Snow Donkey

[MikeK]

I saw this in Utah last weekend, luckily it looked like no one was hurt

[ArthurS]

Thats sucks...

[sperry]

Damn, that's more like a Snow Buffalo!!

[dknv]

Good picture.

[LetItRev]

Hey Mike,

I made it to the second part of the meet last night and heard about your investment with COBB.

For those of us not able to see/hear/salivate over your mods, can you tell us how it went?

Your car is an 04, correct? How many miles did you have on it at that point and what did they say about the warranty being voided etc?

What was installed and was it run on a dyno after? Results?

I am considering the same mods but fear warranty issues; at least for now!

Thanks for sharing.....

Franz

[sperry]

Originally Posted by LetItRev

Hey Mike,

I made it to the second part of the meet last night and heard about your investment with COBB.

For those of us not able to see/hear/salivate over your mods, can you tell us how it went?

Your car is an 04, correct? How many miles did you have on it at that point and what did they say about the warranty being voided etc?

What was installed and was it run on a dyno after? Results?

I am considering the same mods but fear warranty issues; at least for now!

Thanks for sharing.....

Franz

I hate to say it, but if you want to protect your warranty, then don't mod your car at all. IMO Subaru is very "stick up the ass" when it comes to warranty work. Their policy is "deny first, then reevaluate once the customer complains". It's just the way they play the game.

The good thing is that with all the clubs and contacts available to the Subaru Enthusiasts, and with the high quality of cars coming out of Japan, in the rare event you have a problem with your modded car, you've got tons of resources for getting things fixed for lower than dealer costs. It won't be free like it should be from the dealer under warranty, but you won't end up paying $700 because your CV is leaking.

As the saying goes "you have to pay to play". I put my confidence in Subaru of Japan to build a great car, and my confidence in myself and other enthusiasts to know how to mod a car safely. I've never heard a story about someone with a carefully modded car blowing up somthing, or breaking something expensive. It's always the story of some 18 yr old kid throwwing a boost controller on his car and "turning it all the way up" that blows a motor, not the guy spending a few grand on a sick staged kit from Cobb or Vishnu. The closest I can think of something bad happening to someone that knows what they're doing was Egan's Vishnu Stage 2 eating 3rd gear... which is kinda expected considering all the track miles he put on the car with 350+ hp!

[MikeK]

Hey Franz,

I posted a short review here: http://www.seccs.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=1371

And my dyno numbers here: http://www.seccs.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=1334

My car had about 14500miles on it when I arrived at cobb, it has about 15500 now. At the rate I am going, it will be out of warranty by the middle of next year!

Basically if anything goes wrong with the engine or transmission, I will probably end up paying for it myself. I could probably get lawyers and take subaru to court, and there is a good chance I would win, (since it is up to them to prove that the modifications caused whatever went wrong), but the reality is that lawyers cost more than mechanics, so it would probably be a waste of time.

If anything else goes wrong, for example if the radio or air conditioning died, I am pretty sure I could get them to fix it under warranty without resorting to legal action.

[sperry]

Originally Posted by MikeK

Basically if anything goes wrong with the engine or transmission, I will probably end up paying for it myself. I could probably get lawyers and take subaru to court, and there is a good chance I would win, (since it is up to them to prove that the modifications caused whatever went wrong), but the reality is that lawyers cost more than mechanics, so it would probably be a waste of time.

That's exactly what they expect you to do, and why they stonewall you. I'm cernatinly not going to hire a lawyer for a $200 repair... so they tell me "we're very confident with our assesment" after telling me my exhaust and a "B sticker" made Subaru of Japan put the wrong grease in my CV. They don't care that they're breaking the law until you actually get a lawyer.

[Kevin M]

Two words guys... PrePaid Legal.

[MikeSTI]

Originally Posted by BAN SUVS

Two words guys... PrePaid Legal.

better two word "District Attorney" they work for us you know and as long as your a consumer you get more rights then they do its just knowing how to play the game........

[sperry]

Even better two words:

assault rifle

[MikeSTI]

Originally Posted by sperry

Even better two words:

assault rifle

[JonnydaJibba]

There are a bunch of snow donkey threads, some with specific year titles, and I wasn't about to create a new thread. ANYWAY, I had quite the drive into Carson this morning. Drove around a couple Hondas who had no chains, waited 45 minutes for a semi who also had no chains to move half a foot so traffic could get by, even saw a poor pig nose WRX involved in a head on (I'm sure it wasn't his fault ). It never ceases to amaze how people in our area are so caught off guard by the snow. The driver of the semi was from Sparks even.

I hope everyone made it to where they needed to go this morning and encountered no snow donkeys themselves.

[cody]

50 minutes from Stead to downtown Reno. Got to work just before 9am, on time. Slow but smooth. I'm hoping the drive up 395 (or Virginia if it looks better) home tonight isn't stupid.

[sperry]

The road to work down on the south end of town was merely wet and not at all slippery. Not that it didn't mean the cars in front of me decided to go 25 mph instead of 45.

Edit: Holy crap the old stuff in this thread is hilarious. Clearly, this is from before I started breaking motors at the track.

[JonnydaJibba]

Originally Posted by sperry

The road to work down on the south end of town was merely wet and not at all slippery. Not that it didn't mean the cars in front of me decided to go 25 mph instead of 45.

Edit: Holy crap the old stuff in this thread is hilarious. Clearly, this is from before I started breaking motors at the track.

What is the country that requires passing a snow driving test? Finland? Can we adopt that? Then maybe people won't be scared of a little water on the street.

[k-dogg39]

It's pretty deep up here at the lake. The wind gusts were pretty scary driving over 267, complete white out.

[cody]

Originally Posted by JonnydaJibba

What is the country that requires passing a snow driving test? Finland? Can we adopt that? Then maybe people won't be scared of a little water on the street.

The problem is that the weakest link decides the strength of the chain (or speed of the traffic in this case). There's plenty of bad drivers, but also plenty of people in bad cars with bad tires. I wish there was a 4WD/AWD+snow tires only lane during bad weather...especially over the pass.

[k-dogg39]

oops double post. Stupid phone.

[Dean]

Originally Posted by cody

I wish there was a 4WD/AWD+snow tires only lane during bad weather...especially over the pass.

The problem is that all the a-holes in lifted 2-3 ton 4x4s who think rock climbing tires = snow traction and worse that they have a physics exemption would be in that lane.

[JonnydaJibba]

Hey if you can't see the lanes you don't have to stay in them right?

[doubleurx]

I saw 4 cars high centered driving my wife to work this morning. It was crazy up here! Man what an old thread. Cheers to Franz RIP!

[ScottyS]

Originally Posted by doubleurx

Cheers to Franz RIP!

In partial memory of Franz, I am planning on taking the General Class ham test this weekend.

[dknv]

The parking lots were like ice skating rinks over here last night. I'm all for people practicing snow driving in EMPTY parking lots; not while other cars are traveling through. One kid (I could see his scared eyes as he was sliding at me) needed some supervision last night.

Originally Posted by doubleurx

Cheers to Franz RIP!

hear hear!

[sperry]

The roads last night were perhaps the slipperiest I've ever driven on.

Then again I was in the truck with the xfer case locked in 4x4 instead of a Subaru, so that may have made things feel worse than they were... but it was a half inch of black ice covered by a half inch of snow down here on the south end of town around 8 pm. I was chasing the back end of the truck the whole way to BJ's and back... which is kinda like driving in slow motion since the truck's wheelbase is so long.