Primitive Racing Light Bag / Tubular Bumper / Damage Multiplier

I absolutely love the front and rear skid plate that Primitive Racing made me a few years ago. The plates have saved me thousands of $ in all the damage they prevented from random road debree as well as offroading and parking misadventures. I make sure to recommend them to any subaru owner I befriend.

I have wanted a push bar and a light bar for the longest time. There are some on the market but they are very flimsy, shake, may interfere with airbag sensors and would cause more damage to my vehicle in the event I was in an accident or was assaulted by a deer again. When Paul introduced the light bar that mounts to the bumper support beam I was intrigued. All the reviews seemed great so I pulled the trigger. I requested the extra rugged option to have it be made out of thicker tubing and Paul promised I could stand and bounce on it - it won't budge.



About 8 weeks after placing an order I har a fedex tracking # and a very large package showed up on my front porch.

I used this video from this post to get a feel for hot to take off the bumper cover. The fasteners were a bit more of a pain in the but then I had hoped but after rewatching the video, staring at them for a bit and pocking at them with a small screwdriver they came out.

The bumper cover is off!!

!!! What the hell did I just do to my car?!?

Left bottom bumper support - notice the recovery screw-in hole.

Broken off bottom bumper cover supports.

Left top bumper support.

Right top bumper support

Right bottom bumper support

The actual bumper itself. The bottom bumper cover supports are broken off. Probably from brushing up against the curb or from road debree that bounced off my skid plates. When I removed the bottom fasteners from the bumper cover the other part of the supports (that were still attached to the bumper cover) fell out. No big deal since the push bar is helping support the bumper cover and I plan to eventually completely eliminate the bumper cover completely.

Yes I will be upgrading/replacing the horn very soon. 

I should have noticed this but one of the drill point markers was bent - very bent. I noticed something was wrong when I was screwing it in but didn't investigate. As a result when I drilled the holes the bottom hole on 1 side was significantly off. I could see the support hole so I drilled a new pilor hole and took out another 1" out of my bumper cover. Once the holes in the bumper cover were perfectly over the bumper support screws I took out my woes didn't end. Due to the angle of the bumper I couldn't quite fit it into all 4 holes at the same time. I had to use my trusty dremel to remove some more material on the bottom holes. I was able to very easilly thread the screws into 3 of the holes with the extension in the toolkit but had to yank a little bit to get the 4th screw to seat.

The fit and finish isn't perfect but it does look pretty good. The light bar is solid and the only way it moves is with the rest of the car.

Future Improvements Suggestions

* QA on the tools and drill point indicators before sending them out. The bent drill point indicator for the bottom drill hole screwed me up a little.
* Drill template that can be layed out on the bumper cover and drilled out without removing it. Yes it has its risks and people with body kits and and weird imperfections might be screwed but it'd be a neat option. Also when the pilot hole is drilled with the saw there is still plenty of time to adjust before committing and chomping out a 1" hole in the bumper cover.
* Install videos! The products are great but not all of us are mechanics and subaru fanatics. The product shows up well packaged, with a primitive racing sticker, rough instructions and the hardware. Some install videos on the web site would be great, the downloadable manuals in PDF format might be nice too so we could prep while the part is made and shipped.
* More options! Really wish I could have gotten legacy/outback style bumper for my impreza.

When my bumper cover is eventually destroyed I don't plan to replace it, I plan to run a tubular bumper instead. I would like slightly more protection higher up, and on the sides as well as a spot to hang my fog lights that are currently inside the plastic bumper cover.

Ghetto Style

It seems nobody makes decent mounts to mount a 10 year old yakima basket case to old style square thule rood racks.

U-Bolts to the rescue! and locking cable, going to use some locking cables.

Aerodynamic Upgrade

Needed to do some hauling and loosing 1.5 miles/gallon with just roof rack. The racks are also pretty noisy. Unlike the guy on the forum with round racks I have the solid oldskool square ones. Some research yielded this (http://www.subaruoutback.org/forums/65-parts-accessories-performance/1486-thule-rack-windnoise.html). If its stupid and it works it's not stupid.

