I snapped my axle during my first pass at cayuga on sunday. Got a tow 140 km back home. The car sat in my drive way until tuesday when i had roadside pick it up and bring it to the dealer. The service manager gave e the old "it shouldnt be a problem" gig before i left the car in their hands. I later got a phone call from the same advisor sayin they cannot warranty the axle. Their exuse...The wheels have been modified. R U KIDDING, WHAT THE F*** IS THAT. The car is stock powertrain wise, it has only the gm stage 2. What do wheels have to do with it. I know they are 20's but why would the cause a snapped axle. I need to know if i have any options here, gettin real pissed off.

 

they have to prove that it indeed was the wheels that helped contribute to the snapping of the axel.

 

make them give it to you in writing that the wheels casued the the axels to snap..then tell them you'll see them in court

 

How can i prove that they didnt cause it to snap?

 

not your job to prove the ydidn't. it's THEIR job to prove it DID.

like said, get it in writing that they claim the wheels broke the axle.

 

No no no no! See your looking at it the wrong way, they have to proove the wheels caused it in order to deny the warrenty not the other way around.

 

buy a new axel cant be more than 200

 

yep. plus, it's his fault. broke it at the track.

 

You don't have to proove anything. The car is stock.
Engine torque broke the axles, and wheels aren't going to affect how much torque the engine makes....
BTW, do me a favour and slap the tech that told you that....

 

Well he doesn't say he was at the track when it snapped! Geeeeeeeeeez!

 

the dealer doesnt know i was at the track i told them i slipped of the clutch. and a new axle is more like $600. definitely worth tryin warranty.

 

He said in the first sentence that he was at the track when he snapped it.

And yes, I could definitely see how they could make a case for larger wheels contributing to the axel snapping. They're almost guaranteed to be heavier, with heavier tires, so now you're looking at more rotating mass, which = more stress on the axel.

Besides. You're trying to "warranty" something that doesn't even qualify as a warranty repair since it happened at the track. Plus I'd say they've got at least a half-decent shot of shooting you down due to the wheels.

Most people I know of are picking up used axels for $100 or less in good condition.

 

unless im missing something that you are all forgetting, he lives in canada. no magnusson moss in canada. and i remember reading something awhile back that ANY modification to your car in canada and it is legal for them to drop your warranty and your insurance. was pretty ridiculous but they seem to be allowed to do it.

 

what I wanna know is why you are going to the track with 20's on there? why not pull those bad boys off and throw on something smaller and lighter... save the 20's for pimpn around town.

 

Put your stock wheels back on and take it to another shop, then have them try and tell you its because your wheels are too big!!!

 

Can't happen

he already called roadside assistance...they track EVERYTHING. They need to know the outcome of the pick-up.......

 

why would i care what it runs with the 18's? i wanna know what i'm running with the wheels i use everyday. dont care if it shaves a few points from my time. i want real numbers. i'm running general rubber whichis alot harder then the stock pirellis. also the overall diameter of the rim and tire is the same as stock.

 

They may give you the "added rolling mass of the 20's + the TQ of the LSJ will exceed what the axels were designed to withold" schtick. Should have popped the 18's back on, but I guess you didnt know they would pull this card. Service managers always say "Ahhh dont worry about it, we'll take it as is" as to not tip you off, and have you change stuff back to stock. Greasy.

 

I agree 100%. People need to realize that aftermarket wheels are not worth it. Especially on these cars. I can understand when the stock wheels are ****, but these cars have pretty nice looking/performing wheel/tire combos. All you guys say the dealer needs to prove it, but all they have to do is show him a simple physics calculation. That'll be enough to convince GM.

 

You snap the axle at the track and now you're mad at the dealer because he won't fix it?

What kind of idiot races with 20" wheels anyway.

 

I highly doubt that.

 

Seems to me that if the wheels are heavier (which they probably are) they would put more stress on the axle, but I don't know how much difference that would make. And if the tires are giving you better traction that would stress the axle more than stock too.
Were you getting wheel hop? That breaks axles too.

I'd just take the advice of the guys here. Don't pay a lawyer money you probably won't get back. Argue with the dealer and GM until you make out or give up. It might take some time either way.

I'd get a cheap used axle and replace it myself so you can use the car. Then if you get GM to pay for it later you will have a spare to sell.

Good Luck

 

I'm with this guy. ^

 

but the fact is, if you dont have to modify the car to adapt to a different wheel siz, it should be warrientied. yea, bad choice for racing with 20's, but changing the rims is not somthing that should make that much of a difference, face it the balt axles dont seem to stand up to much. and yea you donthave to prove ****, theirs is the burden of proof

 

They'll just say that the wheel weight is different, blaa blaa blaa, and since the wheels are attached to the axles that they caused the problem. GM has a lot of money for lawyers, good luck. If I was a gambler I'd put my money on GM winning this one, slam dunk.