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AccessPort - worth the $$$$?


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:cool: Hi everyone! I've had my eyes on an 05 GT 5MT (Atlantic Blue) for some time now at my local Subaru dealer. They must be getting tired of waiting for me to come in and actually buy the car, so they've started to modify it, beginning with the AccessPort mod. I was told yesterday that it's now up to 285 hp and 305 lb/ft of torque. OK, the power is great and all, but is it worth the premium? The cost of the car has no doubt gone up as a result (what should I expect to pay for the mod on top of the cost of the GT?). They said that they would remove it if I wanted but since it's already now on the car.....any thoughts much appreciated (and thanks). I'd better buy this soon before their mods. make it completely out of my reach. Hope to be in the GT within a week or so if we can come to a point where we're both happy...wish me luck!:D
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it's worth $645--- if they charge you anymore than that have them remove it. (don't buy any 'labor' or 'tuning' charges they may tack on --- the AP is the most straightforward plug and play mod that takes no time or effort to install)

 

It's completely worth the money though.

 

 

On a side note - i'm surprised the dealer would install this on a brand new car. It's been said here many times to break your engine in first before doing any type of mod...

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Regardless of the break in issue, I'm surprised they'd install it before the car leaves the lot in someone's possession. I would think that would make it a dealer installed accessory, so any issues down the line would still be covered by the original Subaru warranty and any extended warranties you buy for the car at that time, and not allow Subaru to use the excuse you modded your car. Or are Dealer installed aftermarket parts (at the time of purchase of the car) still at your own risk for voiding some coverage on your warranty? Maybe Kevin of SOD could shed some light...
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Thanks for the info everyone - not sure as to how long the dealership has had the vehicle in inventory (I think awhile) and forgot to ask the current mileage - I first drove it a few months ago (w/out the AP) so I think this is a fairly recent add-on. My understanding rightly or wrongly is that any mod. could void warranty if there's ever a problem that they could trace back to the mod. Interesting point tho', that if it's dealer-installed while still in their possession as to what that would mean down the way. Anyone had any dealer problems (warranty-wise or performance-related) with the AP? Thanks again - your insight much appreciated!:rolleyes:

 

Regardless of the break in issue, I'm surprised they'd install it before the car leaves the lot in someone's possession. I would think that would make it a dealer installed accessory, so any issues down the line would still be covered by the original Subaru warranty and any extended warranties you buy for the car at that time, and not allow Subaru to use the excuse you modded your car. Or are Dealer installed aftermarket parts (at the time of purchase of the car) still at your own risk for voiding some coverage on your warranty? Maybe Kevin of SOD could shed some light...
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If they warranty the car with the AP and sign it in writing, then that would be a nice deal. For some, you will be getting the 06' model, which is RUMORED to have a slight power increase.

 

Mojo

I keed I keeed
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Actually, according to a letter that was sent to dealers by SOA and was posted here a few months ago, any mods can invalidate the warranty, even if installed by the dealer.

 

I don't know who told you that, But its not true. The Magnusson-Moss act protects you from this. It's been around since 1975 and it hasnt changed. Subaru doesnt make up thier own laws. This is federal law. Unless you are talking about Canada. I can't speak for thier laws..

 

They can only void a part of the warranty that the mod is part of. But If you put springs on your car, and the A/C stops working they still have to fix the a/c.

 

http://www.granatellimotorsports.com/magnusonmoss.htm

 

-Tronix(l4wd0g)GT

for more pics and info... http://angevine.org/legacy/legacy.html
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I'm curious what the impact is at stage one (no other mods other than this) as I have ZERO mechanical skills.

 

HP = ?

Torque =?

MPG = ?

 

 

I checked Cob's websight but didnt' see the specifics. Any info is much appreciated.

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:cool: Thanks for all of your suggestions/help. I'm wondering if there's any way the warranty would be in jeopardy if the part (AccessPort)were to be removed and the car restored to factor (gone from factory-mod-back to factory). I will get that in writing. I'm located in Canada so might have to check w/Subaru of Canada to clarify. The dealership has been pretty up-front that any mods that cause other parts to fail wouldn't be covered. THANKS A BUNCH!

 

It was an American (SOA) letter. I didn't mean to imply the whole warranty would be void. But certainly the powertrain's.

 

I'll see if I can find the letter again. It basically warned dealers about the consequences for them if they modify cars, in any way.

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:cool: That would be "FACTORY", not 'factor'.....(I've gotta start proofreading/previewing my posts).

 

:cool: Thanks for all of your suggestions/help. I'm wondering if there's any way the warranty would be in jeopardy if the part (AccessPort)were to be removed and the car restored to factor (gone from factory-mod-back to factory). I will get that in writing. I'm located in Canada so might have to check w/Subaru of Canada to clarify. The dealership has been pretty up-front that any mods that cause other parts to fail wouldn't be covered. THANKS A BUNCH!
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I'm curious what the impact is at stage one (no other mods other than this) as I have ZERO mechanical skills.

 

HP = ?

Torque =?

MPG = ?

 

 

I checked Cob's websight but didnt' see the specifics. Any info is much appreciated.

Take another look at COBBs web sight. It does not discuss MPG but HP and TQ gains for Stage 1 and Stage 2 AP are on the site.
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There are lots of threads on this around here.

 

HP = about +30-35 (25 at the wheels?)

