Has anyone had a warranty claim denied? Seized engine! Pics of teardown added 6/5

[WolfpackS2k]

I just read this whole thread over the last 2 days, and a few things really surprised me.

1) I cannot believe how many people think that a modern sports car is "abused" and "not designed" for track use. And I do not mean racing. Driving around a track is not abusing a car. You are operating it within it's designed parameters. What exactly do you think Subaru was doing testing this car at the Nurburgring? Taking in the scenery? Any automobile manufacturer worth a damn pushes their developmental prototypes to the point of failure, specifically to see how and when things fail.

2) A lot of people like to compare this car to the Honda S2000. Well if this is the kind of track reliability we have to look forward to it will never compare to the S2000. What track prep does an S2000 need? Pads & fluid and nothing more. Same for a Corvette, track pack Mustang, every Porsche, etc. No sports car (especially a lightweight one) should ever need anything more than pads/fluid to hit the track.

3) Every Porsche owner that I've known has never had their vehicle warranty voided by HPDEs. And most PCA HPDEs I've attended were sponsored by local Porsche dealerships. Heck, these dealerships did most of the vehicles' pre-track technical inspections.

I guess (with the exception of Miatas and S2000s) if you want your car's marque to stand by their warranty for the intended use of their sports car (within it's design parameters) you have to pony up $50k+.

If my engine pops at a track event I'm going to feel like a fool for buying my BRZ over a used Cayman S, as a major part of that buying decision came down to reliability, cost of ownership, warranty vs no warranty, etc.

[Marrk]

@WolfpackS2k: Good post. Keep us informed of how your BRZ is doing.

[WolfpackS2k]

Thanks guys, will do! Though when I hit the track in November my car might not be stock anymore

[AyJay]

Originally Posted by WolfpackS2k

I just read this whole thread over the last 2 days, and a few things really surprised me.

1) I cannot believe how many people think that a modern sports car is "abused" and "not designed" for track use. And I do not mean racing. Driving around a track is not abusing a car. You are operating it within it's designed parameters. What exactly do you think Subaru was doing testing this car at the Nurburgring? Taking in the scenery? Any automobile manufacturer worth a damn pushes their developmental prototypes to the point of failure, specifically to see how and when things fail.

2) A lot of people like to compare this car to the Honda S2000. Well if this is the kind of track reliability we have to look forward to it will never compare to the S2000. What track prep does an S2000 need? Pads & fluid and nothing more. Same for a Corvette, track pack Mustang, every Porsche, etc. No sports car (especially a lightweight one) should ever need anything more than pads/fluid to hit the track.

3) Every Porsche owner that I've known has never had their vehicle warranty voided by HPDEs. And most PCA HPDEs I've attended were sponsored by local Porsche dealerships. Heck, these dealerships did most of the vehicles' pre-track technical inspections.

I guess (with the exception of Miatas and S2000s) if you want your car's marque to stand by their warranty for the intended use of their sports car (within it's design parameters) you have to pony up $50k+.

If my engine pops at a track event I'm going to feel like a fool for buying my BRZ over a used Cayman S, as a major part of that buying decision came down to reliability, cost of ownership, warranty vs no warranty, etc.

Amen, brother. Couldn't have said it better myself. I bought this SPORTS car with the intention of using it for SPORTS. I wanted my S2000 to be more track focused and the FR-S to be more DD focused but both be capable of track time.

As it stands now, the FR-S is receiving 0 track time as these DI issues have me spooked. Toyota made no secret in their marketing that they intended for owners to take this car to the track and I'm disappointed that I don't feel like I can do that safely and reliably. Almost like I've been misled by the marketing, hype, and the Toyota rep for being rock solid.

I think back to a convo I had with my GF a couple months ago. She was driving the FR-S and I was telling her to rev it up to see the shift light and upshift. Her response was "I don't want to hurt the car" to which I replied "It was made to do this!" (or as wolfpack says it's w/in the design parameters). Turns out she might have been right and it bugs the sh*t outta me that I bought a car where that may be the case.

[cys19]

Originally Posted by WolfpackS2k

I just read this whole thread over the last 2 days, and a few things really surprised me.

1) I cannot believe how many people think that a modern sports car is "abused" and "not designed" for track use. And I do not mean racing. Driving around a track is not abusing a car. You are operating it within it's designed parameters. What exactly do you think Subaru was doing testing this car at the Nurburgring? Taking in the scenery? Any automobile manufacturer worth a damn pushes their developmental prototypes to the point of failure, specifically to see how and when things fail.

2) A lot of people like to compare this car to the Honda S2000. Well if this is the kind of track reliability we have to look forward to it will never compare to the S2000. What track prep does an S2000 need? Pads & fluid and nothing more. Same for a Corvette, track pack Mustang, every Porsche, etc. No sports car (especially a lightweight one) should ever need anything more than pads/fluid to hit the track.

3) Every Porsche owner that I've known has never had their vehicle warranty voided by HPDEs. And most PCA HPDEs I've attended were sponsored by local Porsche dealerships. Heck, these dealerships did most of the vehicles' pre-track technical inspections.