2012 Impreza Test Drive

Since my car is at the dealership due to a mishap (http://death-merchant.blogspot.com/2012/05/ramsey-subaru-sucks.html) I have a 2012 impreza. This evening I got A to drive to the store. Once she got it out of sport mode she really liked how it handled and how much better the front and rear visibility was than in her toyota.

Since I needed to start packing for the weekend I took it out for a drive to start packing camping supplies just past 12am.

The fuel mileage is pretty damn respectable too on the highway. The seats are very comfortable. I really like the leaning headrests. Kind of wish my headrests did that too.

The acceleration is nice, I'd say a little better than my impreza but than again the car is completely empty.

They finally added wire cutouts from the armrest compartment for charging cables etc. A's 2010 toyota even has that. My impreza didn't until I fixed that with a dremel and some wire grommets. Sometimes it's the little things...

The power mirror adjustments are different. Not sure if I like them more or better but it's different.

The storage in the front console is taller (like) but narrower, so my 3 way 12v slitter doesn't fit (dislike).

I do like the electric display that tells me how many miles to go until the next fill up. No love for a fuel economy display. I know I have a heavy foot. I have no desire to see it rock to the left when I get those RPMs up. If I gave a damn I'd drive a different car, and probably drive closer to the speed limit.

The dimensions seem a little bigger. I need to check the #s to see if it's just because it's a coupe instead of hatchback or if they actually made them longer. I can tell the difference because the garage floor is marked off where the car usually goes.

Looking forward to the roadtrip!

Ramsey Subaru

* Update 5/31/2012 * As of 5/30/2012 the car is back on the road and running great.

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5/17/2012

My Subaru Impreza 2.5i was at 28,481 miles. I was near a dealership, had some time so I decided to take it in for the 30,000mile service. I was quoted an astronomical fee! Highway robbery. Based on their inspection they also recommended some services for an additional fee. Fine, with good service this car will run forever. According to Subaru some of these services should have been included in the 30,000 service but the dealership Ramsey Subaru NJ had them as extras.

Total bill - $639.95

I drove home about 125 miles from the dealership - no issues.
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5/18/2012

Drove 15 miles to work - no issues.

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5/22/2012

I drove the car about 40 miles. As I was within a block of my house the red temperature gauge starts flashing!! I pulled into my garage. I saw some white smoke and smell burning antifreeze. I poped the trunk open and immediately antifreeze splashes out! I was concerned that my cap has somehow gotten blown off the radiator but I looked and its right next to the radiator! The tech at Ramsey Subaru NJ has forgotten to put it on after they flushed and changed my coolant!!!

The antifreeze was all over the inside of the engine compartment. I topped off the coolant and hoped for the best.

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5/23/2012

I took the car out, and drive about 2.5 miles. I was hoping all is well. The temperature started climbing quickly and the overheat gauge started to blink. I pulled over, and let the car cool for about 2 hours. I  checked and the antifreeze level was fine. I drove back to my garage. About 2 blocks from the house the overheat warning light started to blink again. I pulled over, stopped the engine, let it cool and finished driving home. I checked the antifreeze level and it was very low again. I topped it off.

I have read some forums and things don't look good at all. The radiator fans weren't spinning. I may have a blown head gasket and warped cylinders. At the very least I need a new thermostat and water pump. Ramsey Subaru NJ Service Dept destroyed a perfectly good Subaru that drove in.

I will be calling Ramsey Subaru NJ in the morning as well as Subaru of America. I don't expect to have much luck with service manager ( Alvaro Cisneros ), and if any help will come it will be from SoA. I will probably need to have the vehicle towed on flatbed to local dealership since it is not drivable.


I am hoping Ramsey Subaru NJ makes it right but I ahve serious doubts. In the mean time I have registered a few new domain names.

RAMSEY-SUBARU-NJ.COM
RAMSEYSUBARUSERVICESUCKS.COM
RAMSEYSUBARUSUCKS.COM
RAMSEY-SUBARU-SUCKS.COM
ramsey-subaru.com
ramsey-subaru.info
ramsey-subaru.net
ramsey-subaru.org

I will also likely be filing legal action against Ramsey Subaru NJ if they do not take care of this properly.

