Hey guys. I just need some advice or a plan of action. Anything would be helpful. My car is currently at classic subaru. Stephen is the tech working on the car. The problem is the rear differential is crapping out on me they said. The car only has 17k on the car. It is lowered, but only for a couple of weeks with tein flex coilovers. They denied warranty claim because of the rear tire had a circumference(sp) greater than 1" of the other tire in the rear. The tire size is exactly the same as the rest of the car, but brand new and a different brand (falken). It was a temporary tire because i blew the other one while out of town, and nobody even carried the stock bridgestones. I probably chopped off any option of taking it to a different dealership because i called subaru corporate to see what they thought. (i know this was probably a bad move) I was just wondering if anyone had any other ideas of anything i could do or say to get warranty work done. I just don't see how a rear diff on an sti could crap out with me driving on a newer tire for 300 or so miles. Please feel free to be honest and say anything. (good or bad) thanks guys for your support.
How did they measure it? 1" seems like a lot for the same size tire. Assuming your others were totally worn out and had 0/32 tread a new tire would have 9/32 +9/32 = 18/32. That is just over a half inch. Not if you were severly underinflated that could add some also. Still 1" sounds like a lot. If it is, they may have a legit issue. The best way to measure them would be to put the side by side and measure the difference. One other issue is what diamater is the compact spare? Is it 1" different than other tires. Of course, they generally say 100 miles max. On a final note, if you had replaced both tires on the rear, would that then put the center diff in trouble as the front and rears would be 1" different in theory? So, if you damage a tire beyond repair, does that mean a new set of tires?
See that is where I am confused. They say since it is a symmetrical all wheel drive system that hypothetically you would need to replace all 4 tires every time you replaced 1. It doesn't make a whole lot of sense. They say it states in the owners manual that i have no claim. I don't have the book on me to verify this because it is in my car at dealership. I'm still waiting to hear back from both the dealership and subaru of america.
I don't know how long you could be without the car, but with some looking you could probably find a used rear diff for much less than the dealer would want. Just a thought.
A different brand/type tire is a whole new ballgame. A 225/40/17 from manufacturer X might be quite a bit different size wise from the same size from manufacturer Y. If you have a tire blow while the rest are still good (and it can't be patched) there are tire companies that'll shave a new one down for you to match the others; thus you don't HAVE to replace all 4... though it's probably the easiest thing to do if they're close to worn out. edit: just looked at the manual and it does say that you have to stick with the same manufacturer/type of tire when replacing, and that they must be close in thread wear... and ideally replace all four.
There is a junk yard just north of Conyers on 138 called Nemore Rex. 770-786-9775 or 800-745-0272. They have a wagon with front end damage that still has the rear diff in it. http://nemorerex.com/index.php?module=Pagesetter&tid=2&filter1=make^sub^38,car_type:eq:45&cv=38&car_type=45
Unfortunately, the different tire size killed the diff, not a Subaru defect... Also unfortunately you need an R180 out of an STi... You're going to have to look for a used one. Try here, nasioc, and iwsti... SS
thanks guys for all the input. I appreciate it. I'm talking with SOA to see if they will do anything. I will keep you guys updated.