DavesZ#3

iTrader: (26)

It's probably too late - the damage is done and the word is spreading like wildfire. Bad PR for them.

CEO350Z

iTrader: (21)

one way to kill public support.........this incident.....

z-u-later

iTrader: (43)

As much as posters on this site b1tch about Nissan dealerships, at least most dealerships are mod-friendly. In this thread alone, it goes to show you how well some dealerships treat 350Z owners. Usually, you only get to hear the bad things and rarely hear about the positive things.

breakyoselfvq35

iTrader: (5)

Well, I blew my engine at a track event in Willow Springs. I had to take a 60 mile tow, and told them my engine overheated on a ride home. They asked where I was coming from, I replied, "Personal matter." They could tell my the severe strain on my tires and rotors that ive been tracking, but they replaced the engine anyways. Once they ordered the new engine, they gave me a call and said that I would have to remove the 5/16th plenum spacer and MREV 2 because it caused the problem. I replied that these parts are new to me, and that the previous owner did not make the engine modifications aware (that was **** ****). Luckly, because I was respectful to Sabina (the lady that helped me with all my services), she hooked me up and got my new long block. I did remove my engine parts, so I still have my warrenty, and an engine that has only been through one owner, and no track street.
Track entry fee: $140.00
Gas: $90.00
New engine: $0.00
Knowing I ****ed the dealership in the *** while spanking the **** **** ********** ****** ***** gardenhose ***** **** *** with whipcream: Priceless.

Equinox

iTrader: (2)

So you lied about blowing your motor so you could get it replaced....

Its people like you that make it harder for everyone else who "race" their car to get warranty work done at dealerships. Thanks jerk..

breakyoselfvq35

iTrader: (5)

I didn't lie too much. It is my personal business where I am, and I didn't know about the engine parts untile I have already purchased the car (the owner was my brother and he refused to pay to get them removed. Im not taking family to court...). Not to mention, what would you have done in my situation? Calling me a jerk? you don't even know me. Any person will tell a little white lie in order to save themselves thousands of dollars and a lot of trouble... Now don't even give me the reason that I blew the engine so I should deal with it. Before you respond, put yourself in my shoes (and I know a smartass will respond, "I would've blown the engine in the first place") and image that you were running you car on a hot hot hot day, and just as you were entering the pit, your engine overheated and burned about two quarts of oil. Because of the overheating, your engine literally destroyed itself. Now, you have to get a 60 mile tow (and your riding in the tow truck) during rush hour, and then I have to deal with the dealership. If the engine parts where realy a problem, they would've spotted them when I get my car serviced...

z-u-later

iTrader: (43)

Well, at least your fellow Californian is leaving the Z scene and jumping into an STi station wagon . . . one less a-hole in this forum.

breakyoselfvq35

iTrader: (5)

Sure, why not. If im an *** for taking advantage of a company that could spare the money, then I bet im not the only one. Lets get off what I did, Im an ***, your as sin-free as jesus.
Back to what this forum is realy about:
Im sorry, that sucks!!!! If they don't want you to use a sports car, then put the rev limiter at 4 and the governor at 65....

Equinox

iTrader: (2)

This is the most naive response I've ever heard. Your "little white lie" may have saved you thousands, but it cost someone else a good chunk of money. Some day you will be on the receiving end of such a "little white lie", perhaps you will change your mind then.

If you can't afford to fix your blown motor (or any other part) tracking the car, then you shouldn't be at the track. Period.

breakyoselfvq35

iTrader: (5)

... Whatever... this forum isn't about me. I just wanted to share my experience with warrenty. And costing someone a good chunk of cash? yes, im stealing from starving orphans suffering from cancer at Nissan.

PDX_Racer

iTrader: (2)

Sorry, but a good driver would have been aware that the engine was in danger of overheating, and wouldn't have pushed quite so hard. Plus, the cooldown lap is just for that -- cooling down. Get the brakes cool, get the engine cool, get the driver cool.

Oh, and thanks a lot for making it harder for those of us who do use our cars but have problems when *not* driving at an event.

Oh, and yes, you did steal from yourself. Where do you think that money comes from? Trees??? The money that paid for your new engine comes from the profit from the sale of your car -- and probably a bunch of other cars.

breakyoselfvq35

iTrader: (5)

A few things I failed to mention:
1. My water temp. gauge failed to mention the increasing temp untile my engine already shut off and the radiator fluid boiled.
2. The person who was helping replace my engine knew about the parts and could've cancelled the replacement long block appon request. Being that I was respectful, and that the faulty water temp gauge was unrelated to the aftermarket parts (not so much the overheating), they decided to replace the engine.
3. Ask yourself (now this is where ignorance comes to play), what would you have done in my situation? Offer to pay for the broken motor that was not your fault, or join with the helpful service in replacing the motor.
4. Dealerships do what they can to save money. If they offered to replace my motor, who am I to say no?
5. A week later, they offered to replace my Brembo Calipers (I didn't even mention it) because they had some chips in the paint. They showed the minor chips and I respectivly declined.
6. Who is anyone on this forum to judge. Everyone has things they arn't proud of, and they are probably more dispicable then getting your engine replaced by a dealership. Writing is misleading because you read it differently depending on your mood. The best thing you can do is take things light hearted. I may sound contradictory here, but I get worked up easily. I also appologize to all those whom I may have insulted. Im over this ****.

