Donut Media and Subaru's Don't Mix

As I am Sure we have all seen lately... Donut Media is having one hell of a time with their new series of Hi-Low. While Personally I have always liked the series and was excited when they started it. They have portrayed The Subaru WRX in a very bad light. As You guys know Subarus are my Special Sauce that we have successfully built for years. So this series hits close to home.
The biggest reason why Matt and I wanted to make this video was to help clear the Air on the negative associations. In the comments sections of these videos, there are just Mass amounts of people complying with Trashing the cars when the failures are not the car's faults.
We have received DMs asking if they can do X, Y, or Z with them and if they should use the parts donut is using. As I said, We like Donut but we also wanted to clear the negative association that has been put into them.
Matt: / @matlasdi
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[@pv4083]

Us the rotary community looking at the Subaru community defend itself against donut media like…”first time huh?”

[@luckypennybenny]

Bro when Hoonigan brought in a community expert and it was a dude known for building his and his brothers shit with customers parts I almost died. Rotary's and boxers are trash. Every good RX is swapped

[@metahead6531]

@@luckypennybenny I ain’t a rotary guy but your comment made me laugh with how dumb it is. “Every good RX is swapped” Kek

[@deathtoming2201]

@@luckypennybenny bro they are unique engines..

[@DEATHBYP13]

Ha ha ha, love this! Poor rotaries!

[@In.da.pot.that.some_wap]

@@luckypennybenny I guess they swap the boxer engines out Porsche too

[@motorfanatics_com]

Lets be real here. The Donut Media guys are super nice fellows, and they are the jack of all trades. But that comes with the trade off, of being the master of none. They do their due diligence and research. But sometimes their research is not very deep. That's just because of their busy filming schedule which comes naturally with their style of video. You may just want to contact them and get them to have a video call, or colab on this particular matter. Everyone would benefit from that. ☺

[@petermad7476]

So subarus are very reliable lol

[@tylerheenan9393]

@@petermad7476 I've owned two and they have both been 100% reliable. 300,000km up icy mountain roads, through bush tracks in Australia. They're absolutely awesome cars. Fun to drive, safe, filled with Japanese thoughtfulness and style. There's a reason they're everywhere and so many people love them.

[@mikestreet4339]

@@petermad7476 Subarus are very reliable, until noobs start haplessly modding them and hooning without any forethought.

[@pandawarriors33]

@Tyler Heenan same here. I had a 05 and now I have a 21 sti and never had any problems at all.

[@kimanhireid1364]

Hopefully they’ll do the right thing and correct theirselves like when they tried the plasti dip

[@emeryman92]

They are a perfect example of why subarus get a bad reputation.

[@Smeedia]

Unfortunately plays into the stereotype. Hopefully it at least drives prices down a little 😅

[@shaquanbrown7036]

Holy shit how true this statement is

[@shaquanbrown7036]

@Smeedia lets get those 2023s to $25,000 and 2000s to $3k

[@luisloera1309]

Agreed

[@luisloera1309]

Subarus will always be my favorite cars

[@DR.P3RKY]

They’re certainly not as bad as they’re portrayed in donut’s video, that doesn’t shake the fact that they have a reputation for a reason 😭🤣.

[@zappy7393]

Bingo

[@benjaminwatson7868]

Donut is definitely pushing the cars then you usually would but common if you did the same thing but with Honda civics instead you really think this would happen

[@BigStreams_]

Because people don’t understand boxer engines and proper supporting mods for them?

[@mattswank]

Well you would expect low car to suffer a lot, can’t cheap out on Subies. But high car should be fine IF they took the time to properly account for some things. But it’s entertaining all the same. Just spreading some misinformation.

[@PocketDrummer]

They have that reputation because people try to tune them like Hondas when they aren't Hondas. Do stupid things, win stupid prizes.

[@Smeedia]

I want to reiterate I like donut media and have nothing negative to say about them. But we wanted to clear the air about some of the things they are portraying.

