ill just ask Miss Cleo the psychic lol

 

I already told you.

 

That is one BALLIN toilet!

 

I was wondering the same thing

I would never though

 

I got 4 hrs of sleep this morning and didnt feel like getting up for Cars and Coffee, but I made it to the mini dyno day at one of the local shops. I'm very disappointed with my numbers, even though their dyno reads low (a Boss 302 put down 387whp, Edmunds got 416whp out of their test car).



The other 86s at the meet were putting down numbers that I expected to see though. There was a car that had a Nameless overpipe with high flow cat, Perrin intake tube (stock airbox), and Nameless catback. He put down 171/140 at the wheels, and he was running pig rich (stock tune sucks). Another running E85 put down 180whp, and another with an equal length header, AEM intake, and Unichip put down 184ish I think. An automatic put down 169ish with just a Nameless axleback.

My AFRs were spot on for all three runs, so I dont believe its tune related. I woke up late and didnt grab my laptop, otherwise I would've datalogged the runs so I could see timing, but the car sounded good. It certainly doesn't feel like a 157whp car, which is perplexing. In the past, my butt-dyno was pretty well calibrated. Every time I ran the CL, it would be within 5whp of my estimate. I was expecting 172-173ish and 145wtq with the FR-S.

<iframe width="853" height="480" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/ReRXABkoido" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Look closely at the video - do you see black smoke from the exhaust, or does it look white/gray to you guys? In person, it looked black, almost dark brown, but in the video it looks gray. I need to send an oil sample to Blackstone to see if they notice any coolant in it. I recently had to refill the overflow tank, but I was thinking that maybe it wasn't fully burped at the factory.

Other then that, I was really impressed with the cars at the shop.



Thats the showroom. There had to be 5-6 more Mustangs and 2 Vettes in the shop, along with a few more outside. I don't know which are owned by customers though.

 

I double checked with my friend that ran his car at the shop today, he said the smoke looked gray to him and was at high rpm's, as evidenced by the video. The car had been sitting since Thursday, so its very possible that it was simply condensation. Plus, it has been somewhat cold. But the car should have been adequately warmed up by then.

Im really hoping its not coolant, but the fact that I had to fill the overflow tank....

 

Sorry your numbers suck. If it is the HG they'll have to give you a new motor so be happy.

I think it's hotdogs.

 

I'd much rather it be hotdogs right now. A hg means the dealership will be touching it. I don't like that.

But I just saw a video from another angle, its white smoke. I scheduled an appointment with the dealer for Wednesday, which is their first available. I will be telling them that only a senior tech can touch it.

Im wondering if I should tell them about the dashcam beforehand, or catch them doing something stupid after the fact.

 

Do they f00k around over bolt ons?

 

The exhaust shouldnt matter, nor should the catch can. Thats pretty much the extent of any engine work that has been done. They'd need to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that either of those mods caused the issue.

 

There is no way any of those could cause it. / No way they could prove it. I was just asking in case you had something they could blame so you could remove it.

 

Yea, but I wouldnt put it past a stealership to try and blame me/my mods. I'll be more then willing to fight them on it if it comes down to it, though I hope it doesn't.

I just ran out to the garage and checked the overflow tank again. I filled it to just below the max line. Its now half way between min and max. I filled it Thursday. Im going to do an oil change shortly, I suspect that is where the missing coolant is.

My biggest worry is this - the last person that needed a replacement engine waited over a month to get it from Japan. They just got the replacement last week.

I'm putting the cart before the horse a bit right now though, but all signs are pointing to a head gasket or water jacket failure.

 

1. Your car still looks sexy as fuck and is likely fun to drive.
2. You're still handsome.
3. Fuck a dyno. Ask Aaron.

 

Hope everything turns out all right, Morgan.

 

Ooohh, man. I hope you don't have a head gasket failure on your hands.

 

Good luck Morgan! I hope it turns out well for ya. A blown HG would be a huge PITA if Scion decides to drag their feet.

 

1. Still is fun, Im just worried now.
2.
3.

Thanks guys. In a way, Im hoping it is a head gasket (as long as its covered under warranty, which it should be). If it isn't, then Im going to have to figure out what the real issue is, and I don't want to do that. Even worse, I don't want to let the dealer tear my car apart to find the real issue.

If it turns out to be the head gasket, I have the personal cell number of the dealers GM as well as the regional office manager. I can also press corporate, which unlike Honda/Acura, actually cares what their dealers are doing. I'll raise hell if things go south.

 

Have you been doing all maintenance on your own? That's rare for an owner that bought a car new.

If it's not a head gasket, the real problem likely won't be as bad and hopefully something you can take care of yourself. And even if you do have to take it to the dealer, the entire front end's got a clear bra that should at least protect the paint, no?

Whatever happens, good luck with it, man. Hopefully something not too serious.

 

Yes, I do all maintenance myself. I have trust issues

And yea, the clear bra is on it. But Im still worried about dings/dents/scrapes/and other dumbass things the younger techs think they can get away with. Above all, Im worried about the wheels and how low the car is.