PDX_Racer

iTrader: (2)

You should never, never, NEVER shut off a hot engine quickly! The only thing that takes heat out of the engine is your coolant and oil. As long as those fluids are circulating, you have a chance to remove heat from the middle of the engine. No circulation = immediate boiling of those fluids. This will be doubly true for a turbo engine.

It's very easy for some number cruncher at a company to point to the warranty repairs for a single motorsports user and extrapolate that to show how much savings they may have by refusing warranty repairs to all motorsports users. In their analysis, they never lose sales by alienating users - they are simply saving money by not paying as much for repairs that "wouldn't happen normally." In addition, since they no longer have to worry about "abuse," that means that they can re-define "abuse" as ANY failure! In fact, they can start developing parts that fail with any amount of "above average" stress (e.g. the "chocolate" third gear of some Subaru WRXs).

gixracer

iTrader: (2)

ie turbo timers used for a real purpose

cracked/warped rotors a another effect of not cooling down properly

there are good dealerships to work with and there are one to avoid. the hard part is finding out at the wrong time.

mhoward1

breakyoselfvq35,
I have been in your position and I prefered to be honest about it. I covered the cost out of my pocket since I knew that it was my fault that the damage was done. Even with failing monitoring equiptment I still put the machine under extreme operating conditions.

When someone takes advantage of a system, everyone pays..and that goes for all such systems. I bet many here would screem bloody murder about taking advantage of SS and other governement programs by dishonest people. This is no different.

breakyoselfvq35

iTrader: (5)

I respect what you did, but I wouldn't be able to pay for the replacement motor. Either I had them pay for it, or I take out another school load to pay for the engine. I know the engine blowing was partialy my fault (hard conditions, track day, etc...), but I don't have a stable career yet.

One more note, I didn't shut off the engine right after I came into the pits. The engine shut itself off. I left the engine on between runs, but the engine literally distroyed itself... One bad day...

I see what all of you are saying. If I had an extra 5 grand to pay for a new engine, I would've. Being as im a college student paying tuition, books, gas, rent, food, etc. On a non stable income as a server, I had no choice.

Dave 90TT

iTrader: (4)

Yes, you did. Your choice was to track the car in the first place. If you can't afford to push your car off a cliff, you shouldn't take it to the track. I track my G knowing full well that if I wreck it, my insurance won't pay. If I blow the engine at the track, I won't expect warranty coverage. I made that choice.

However, if something fails on my car while not at the track, I fully expect warranty coverage. People like you make that more difficult. Thanks, jerkoff.

mhoward1

Ok, We might not agree with what break did and can express it, but lets not resort to name calling.

gixracer

iTrader: (2)

my question to you or anyone else would be... how do you know that a failure off the track was not the result of on track use? can you really say that your clutch failed or the piston you cracked, died while driving main street was not due to the 3 trackdays the previous month.

we all know that there is a risk of taking our cars on the track damage or otherwise. you have to pay the piper to play

i think that the dealers should be considerate of certain tsb's and such., but when its obvious that there was abuse then no waranty. the problem comes in the discretion of the dealer vs. client. its to easy to say abuse at any malfunction and blame someone other that the manufacturer. but what if its not. it discretionary and how nice everyone is that day

Z1NONLY

iTrader: (2)

Many here sound as though going fast is "abuse." I can see how r-comp's might cause more stress on suspension components, or how FI could put engine internals under more pressure etc...

But I don't think hard driving is abuse just because you are driving the car on a "track."

A "track" is just a place sane people go to drive their cars as fast as they can without endangering the general public. The Z is designed far beyond the limits of "street use".

Does 159 (indicated) MPH sound like "street use only"?

I'm sure stock brakes wouldn't last more than a few laps before overheating, warping the rotors etc. But brakes and rotors are wear items anyway, just like tires. Some people get 30K+ out of stock tires, some get less than 15K. Wear items wear quicker under hard use and as such aren't covered under warranty anyway.

The clutch is another example. If you go to the drag strip on a regular basis you can expect your clutch to need replacement a lot sooner than if you drove like "miss Daisy." But the clutch is a wear item and isn't covered by warranty anyway.

If the Z is sold in Germany, what's to stop an owner from getting on an unrestricted section of the autobahn and bouncing off the rev limiter at an indicated 159 all the way down the road? Nothing.

If the motor blows at 159 on the autobahn or a "track," it's still operating within its specs. (Otherwise the rev limiter would have been set lower)

Yes, driving hard will make things wear out quicker, but Nissan thinks the drive train will make it to 60K. Of course if you don't drive it hard, you might get 200K out of the drive train. But Nissan isn't going to warranty it that long because they know that some people will be harder on the car than others.

In my book, "abuse" is forcing the car beyond its limits. Removing the rev limiter and revving to 9K would be a good example. (Or downshifting into too-low a gear and forcing the motor to rev past the rev limiter.) And if someone breaks an end link while cornering at 1.5G's on 295 race rubber at all four corners, too bad for them. When my stock struts go, I will not expect Nissan to replace them, because I lowered my car and put slightly-higher-than-stock forces on the suspension with my large street tires.


Rowing through the gears, keeping the revs in the power band, braking hard and late, while matching revs and downshifting, hitting your apex, and repeating, is not (in and of itself) abuse in my book.

Doing it on a track means the driver is considerate of the general public, but it does not mean that he is "abusing" his car. At least, not in my humble opinion.