[@penguwan_9515]

I’ve also always been a big fan of donut but having owned 2 350z and 2 Toyota pickups (not the taco just the pickup) I formed a new opinion of the guys at donut when they started Hi low as a series because it was immediately evident to me that no research was done when it came to building these cars and I’ve always been a Subaru guy at heart, and after the second hi low they posted with the wrx I unsubscribed from donut because I was very disappointed in how they choose to portray these cars and how they did the last 2 as well it was beyond not ok with me, they make great videos but the lack of research has become too much for me, as someone who’s watched almost every video on their channel the amount of Subaru “jokes” have been way over the top On the bright side they have so many people watching maybe they’ll drive down Subaru prices 😂

[@logtrimmer]

This is actually not the first time something like this happened. Back when they did the original Hi-Low, they caused many issues with Plasti-dip resulting in them redoing the episode later on. It greatly impacted the Plasti-dip company requiring them to contact Donut to clear up the issue.

[@penguwan_9515]

@@logtrimmer oh that’s right! I remember it got so bad a company actually came out to show them how it’s done and they re did lo car

[@daviddin8863]

🤫 more rex for me.

[@parafitality2730]

Also doesn't help that they keep blowing up the engine on high car... 😅

[@Anudist]

Donut Media is basically the leader in showing exactly what you should not do in almost every aspect of car modification and driving, the Subaru series is no exception. Entertainment is their game, not education.

[@bellenber]

This comment is needs to be near the top. Donut is like car satire. They do everything they can from buying Walmart mods to cheap stuff and push cars to their limits for the entertainment value.

[@dbmrobotic9321]

So you guys basically only watch donut media for entertainment but they teach a lot just like Chris fix, in this series they only do comparisons of expensive not Walmart stuff vs eBay shit

[@Anudist]

@@dbmrobotic9321 What they do for education is extremely surface level stuff, nothing that you can actually take away and apply to your own vehicles. You can do better by watching Rainman Ray or I Do Cars if you want to learn basic mechanics and how cars work. These guys throw tidbits in, in order to avoid confusing and subsequently losing viewers part-way into the video. I'm not saying it's bad content or that anyone should stop watching them, it's entertaining, but you should absolutely not go into their videos expecting that you'll learn enough to make decisions for your own vehicles by following their example.

[@AlDim000]

Obviously a lot of the stuff they do is just for fun and not to be taken seriously, some of it is quite detailed and educational (i.e. the Moneypit series). Their Subarus blowing up is fully representative of what I see in the WRX/STI community on a daily basis lol. Stock Subarus are just trash, end of story.

[@RackJadmall]

The offroading high low was a good example that they have no idea of what theyre doing basic stuff they left out it’s definitely not education its entertainment

[@cslammon]

Thank you for being the front line in defending these cars. It's important to know every level of detail in any project, especially what the weak points are in each category and addressing them correctly.

[@Smeedia]

Just trying to help clear the air on them a bit 🙏

[@joogullae3456]

It's not just donut, EVERYONE knows subies are like rolling a dice on whether its going to have a nuclear supermassive blackhole influxion on you off the lot. Love you guys.

[@JCarras95]

No, everyone THINKS*

[@messmeister92]

That’s not even remotely true 😂😂😂

[@joogullae3456]

bro, the new wrx engine blew after two laps on the savage geesevideo. Its just a fact. I mean i love rotarys, more specifically the rx8 so I know what its like.

[@lifesbutagame1]

I drive a vf35 2005 WRX wagon JDM 330hp at the crank, uprated cooling. 5spMT with blast plates. iv put 50.000kms on the engine now has 225.000km. always maintained general maintenance before it needed it.... Never had an issue with engine or transmission. Im her 1st owner... Usually these car get ragged by people who don't know how to look after them... Just like any car you run into the ground it will eventually die.

[@JoshDillon-lm3hw]

​@@joogullae3456that wasn't a new wrx or engine it was an s209 they were made a few years ago

[@joshanderson1122]

Thank you guys. I personally wont blame Donut. I blame people who fail to admit a large portion of all videos are for entertainment. You cant take everything as gospel. Those guys are fun to watch and have decent gen knowledge. Specialists are who you should be looking towards for how to. I wouldn't be asking you for BMW tuning

[@Smeedia]

All I would tell you is more boost and more timing 🤣😅

[@diallo1347]

"But I saw it on the internet, so it has to be true!" 🤣🤣🤣

[@gamecrow8354]

I'm a former Subaru tech with my own bugeye. Blew up the first engine and did a JDM swap. I will never get rid of that car and in my opinion they are so much easier to work on than other engines because everything is accessible. I've convinced several of my friends as well as both of my parents to get Subarus. I'm enjoying this current High/Low series because I haven't started modding it yet. Learning about you guys now makes me think I'll learn even more. Also, very much deleted the TGVs when I did the engine swap.