I guess (with the exception of Miatas and S2000s) if you want your car's marque to stand by their warranty for the intended use of their sports car (within it's design parameters) you have to pony up $50k+.

If my engine pops at a track event I'm going to feel like a fool for buying my BRZ over a used Cayman S, as a major part of that buying decision came down to reliability, cost of ownership, warranty vs no warranty, etc.

In response to the statement in bold, how should one track-prep an FRS?

[CSG Mike]

Originally Posted by WolfpackS2k

2) A lot of people like to compare this car to the Honda S2000. Well if this is the kind of track reliability we have to look forward to it will never compare to the S2000. What track prep does an S2000 need? Pads & fluid and nothing more. Same for a Corvette, track pack Mustang, every Porsche, etc. No sports car (especially a lightweight one) should ever need anything more than pads/fluid to hit the track.

Oddly enough, this discussion is going on at another forum

http://www.s2ki.com/s2000/topic/1038...t__p__22737695

[ShoShin]

Originally Posted by cys19

In response to the statement in bold, how should one track-prep an FRS?

see this:
http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?p=642341

[smbstyle]

3 track days with about 350 track miles total and not a single issue (knock on wood) in the brutal Florida summer heat with oil temps touching 300*f at one of the toughest tracks in the county; Sebring.

I changed pads (with brake cooling ducts and titanium shims), brake fluid, oil and tires, as the OEM tires are horrendous on track.

[sprintertrueno86]

Originally Posted by smbstyle

3 track days with about 350 track miles total and not a single issue (knock on wood) in the brutal Florida summer heat with oil temps touching 300*f at one of the toughest tracks in the county; Sebring.

Whats the build date of your BRZ?

[smbstyle]

Originally Posted by sprintertrueno86

Whats the build date of your BRZ?

It's a Jan or Feb 2013 build date.

[ayau]

Originally Posted by smbstyle

3 track days with about 350 track miles total and not a single issue (knock on wood) in the brutal Florida summer heat with oil temps touching 300*f at one of the toughest tracks in the county; Sebring.

I changed pads (with brake cooling ducts and titanium shims), brake fluid, oil and tires, as the OEM tires are horrendous on track.

What cooling ducts are you running?

[smbstyle]

Originally Posted by ayau

What cooling ducts are you running?

Touge Factory brake cooling kit. It's working great; only losing 1/32" of pad material per track day, can't even measure the rotor thickness drop with my micrometer, so should be good through the rest of the year on these pads (Hawk DTC-60s). No brake fade at all with Michelin Pilot Super Sports on, normal heat checking but after 3 full days no cracks that can be caught by a finger nail, and there don't appear any more or worse heat check cracks than there were at the end of my first session on the first track day.

[xwd]

Originally Posted by WolfpackS2k

I just read this whole thread over the last 2 days, and a few things really surprised me.

1) I cannot believe how many people think that a modern sports car is "abused" and "not designed" for track use. And I do not mean racing. Driving around a track is not abusing a car. You are operating it within it's designed parameters. What exactly do you think Subaru was doing testing this car at the Nurburgring? Taking in the scenery? Any automobile manufacturer worth a damn pushes their developmental prototypes to the point of failure, specifically to see how and when things fail.

2) A lot of people like to compare this car to the Honda S2000. Well if this is the kind of track reliability we have to look forward to it will never compare to the S2000. What track prep does an S2000 need? Pads & fluid and nothing more. Same for a Corvette, track pack Mustang, every Porsche, etc. No sports car (especially a lightweight one) should ever need anything more than pads/fluid to hit the track.

3) Every Porsche owner that I've known has never had their vehicle warranty voided by HPDEs. And most PCA HPDEs I've attended were sponsored by local Porsche dealerships. Heck, these dealerships did most of the vehicles' pre-track technical inspections.

I guess (with the exception of Miatas and S2000s) if you want your car's marque to stand by their warranty for the intended use of their sports car (within it's design parameters) you have to pony up $50k+.

If my engine pops at a track event I'm going to feel like a fool for buying my BRZ over a used Cayman S, as a major part of that buying decision came down to reliability, cost of ownership, warranty vs no warranty, etc.

Chevy, Porsche, BMW all have denied plenty of warranty work due to track day mechanical failures. I know someone with a 2009 GT3 with a diff failure and Porsche wouldn't cover it since it happened at a track day. That car even comes with R Comps from the factory! I know another guy with a Grand Sport who had to pay something like 13K for a new engine because Chevy wouldn't cover it since it happened at a HPDE. With Ford, Chevy, etc. it really depends on the dealers you take it to. With smaller makes like Porsche, Subaru it all goes through regional people and it just doesn't sneak by.

Used Cayman S IMHO is like a ticking time bomb I still don't think you made the wrong decision. Although people put the 911 engines in the Cayman which would be a lot of fun.

That S2K vs. GT3 thread is funny. Who would pick a S2K over a GT3? I f I have the money to buy a GT3 I probably have the money to maintain and fix it.

[robispec]

And AP1 s2ks threw valve retainers handle just plain EVIL...and went threw 4 major revisions..befor morphing into the AP2 and then more fixes till the finally brought out the CR model after EIGHT years of customer testing got the bugs out....