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5/24/2012 9:30am

Called Ramsey Subaru NJ Service Dept. I explained the situation.I was quickly transferred to corp office. After getting the basic information down, they are sending down a flatbed with a loaner car, and grabbing my car on the flatbed. They promised to make it right. Lets hope they keep their word. I am happy they are not ignoring the problem and I am very happy that my weekend won't be ruined since they are giving me a loaner.

I am 2.5 hours and 125miles away from the dealership so looks like this will take most of the day with round trips.

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5/24/2012 11:30am

Spoke with corporate again. They are working with me. A flatbed is on its way here with a loaner subaru for me for the weekend and to take my Impreza up to them. They did promise to drop everything and work on it today if it gets there in time before closing.
I was also promised they would make things right with the warranty and extend it. I hope they follow through and put it in writing. Here's hoping my engine block isn't destroyed :( .

They did politely ask me to point the domains away. I will do so as soon as the 24hr DNS refresh limit is up. Some of the domains have already been pointed to http://www.ramseysubaru.com . Once this matter is resolved to my satisfaction I will happily transfer the domains to Ramsey Subaru legal, corporate or whatever department deals with this.


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5/24/2012 2:30pm

The flatbed with my loaner still isn't here. The car hasn't been picked up which means it wont get to the techs hands today.
I also missed my eye appointment since I don't have a car.

I had a great conversation with Subaru of America about this incident.

Since I am sitting around just waiting for the tow truck had some time to update the NASIOC forums too.
http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?p=37217620



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5/24/2012 3:15pm

My Suabru is on the tow truck and I have a bottom of the line 2012 impreza loaner. No fog lights, sad cloth seats. Luckily it has the heated seats otherwise A would rebel.

My 2011 Impreza 2.5i Premium

2012 loaner

Now we wait to see what the techs and Subaru rep say.

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5/25/2012 9:15am

Got a call from Ramsey Subaru corp. I was told entire service dept is looking at the car, and Subaru of America rep should be there soon as well.

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5/25/2012 1:30pm

I'll get to meet with the lead tech on Wednesday and get my car. I was told it will be good to go.
I verified that the DNS for all the domains rolled over and

RAMSEY-SUBARU-NJ.COM
RAMSEYSUBARUSERVICESUCKS.COM
RAMSEYSUBARUSUCKS.COM
RAMSEY-SUBARU-SUCKS.COM
ramsey-subaru.com
ramsey-subaru.info
ramsey-subaru.net
ramsey-subaru.org

are all pointing at Ramsey Subaru.

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5/31/2012

It is said that the true measure of customer service is how things are handled when something goes wrong. As some know something went very very wrong after my 30,000 mile maintenance.

Ramsey Subaru of NJ corporate and their techs and service department did everything in their power to get my car back on the road.

I am very impressed with how this was handled by the dealership.

One technician made a mistake but everyone at the dealership worked to make sure I was satisfied with the repairs and to make sure my car stays on the road.

The dealership is in a pretty populated area, and service many vehicles every day. Just the of statistics that at one point or another an error occurs. When it does everyone hears about it. There are thousands of services that go perfectly well and nothing is posted about them because they are perfectly ordinary events.

I give Jim a lot of credit for handling this quickly and professionally.

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5/31/2012

Drove to the dealership on 5/30/2012. I met with Jim from corporate. I also had a chance to talk tot he lead service tech. We discussed what happened, possible short and long term damage and what was done to the car.

I have driven about 200 miles with AC on and doing a bit over 85mph. The temperature didn't go above 191 degrees, the fans are spinning etc.

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Looks like Ramsey Subaru NJ Service Dept is no stranger to destorying Subarus.
http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2353286
This post at least gives me some hope they may own up to it and fix it.

http://www.insiderpages.com/b/15246172696/ramsey-mazda-subaru-salessvc-ramsey
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Receipt from Ramsey Subaru NJ

The temperature shoots up just idling