[@gamecrow8354]

My first engine put a rod through the block. It was a sad day. But I love the current engine

[@802Garage]

That's part of what I really wish the big channels would highlight. Subaru is possible the easiest brand to work on period. Instead everyone always wants to go with memes about spark plugs and head gaskets, without actually addressing the fact that Subarus are logical vehicles laid out to be worked on, everything is accessible, and they are fantastic for anyone mechanically minded.

[@AidanLynch208]

So where do I sign the petition for YOU TWO to build the engines for donuts cars?? Would be super cool to see but I also can see how that would be a lot of pressure on you guys

[@Smeedia]

Wouldent be any pressure at all, no diffrent than building an engine for anyone else 💪

[@tnc7399]

Well, they have a reliable rebuild now. Considering they have new turbos and everything and nothing bad happened so far I think it isn't bad.

[@AidanLynch208]

@@tnc7399 I can’t quite tell if that’s sarcasm or not lol. If there’s anything I’ve learned from tanner it’s that oil pan/pickup setup should probably be the number 1 thing especially if you’re going to track because one of the leading causes of Subaru death is oil starvation

[@cughan_9482]

If money was no issue. It would be fun to see how you and Matt would do high car vs low car!

[@anthonymarquez4563]

This!!!!^^^^

[@Smeedia]

Hopefully one day we could get to that point 🔥 would be a blast!

[@myster.e]

Money causes problems. Good people fix those problems.

[@jamaln2525]

I knew this video was coming and I’m glad it did. Thank you for defending the Subaru community!

[@Smeedia]

Had to do it 🙏🙏🙏

[@ClaytonYatescarenthusiast]

I have never seen more broken racecars than a subi at any event, time attack, drag racing, or even auto cross. All I do is race road course and auto x and it's beyond known that Subi can be fast but rarely work right. So yes anything can work if enough effort but they are notoriously unreliable

[@justskidding5230]

‼️‼️‼️‼️

[@Robert-un3cf]

They're notoriously poorly modified, too

[@802Garage]

I'll probably see more broken Hondas than anything, and almost all the cars around me are Subaru. Doesn't make Honda unreliable.

[@Saltyoldguy-]

Dudes, they blew up like 2 or 3 stock motors just doing track laps. It's bad luck for sure but if we're being honest, are we really that surprised? The motors are just picky. Saying that they are giving Subaru a bad rep by showing that you can't just buy them and rag on them is pretty disingenuous. The people being turned off in the comments are people who want to buy a stock car and not have to treat it like a 90s Ferrari. And I think that's fair. some people want to buy a car and not have to worry about "treating them right" or "doing the research." Some things that really bother me that you guys say... -"Oh they probably didn't build oil pressure on first start," That's what the assembly lube is for. If you have bottom end damage on first startup, it's a tolerance issue or your pump is gone. -"Oh they didn't do any research into Subarus," and then you say "I have a problem with them just blowing them up and going 'Subarus'" Like bro, them making fun of the vehicles after they blow up is funny because you have to be researched to own one, and they didn't. If you don't know what you're doing, you will blow them up, you even admitted that in the quote about research. -"No one uses Tein or stock location Garret." Sounds like poor/brand shaming. Coils are coils, turbos are turbos. they didn't cheap out, just sounds like they didn't do what you wanted. This point was such a nothingburger. -"They didn't use AOS's and probably used the early pickup tubes that crack." These are just design flaws. Again, back to my point about people wanting to just use them, it's very disingenuous to say "these cars are being portrayed in a negative light, they don't just blow up like this." Sounds like they do bro. They CAN be reliable, doesn't mean they just ARE. Expecting cars to have all of these mods before you accept them into the data pool of "is it reliable or not" is just insanity. -"just address the little things and you will have a reliable car." First off, we've established in this video that these issues aren't really little. And second, there are a lot of cars out there without the reliability mods. the fact that they need reliability mods in the first place is a testament to their reliability. You just can't expect everyone to know that they need to mod their car for reliability. Overall, I 110% agree that the motors could have been rebuilt improperly and that could have caused some unnecessary heat around the cars. But almost everything else sounds like a huge cope. I get it, they have outliers. Cars that paint the whole data pool in a negative light. I don't blame you guys at all for trying to show people that these cars can be reliable when done right. What I AM going to blame you for is making a 16 minute video with a lot of worthless points, as detailed above, as a way to get some watchtime from KZbin and get some dunks on Donut. Seriously, this is a 6 minute video MAX. "Donut have had some bad luck, they also probably failed to do proper research on how to make a subaru reliable for thrashing. They just aren't a 'out of the box, you can track them' sort of car. Please don't take their experience and paint all Subaru experiences with that lens." Plain and simple. I like Subarus, and I REALLY hate the "oh I saw one car blow up so this whole brand or model is bad," mentality. It's probably my biggest pet peeve around cars. So I understand the anger towards the losers who watch these videos, know nothing about the cars, and just assume they're junk. I just think it's really unfair to expect everyone to ignore what Donut is doing because it's not up to your standards. Some people don't want a car that needs "reliability mods" and honestly, it's a stretch to blanket call them reliable as you did several times in this video. there are plenty of sports cars from the same generation that need zero work to be reliable through even more abuse.

