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Bump steer and insurance?

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Old 01 October 2001, 12:30 PM
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blf21
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I'm sure this must have come up before, but...

Is having your bump steer settings adjusted by Power Engineering something that you're meant to notify your insurance company about? I need a four wheel alignment done, as my Scoob is way out, so I was thinking I may as well have the bump steer aswell/instead?

Ben.

Edited for late night spelling syndrome.

[This message has been edited by blf21 (edited 01 October 2001).]
Old 01 October 2001, 02:32 PM
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IWatkins
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Ben,

You mean Powerstation not Power Engineering ?

Basically, any modification you make, you should tell your insurance company otherwsie they have every right (should you try to make a claim) to not pay out if they discover the modification. I don't say this lightly, people have had payouts refused for smaller mods than this one.

So phone your company, explain the change and then ask for the premium increase (if any). Ask them to confirm in writing should you go ahead and have the modification done. This way you have a paper trail.

I don't jest about the last point. I know of a few people who have tried to claim with modifications only for the company involved to say "We have no record of that modification" come payout time and hence not paying even though th persons involved *have* called the company at the time of having the modification. I.e. get it on paper.

Cheers

Ian
Old 01 October 2001, 02:43 PM
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Jerome
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I would echo what Ian said. Don't give the insurance company an excuse to not pay out. They will quite happily refuse to pay out for an undeclared mod (they are in business to make a profit after all). The paper trail, again as Ian said, is vital. Keep it in a safe place also. I been shafted well and truly in the past by an insurance company, so I take absolutely no chances now, and don't give them any excuse to not pay out.
Old 01 October 2001, 02:45 PM
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GeeDee
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Surely (don't call me Shirley!!!), the bump steer "modification" is only putting the settings to the way the car was designed and should have been delivered.

I had it done a few months back and did not notice any improvement. Having said that, the amount of change between before and after was minimal and my tyre wear could only be described as virtually perfect between all 4 corners and on each tyre up to that point.

Graham (MY99 WRX - A Proper One)

[This message has been edited by gdavey (edited 01 October 2001).]
Old 01 October 2001, 02:52 PM
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mik
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<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:<HR>Originally posted by gdavey:
<B>Surely (don't call me Shirley!!!), the bump steer "modification" is only putting the settings to the way the car was designed and should have been delivered.
[/quote]

Not as I understand it.....

I believe the rotation point for the lower arm is moved.....so it is NOT as Subaru intended. This alters the camber characteristics of the wheel during load, and removes the tendancy of the front wheels to "steer" (when you are not moving the steering wheel).

Sounds like a "let your insurance company know" job to me......

I would have thought that "Prodrive Geometry" was "invisible" though.....???

Old 01 October 2001, 03:10 PM
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Jerome
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Another point I forgot to mention is that, if you are the cause of a huge claim that will result in a payout of £100k plus (scratching a BMW bumper for example), they will appoint an insurance investigator to see if they can avoid paying out. These guys are pretty good and could well discover that the mod was done (despite being invisible to the naked eye) and refuse to pay out over it. An unlikely scenario I know, but not one I would be willing to risk.
Old 01 October 2001, 03:20 PM
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blf21
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Oops! Yes I do - put it down to the stated late night posting syndrome.

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:<HR>Originally posted by IWatkins:
<B>Ben,

You mean Powerstation not Power Engineering ?

[/quote]


Giving it some more thought, you guys are surely right. The Prodrive geometry settings probably are invisible, esp. after any incident, but there would be records of the settings being made dealer used to do the work.
Old 01 October 2001, 05:57 PM
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GeeDee
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<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:<HR>Originally posted by mik:
<B>
I believe the rotation point for the lower arm is moved.....so it is NOT as Subaru intended. This alters the camber characteristics of the wheel during load, and removes the tendancy of the front wheels to "steer" (when you are not moving the steering wheel).
</B>
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I stand corrected.

So why didn't it have much effect on my car then? I was warned that my steering would feel so much more direct that I should be very careful in the first few miles. I really did not notice anything different.

At the time, my very tired (37k) original RE01s were giving me lots of oversteer when pushed.

Graham MY99 WRX (A Proper One)

I will get this "reply with quote" sorted one day!!!! Doh! Double Doh!! Hurrah!!!!!



[This message has been edited by gdavey (edited 01 October 2001).]

[This message has been edited by gdavey (edited 01 October 2001).]

[This message has been edited by gdavey (edited 01 October 2001).]

[This message has been edited by gdavey (edited 01 October 2001).]
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