My engine failed while autocrossing

[ka-t_240]

Bent crank and Rust on cylinder walls? Something seems odd to me.

Did you get the parts back?

"DS" prep shouldn't impact anything for coverage. Maybe, if you left stickers/etc on and the fact it is "autox'd", but nothing in DS mod wise should impact the engine.

[soundman98]

Originally Posted by Unplugem

Your signature says you have a 07 GT3... What in the world were you doing autoXing the economy car? Hop in the purpose-built Porsche racecar and dust everyone at the event. You don't often hear of Mezgers having these problems. Even your RX7 would have held up better than the Subaru economy car.
I understand that many people track and autocross BRZs and 86s because it's all they own/can afford. However, you apparently own a 997 GT3 and RX7. Those are much better cars for performance events; you picked the wrong car out of your garage!

lol. there's this thing called "consumables". consumables are parts that are expected to be used up during heavy use. like brakes, tires, gasoline.

just for kicks, compare the price of gt3 brake pads and rotors to brz brake pads--any brand.

that's why many people do exactly as he did.

just because someone can afford better doesn't mean that it's the wisest financial decision to do so.

[renfield90]

Motor failures: it's what makes a Subaru, a Subaru.

My motor failed in Packwood last month at 126k miles. I agree it's disheartening. For comparison, my Celica made it to 192k miles, and admittedly was eating a lot of oil, but otherwise ran fine as long as I remembered to check the level (and one day I forgot).

On one hand, motorsport is not risk free, and you should not use a car even for things like autocross unless you are prepared to write it off and walk away. For a $10k repair bill, that thought definitely crossed my mind. That said, I've seen enough good people on this platform with blown motors to think maybe these just aren't quite as reliable as the average motor (anyone who has had an EJ is probably laughing now). But to be fair, I definitely have some sour grapes now, and for sure my motor had a hard life.

Your mileage may vary.

[NoHaveMSG]

I dunno how you bend a crank on an FA20 without destroying the cases. It is the chode of crankshafts and is supported about every 5 inches by the mains and is also forged.

[strat61caster]

Originally Posted by NoHaveMSG

I dunno how you bend a crank on an FA20 without destroying the cases. It is the chode of crankshafts and is supported about every 5 inches by the mains and is also forged.

With rust and assuming OP’s info is accurate I guess vapor locked and bent a little but not enough to run awful until it finally got pounded on and finally gave up. Ran through a puddle stalled, towed home and restarted by luck and immediately sold, or maybe it was just a street car that never saw over 4k rpm.

In any case there was a statement a few weeks back from Subaru that they build street cars, not race cars. These things are not bullet proof and it’s wild how many people pretend they are.

They’re good cars, and it’s not like there’s much competition, but man I’ll be very happy if my second engine makes 100k miles at my current usage. Not sure if I’ll put that many miles on it.

[blsfrs]

One of my nephews drove his 302 Mustang through 2" of water and hydrolocked the engine. Bent the rods.

[RT-BRZ]

First off, sorry to the OP. This all sucks and having to pony up $10k for an engine really sucks.

That being said, there are a lot of comments about the reliability of this engine platform as well as point and counterpoint about how good or bad it is. There are also a few comments about it not being a race car.

The bottom line here is that a manufacturer, right or wrong, can deny a warranty claim if they suspect that the use was outside the intended use. I don't think anyone is going to get much support in going against that and the court battle would be difficult to win but definitely the outcome would be interesting if it turned out any other way.

Also, regarding race car vs. street car; can anyone point me to race engines that last 50,000 miles? We seem to throw around that these engines should last under these conditions but even race teams don't seem to get a large amount of mileage out of their engines and they are often built to much higher specs than a street car.

Again, it all sucks. "Racing" is already expensive and failed equipment just piles on.

[NoHaveMSG]

Originally Posted by strat61caster

With rust and assuming OP’s info is accurate I guess vapor locked and bent a little but not enough to run awful until it finally got pounded on and finally gave up. Ran through a puddle stalled, towed home and restarted by luck and immediately sold, or maybe it was just a street car that never saw over 4k rpm.

I figured you would bend all 4 rods long before the crank.

[ZDan]

Originally Posted by Sapphireho

Why would you expect, or even ask Subaru about "help" for a car out of warranty?

No reason not to ask.

[strat61caster]

Originally Posted by RT-BRZ

Also, regarding race car vs. street car; can anyone point me to race engines that last 50,000 miles? We seem to throw around that these engines should last under these conditions but even race teams don't seem to get a large amount of mileage out of their engines and they are often built to much higher specs than a street car.

Again, it all sucks. "Racing" is already expensive and failed equipment just piles on.

Pro racing no, they don’t put that many miles on a car.

Grassroots racing off a production engine, sure, which I think is what many people wanted when Toyota came out with an affordable 2750# rwd coupe.

https://mazdaracers.com/topic/5099-engine-reliability/

And then you have csg putting tens of thousands of track miles on their car, far more abusive than the average autoxer. Which many cars can’t even make it through a 20 minute session without heavy modification. You’re right, Motorsports is a risk and ten years on we’re learning how FA20’s hold up after 100k+ miles of use.

I’m not shocked or angry, it’s just what the reality is, no point in trying to hide it.

[RT-BRZ]

Your points are well taken. I work in IT for a living and I can tell you that electronics have a certain failure rate. I see automotive being no different.

I'm watching these conversations closely because I have a 2013 that has 29,000 on it and most of it's life has been spent driving hard. I don't intend any disrespect to anyone with my comments. I'm just wondering some of the same things everyone else is I guess.

Originally Posted by strat61caster

Pro racing no, they don’t put that many miles on a car.

Grassroots racing off a production engine, sure, which I think is what many people wanted when Toyota came out with an affordable 2750# rwd coupe.

https://mazdaracers.com/topic/5099-engine-reliability/

And then you have csg putting tens of thousands of track miles on their car, far more abusive than the average autoxer. Which many cars can’t even make it through a 20 minute session without heavy modification. You’re right, Motorsports is a risk and ten years on we’re learning how FA20’s hold up after 100k+ miles of use.

I’m not shocked or angry, it’s just what the reality is, no point in trying to hide it.

[Ultramaroon]

https://mazdaracers.com/topic/5099-e...ility/?p=75178

Right there.... I talk a lot about mechanical sympathy. Many "experienced" drivers make me cringe. I've seen some of Mike's (csg) track videos. He is clearly sympathetic.

Smooth is fast. Love the machine and it will love you back.

[strat61caster]

Originally Posted by Ultramaroon

https://mazdaracers.com/topic/5099-e...ility/?p=75178

Right there.... I talk a lot about mechanical sympathy. Many "experienced" drivers make me cringe. I've seen some of Mike's (csg) track videos. He is clearly sympathetic.

Smooth is fast. Love the machine and it will love you back.

5k rpm clutch dumps are love right?

[Ultramaroon]

Originally Posted by strat61caster

5k rpm clutch dumps are love right?

If done properly, yes. I do them and I know what to expect.

edit: I can't say that I've seen "all" of his vids, and by no means do I worship at the altar of CSG.