 

Dealing with dealers sucks. You already have the contact and are known by the GM, that is a leg up. He knows you wont take ish.


Good luck.

 

damn....sorry about the numbers Morgan....

I have noticed that most people doing a dyno during a meet or a dyno day are (obviously) more interested in making $$$ and dyno-ing number of cars than actually paying attention to the car on the dyno....

I wouldnt be surprised if you took it back to the same shop on a slow day, you will net better numbers....

btw the video is private

 

Damn sorry to hear that Morgan. I was scared about a similar problem with minewith the fact my coolant went from full to min a while ago. Luckily I haven't noticed a change since then. Hopefully it isn't a HG. I understand your fear of dealers I am the same way.

 

I don't suppose you have the stockies laying around/it has the same bolt pattern on the CL?

Good luck, and keep us posted.

And it's Monday, da fuq was in the box?

 

negative...the FRS is 5x120....CL is 5x114.3

and in the box was a dyno machine...duh...

 

I thought it was 5x100?

 

^^^ I do stand corrected....they are indeed 5x100

 

Damn good head is hard to find




Do other frs/brz have coolant issues like that or are you among the first?

 

 

My friend has HG and car was still under warranty but he didnt have bills for oil changes bc he did all by him self and they made him pay for it. On the other hand put down big cotton rag on the floor where you park and check if after while it isnt wet anywhere...

Few days ago i took my car for spirited drive to bear mountine and after few minutes i noticed blueish/whitish smoke coming out of tail pipe i stoped pulled over shut the car off and checked the oil coolant end everything... i let it sit and then started it again and it was fine... i have no idea what was it compression test came out fine and even.

I Hope you wont have to raise the hell in your case and everything will be fine but your video is private and we'd like to see it

 

Dyno couldn't keep up with your car



Badassss asssss

 

I'm currently sitting at the dealership, and my phone does not like multi quoting, so I need to post it like this.

Jason - Coolant expands as it gets hot, so make sure you check the levels when cold and don't fill it to the max line otherwise it may overflow.

Aman - The contents in the box will stay under wraps for a bit longer. Once I get this issue sorted I'll have the time (hopefully) to install it. Don't get too excited, its a small upgrade.

Jake - I park it in the garage and don't see any coolant on the floor or any stains from coolant. I don't see any puddles on the splash shields either.

Wetdreemer - I haven't heard of any others with cooling system issues, other then the system not being able to keep up on turbo'd cars on the track. And , you find good head, you marry her.

Anil - You swoosh'd it again. They're 5x100 because Subaru hates us. I'm hoping that we can do an STI hub swap to go to 5x114. Plus those use larger wheel bearings.

Meko - I have a love/hate relationship with that car. I love what they did with the back bumper though.

 

Small upgrade you say? I bet it's a sweater for your key fob.

 

Back in the day, people were begging honda to sell the integra type r in the US. They finally brought it here and it didn't sell well at all. They were sitting on lots for awhile. It became more popular later on as a used car buy. The s2000 and nsx were not big sellers or moneymakers also. They were image builders, but what is the point of building an image when you discontinue the cars.

The commuter cars is where all the profit comes from. That and the stealerships. You can't just blame honda without blaming the consumers who aren't buying the sports cars.

I hope you figure out what the issues are civic. I am wary of buying a car in its first year of production. I always keep my stock wheels just in case the car ever needs to go back to the stealership or bodyshop.

 

^^^ 1 thing that I have learned about selling cars is...

1st make a car which is either soooo much fun to drive and has decent amount of power, or which has a tonnnn of power that it smashes all records

2nd announce that you will be making only 150 of those cars

3rd sit back and count the cash....

 

You won't pay for the R&D with only 150 units sold...


Honestly, if they brought the RSX-S back, with similar pricing and performance...I bet it'd STILL outsell the others in that class.

 

I love you, Morgan!

 

well you only announce that....once the 150 are sold, you announce that you will make another 100 with a "twist" (like Pagani did with the Zonda LOL)

 

Toyota has the car.

They had to open up a Techline. They couldnt replicate the smoke from the exhaust (of course not, you need to put load on the engine and look at the exhaust, which cant happen on a test drive with one tech). Theyre going to do a compression test and figure out where the coolant is going. Its not in my oil, I changed that yesterday and it wasn't contaminated.

They tried saying my car was "heavily modded". I explained the three things done, and they said that a lot of the bolts in the engine bay have been removed. Of course they were, I replaced them with better looking hardware They asked if the car has ever been boosted. Yea, I decided to rip off my GT35 last night and try my luck at having the dealer fix it

AND they wouldnt give me a loaner. If they end up fixing it, Im pushing for one. This is ridiculous that I should be inconvenienced because a problem that got past their QA department. It sucks that I just dropped the CL off at Pauls last week, so Im completely carless. But good thing Im technically out of work at the moment.

 

^^^

 

I wouldn't have left without speaking to the GM & getting the loaner.