Torque = about +50-55 (40 at the wheels?)

MPG= no difference if you drive normally

 

My "weakeness of character" sometimes makes it difficult to drive normally as pleasure is just a stomp of the accelerator away. Fortunately, like most things in life, if done in moderation it won't kill you (or your fuel economy).

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...I'm wondering if there's any way the warranty would be in jeopardy if the part (AccessPort)were to be removed and the car restored to factor (gone from factory-mod-back to factory)...

 

If it wasn't in jeopardy then all anybody would have to do after they destroyed their engine would be to flash back to stock and unmarry the AP before presenting their vehicle to Subaru for warranty work.

 

Just because it was put back to stock doesn't relieve you of responsibility, and I'd guess that while the individual Subaru service departments don't routinely snoop around in your ECU, if you were to ask Subaru to replace your motor under warranty then they (dealer service dept, regional service rep, SOA) would be much more thorough in investigating the failure to determine the actual cause (manufacturing defect, design flaw, modification, abuse). If the ECU revealed anything that couldn't be explained by records from an authorized Subaru facility then that would certainly raise suspicions on their part.

 

While the process of unmarying the AP from the vehicle puts the maps back to stock, I don't know if it's able to hide all evidence that maps were flashed.

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If it wasn't in jeopardy then all anybody would have to do after they destroyed their engine would be to flash back to stock and unmarry the AP before presenting their vehicle to Subaru for warranty work.

 

Just because it was put back to stock doesn't relieve you of responsibility, and I'd guess that while the individual Subaru service departments don't routinely snoop around in your ECU, if you were to ask Subaru to replace your motor under warranty then they (dealer service dept, regional service rep, SOA) would be much more thorough in investigating the failure to determine the actual cause (manufacturing defect, design flaw, modification, abuse). If the ECU revealed anything that couldn't be explained by records from an authorized Subaru facility then that would certainly raise suspicions on their part.

 

While the process of unmarying the AP from the vehicle puts the maps back to stock, I don't know if it's able to hide all evidence that maps were flashed.

 

Has there been a case of Stage 1 actually causing some sort of damage that caused Subaru to deny warranty work on? I vaguely remember hearing about one or two cases on Nasioc about that. Given the number of users of AP's out there, that's pretty good odds to be spending too much time worrying too much about this. Stage 2, where you're getting into the plumbing a bit, might be another story...

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Come on, There aren't THAT many AP's out there. What if your relatively new car is one of the ones which incur some sort of damage or failure that is traceable in some way? Then you may be out the price of a new engine, urbo unit, etc... all for a few tenths of a second in 0-60 and 1/4 mile times. I personally think the car is plenty quick for a daily driver and wouldn't assume the risk of a failure and serious financial liablilty for repairs.
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I don't know who told you that, But its not true. The Magnusson-Moss act protects you from this. It's been around since 1975 and it hasnt changed. Subaru doesnt make up thier own laws. This is federal law. Unless you are talking about Canada. I can't speak for thier laws..

 

They can only void a part of the warranty that the mod is part of. But If you put springs on your car, and the A/C stops working they still have to fix the a/c.

 

http://www.granatellimotorsports.com/magnusonmoss.htm

 

-Tronix(l4wd0g)GT

 

Thank you for the link! This seems to keep popping up on every thread about warrenties. Everyone thinks that one thing is going to void the entire warrenty....not true.

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Come on, There aren't THAT many AP's out there. What if your relatively new car is one of the ones which incur some sort of damage or failure that is traceable in some way? Then you may be out the price of a new engine, urbo unit, etc... all for a few tenths of a second in 0-60 and 1/4 mile times. I personally think the car is plenty quick for a daily driver and wouldn't assume the risk of a failure and serious financial liablilty for repairs.

 

Maybe not for the LGT, as the AP's only been out for less than 9 months, but for the WRX's, FXT's, etc, there's quite a few floating around (not to mention other tuning solutions). And we're still talking hypothetical failures here. I'd like to see the actual reference to a case of an AP causing that kind of damage . More likely it's driver error.

 

And it's not just the tenth's of a second off your times. It's the butt dyno where the difference is really noticeable. ;)

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Maybe not for the LGT, as the AP's only been out for less than 9 months, but for the WRX's, FXT's, etc, there's quite a few floating around (not to mention other tuning solutions). And we're still talking hypothetical failures here. I'd like to see the actual reference to a case of an AP causing that kind of damage . More likely it's driver error.

 

And it's not just the tenth's of a second off your times. It's the butt dyno where the difference is really noticeable. ;)

 

aside from 0-60 times and 1/4 mile reduced, lets remember from a roll. the AP with the additional torque and hp will get our butts moving quicker with less turbo lag.

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Here it is:

http://www.legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6629&highlight=letter+SOA

 

My point is that the fact that a dealer installed a mod doesn't make it any more "Subaru aprroved and acceptable" then if Joe's garage did it.

 

Not entirely correct. All the letter/memo says is that if a dealer installs a performance mod and the owner makes a warranty claims for which SoA is named, the dealership will indemnify SoA. In other words, in order to discourage dealers from installing performance mods, SoA's contract with those dealers says that the dealers are accepting full responsibility if something goes wrong because of those mods.

 

In fact, by requiring indemnification, SoA implies that a dealer installed mod is in fact more "Subaru approved and acceptable" than if Joe's garage did it.

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