hit the mark nearly every time, though... I'd end up taking a lot of that sound equipment stuff back out, though. To me, that stuff's superfluous. "That's dead weight, son!" I want as little stuff tumbling around the cockpit as possible when I go tossing 'er into the corners. That, plus it's an invitation to knuckleheads to try to smash 'n grab your sh-t [as if the bold arse car isn't enough already of one]... Edited August 19, 2005 by reddsun1
glane21 Posted August 19, 2005 Posted August 19, 2005 5. Street Tuner Challenge (SPEED) - Three different teams customize an '05 Chevy Cobalt Supercharged SS, an '05 Volkswagen Jetta and a Nissan Skyline GT-R R32 to see which of the three is the best. What channel was this on? I guess the team with the $80k factory racer Skyline must have had a pretty easy task against a couple of econoboxes. Seems a little uneven.
yellowlightman Posted August 19, 2005 Posted August 19, 2005 5. Street Tuner Challenge (SPEED) - Three different teams customize an '05 Chevy Cobalt Supercharged SS, an '05 Volkswagen Jetta and a Nissan Skyline GT-R R32 to see which of the three is the best. What channel was this on? I guess the team with the $80k factory racer Skyline must have had a pretty easy task against a couple of econoboxes. Seems a little uneven. 321525[/snapback] Seriously, wtf. That's the most un-even selection of cars.
areaseven Posted August 19, 2005 Author Posted August 19, 2005 I guess it can be a hit or miss thing. Foose has hit the mark nearly every time, though... 321519[/snapback] Speaking of hit or miss, what do you think of the 1995 Honda Civic coupe that Foose overhauled? (Yeah, some people wonder why a hot rod guy is doing rice all of a sudden.)
Hurricane29 Posted August 19, 2005 Posted August 19, 2005 I don't know about the Civic, not a fan at all. Its being done was just an attempt by the people in charge to get the tuner viewers. Chip said "can we send it back?" I think when he saw it.
areaseven Posted August 19, 2005 Author Posted August 19, 2005 What channel was this on? I guess the team with the $80k factory racer Skyline must have had a pretty easy task against a couple of econoboxes. Seems a little uneven. 321525[/snapback] Seriously, wtf. That's the most un-even selection of cars. 321531[/snapback] From what I know, the Cobalt and Jetta modifications are supervised by engineers from GM and VW, respectively. And since no Japanese company decided to participate, the show's producers thought they'd just grab an old Skyline and have XS Tuning work on it. Still, this is a major mismatch. Scion should've jumped in with the tC.
reddsun1 Posted August 20, 2005 Posted August 20, 2005 Would the return of the GSX make you want to buy a Buick? Or is it too little, too late for the apparent next GM company nearing the chopping block? This concept sketch is based on the Zeta platform apparently (so fat chance of ever seeing it come to fruition). With that Tuner Challenge show: I can see why Chevy would be interested in getting involved in that. They're probably looking for long-term payoff, as the Tuner scene is where the future auto-buying market--a good sized percentage of it anyway--is going to come from. Establishing brand familiarity with the Acura rip-off-Cobalt [hey, that's what it looks like, anyway] is probably what they're after.
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