[@ShellShockerSporanox]

Great comment

[@coupledyetivonvanderburg5385]

Excellent comment. As far as I'm concerned, Donut is mostly just dudes workin on cars the way most dudes just workin on cars do it. They do the things that you'd usually do to cars and seeing what happens. The fact that the EJ platform is so specialized and not keen on that approach is hardly their fault. And hey, they're learning through experience, and frankly, that's the best part of being an enthusiast: fuck up over and over again until you end up with something unique and kinda fuckin rad.

[@JaredISoto]

Great comment I agree you These guys are faulting Donut for problems that any average enthusiast will have due to the car needing so much work itself and faulting the guys working on it for not knowing small things that most cars don’t have problems with and saying “do your research” I wouldn’t want to have to do hours of research for a project car due to a bad design by the company

[@chefjr7712]

I have owned an STI for 10 plus years. I think it's actually impressive of what they're doing with the WRX on donut right now. I don't think that people understand that certain limitations and the budgets you have to invest and modify a car matter. When they did their series on the 350Z they show the capabilities are and what not to do the headaches and the triumphs. I think it'll be clear when the series is complete on the WRX whether or not it is feasible budget wise to go into the platform. Only time will tell.

[@22smcrrider96]

I mean let's be real they got to 7 MILLION!!! Subs for a reason! And by no means am I saying that any of this damage was done intentionally! But it also makes for good views!

[@PocketDrummer]

@@22smcrrider96 They have to have seen the response they're getting and all of the videos from performance shops and Subaru enthusiasts saying they've been affected, and they haven't even attempted to reach out to any of them to see if they can do a follow-up video taking all of their input into account to do it right and show what the cars can do. They got their money from the views, and they don't give a shit what that does to the Subaru community.

[@TP16Diecast]

I had a feeling this video was coming 😅 I've been shaking my head while watching donut 😪

[@Smeedia]

It makes me cringe a little 💔 was excited for the series when it started

[@TP16Diecast]

I was wondering, just how many of those people who are commenting have actually owned a Subaru. It's unfortunate that people base their opinions/ decisions off of a KZbin video.

[@boomshaka1381]

Don't even know what this is about. Quick search 10 seconds into Donut's video they start sponsoring raid shadow legends which is basically gambling for kids. Nuff said

[@CAFFIENEHOUND]

Having worked for a Subaru dealer, big problems were pretty rare in service, but mild maintence/repair sometimes has the engine out which "looks scary."

[@epicpeaker3155]

Excellent constructive criticism of Donut. You are #1 Subaru DYI on KZbin! I watch every video, it is always top of recommendations (even above streaming platforms and local network prime time). THANK YOU! You have come a mind boggling way, since I started watching very old videos of Blue.

[@Smeedia]

The OG videos of blue were a shit show of learning what I was doing 😅🔥

[@MegamanEXEv2]

As someone who has owned 30+ Subarus, a mix of NA and Turbo ones of all models, my experience is closer to Donut’s. My most recent one was an 05 LGT that spun a rod bearing while I was CRUISING IN 5TH ON THE FREEWAY.

