New GR86 goes boom at a track day.

Maybe they denied warranty coverage because he wasn't wearing a proper helmet. S/

I've driven much more aggressively for hours and so far my cars have been like 'is this the best you can do?' To me the video just shows a casual drive through some curvy roads with squeaky brakes. There must be a back story, engines should not just randomly fail.

I want to like the thought of a Subaru but then again there are better options for me.

Oh there is no way in hell that failure is driver induced. Dude didn’t even get out of third gear for like seven minutes of that video. The run through the revs at the end? That was nowhere near redline. I’m not Internet racing here folks, I own one of these things….thankfully from the nicer company to deal with.

Oh. Wow. That was...something. It was not racing though. Absolutely ridiculous to flat reject warranty for racing.

Side note:
If your engine starts doing stuff like that it's a fire risk. OK to find a safe spot--preferably near a flag station where they should have a fire extinguisher--and stop the car and shut it off, especially if you can park it with a barrier between you and traffic. They will throw a black or double yellow depending on the event and come get you. It might save you or the car or both vs. continuing to drive.

ghost03 said:

Oh. Wow. That was...something. It was not racing though. Absolutely ridiculous to flat reject warranty for racing.

Side note:
If your engine starts doing stuff like that it's a fire risk. OK to find a safe spot--preferably near a flag station where they should have a fire extinguisher--and stop the car and shut it off, especially if you can park it with a barrier between you and traffic. They will throw a black or double yellow depending on the event and come get you. It might save you or the car or both vs. continuing to drive.

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It seemed the engine was having problems maybe 30 seconds before he pulled over. There didn't seem to be any turnoffs on that track but my natural instinct is to turn the engine off as soon as possible and get to the shoulder.

The one time I 'blew up' an engine it sounded nothing like the video.

ghost03 said:

Valid points.

Also insomnia is a PITA amirite? 🙃

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Yes, it is.

This place has been my go to when insomnia strikes. Or Youtube.

Ugh.

HPDEs are not "Racing". You're not competing against other drivers, although having a lap timer will give the Toyota lawyers a 3/4 chub.
(and for good measure, if you blow up your engine at the track, be sure to scrub the internet of videos before contacting the dealer.)

Not sure if it's the same guy, but related:

Wasn't he supposed to say Box, box, box as soon as he heard the noise?

Wonder if this is the RTV issue perhaps? Also, couple of things screaming in my brain about how he handled it.
1. Get off line!!! If you have an engine problem, get out of the line of fire and don't oil the track down!! Even if you don't know, get off line. Was pulling my hair out with him wandering around the track and staying on the racing line.
2. Just an observation, but I thought Shenandoah Circuit here at Summit had walls, walls and more walls and close to the track, this one takes the cake from Shenny.
3. He should have clutched in and coasted off. Trying to get back to the pit only made a bad situation even worse.

Interested to see how this situation ends with Toyota especially if it's the RTV issue that caused the failure.

Savagegeese's review says that if you have one of these, you really need to pay a couple hundred bucks to have someone that knows what they're doing pull the oil pan off to get all the RTV out before it grenades the engine.

Subaru: Built With Love, Not Durable Engine Parts

Interesting that apparently Toyota can deny a warranty claim for track use, but gives you a complimentary NASA HPDE track day when you buy a GR86.

[email protected] said:

Wonder if this is the RTV issue perhaps? Also, couple of things screaming in my brain about how he handled it.
1. Get off line!!! If you have an engine problem, get out of the line of fire and don't oil the track down!! Even if you don't know, get off line. Was pulling my hair out with him wandering around the track and staying on the racing line.
2. Just an observation, but I thought Shenandoah Circuit here at Summit had walls, walls and more walls and close to the track, this one takes the cake from Shenny.
3. He should have clutched in and coasted off. Trying to get back to the pit only made a bad situation even worse.

Interested to see how this situation ends with Toyota especially if it's the RTV issue that caused the failure.

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Fully agree on #1. There was a giant patch of grass to the inside of the track about 5 seconds after the funny noises started

#2 - I was thinking the exct same thing! Not only walls, but jutting rock faces just past those. I wonder if there are cliffs behind those big white walls. What track is this, anyone know?

Watching him drive around with blatant rod knock is painful. Silver lining, now he knows what sounds qualify as "you're done" noises.

2 doors said:

Fully agree on #1. There was a giant patch of grass to the inside of the track about 5 seconds after the funny noises started

#2 - I was thinking the exct same thing! Not only walls, but jutting rock faces just past those. I wonder if there are cliffs behind those big white walls. What track is this, anyone know?

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That’s Palmer; fortunately most are just tire stacks. It’s a really really fun place to drive, but indeed, it was designed way more as a fun club type of track than one for racing and doesn’t have all the runoff one might like.

In the CCW configuration there’s basically also a ski jump at the end of the straight. 😂

ghost03 said:

That’s Palmer; fortunately most are just tire stacks. It’s a really really fun place to drive, but indeed, it was designed way more as a fun club type of track than one for racing and doesn’t have all the runoff one might like.

In the CCW configuration there’s basically also a ski jump at the end of the straight. 😂

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Shenandoah used to have jersey/tire walls right on the edge of the track and then in one place coming off the big straight had the wall RIGHT there. It was.. interesting. It still to this day has a ski jump. If you hit it to the left you're totally fine if you're straight. If you go to the right things don't end well potentially and hasn't for some.

Palmer is up in Mass right?

Also do these cars not have low oil pressure warnings or something? It looked like it happened on a downhill upshift that wasn’t rev matched. I.e., increased engine speed without much oil pressure. Edit: which of course could be exacerbated by the whole silicone pickup thing.

[email protected] said:

Shenandoah used to have jersey/tire walls right on the edge of the track and then in one place coming off the big straight had the wall RIGHT there. It was.. interesting. It still to this day has a ski jump. If you hit it to the left you're totally fine if you're straight. If you go to the right things don't end well potentially and hasn't for some.

Palmer is up in Mass right?

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Yup, central Mass, edge of the Berkshires. Even the paddock is quite scenic.

The rovals are always like that too—usually when you’re going from the road course to the oval you have to track out right up to the wall. Overshoot a touch and some will just bounce you off, but others will suck you in. I like to ask around to find out which is which before racing. 🤣

Dude wasn’t even hammering away that hard at it. Savagegeese’s long term review of the 86 talks about this and it sounds like the warranty claim goes down to how the dealer works it. Some have had success, some haven’t. Either way, disappointing for a car that is pretty obviously sold as a car that can handle this sort of thing.

This is now the second GR/BRZ to go boom during an HPDE, and the second time Toyota outright (initially) declined the warranty. It's also well documented that the GR and BRZ have an engine issue with RTV in the oil pickup.

Hate to say it, but I am SO glad I bought a Miata at this point. I nearly bought a GR.

I love the people in this thread just now realizing that Subaru engines are crap