[@Saltyoldguy-]

Yep and according to these guys, YOU are the problem. Heaven forbid we acknowledge the fact that EJs have an insanely high failure rate compared to other motors, and that they used EJs with no improvements for over 2 decades...

[@MegamanEXEv2]

@@Saltyoldguy- exactly. You can be a fan of something and also be critical of it. They don’t need to be mutually exclusive.

[@BigStreams_]

How many of those 30 had engines fail?

[@MegamanEXEv2]

@@BigStreams_ all the stock 255’s, at lease some of the 251’s, a Japanese 254, and many many many many 251 head gaskets.

[@BigStreams_]

@@MegamanEXEv2 what do you use them for and what keeps you going back to subarus despite all that?

[@josephmatuszak3855]

I feel ya my guy, but unfortunately Donut's experience withy Subie's is same as my own. If you drive them and prep them well, they are solid, but if you flog them with no prep.... will kill them. Key word = "flogged" (most rod knocks and failed subie fours I've encountered was excessive corner G's and starvation, oil pickups failing, and poor oil circulation. only a couple blew up oil pumps)

[@cristiannunez5228]

Sounds like someone is butthurt, these are facts about older wrxs they are unreliable and have issues unless you get them fully built and I've owned a few and now have moved on to an evo 9

[@Smeedia]

had my Evo 8 for a bit and loved it but got damn evo prices are wild right now. Sold my 8 a few months back

[@JaredISoto]

Exactly they’re bad cars that are notorious for all kinds of problems and that’s not even modding problems they’re regular every day problems an average person will have on regular daily use

[@nealwright3124]

Thank you for making this video! I’ve been waiting for someone on KZbin or the Facebook pages to comment about Donut’s subaru series

[@Smeedia]

Trying to help clear the air where we can 🙏

[@samshide611]

Flat/boxer engine: I'm so different and complex Vr/w engine: 👀👀

[@Brandondean614]

I’d love to see you do a high low series the proper way these cars deserve!

[@Smeedia]

We'd love to if we had the budget to do so 😅

[@lukenuske4394]

Sponsors, please form an orderly queue...

[@yamasubaruger]

I'd be interested in seeing that.

[@jorshaw86]

I watch donut if I want a laugh. I watch smeedia if I want to learn something.

[@Smeedia]

🤝🙏

[@dubi127]

and i guess that MCM is a healthy compromise? have a laugh and then learn a shit ton from Alan, Benny and Scott...

[@Stickyittoyou]

Thanks for this. Barely anyone outside of the Subaru community seems to remember that Subaru Motorsports has been around for a very long time. Take care and keep up the good videos.

[@Smeedia]

Thank you my friend 🙏🙏🙏

[@mattswank]

Yeah this video and so many of the comments here are how I’ve felt. I know they don’t mean to cause this many issues for the Subie community and the Subaru name, but this all needed to be said, so thanks for doing this.

[@soupatroopuh3696]

I own a Honda and I’m gonna stay in my lane, but I think you’ve both done Subaru Justice with this video. You’re just right.

[@ModdedRex]

Lmfao knew it was coming they were doing some wild shit 😂😂

[@Smeedia]

I had to 🫠

[@ModdedRex]

Research research research would’ve made it more informative in the correct way instead of basically showing the bad side literally what gives subaru a bad name

[@rocker00000]

I definitely wish for Donut's shows like Hi/Low they would go into more detail on the builds. This was a great breakdown but I think it also shows that Subaru's aren't exactly tuner friendly/bullet proof as well (but that could be said for a lot of platforms).

[@layzbaguette8340]

yeah if boxers didnt blow up as often as they do IN GENERAL, not just in donuts hands, there wouldn't be a bad reputation to defend in the first place. i believed boxers to be a doomed platform that is extremely sensitive to aftermarket parts and very picky about them too, they CAN be built reliably just how these 2 guys have, but its very meticulous with what you need to get and upgrade, as opposed to a cheap civic that you can throw an ebay turbo kit on it and it would work for way way longer than an ebay turbo kit for a subaru. obviously its not recommended to use a cheap ebay kit on anything, but its just as an example

[@tyrcipher8811]

The thing is that Donut don’t have the time or the staff to fully go into more details on the builds. Between all the different series and filming they are extremely short staffed. You can tell they are short staffed when every episode was like “We wanted to do this, this, and this, BUT so and so was off filming this”

[@matthewlynn1286]

First flat iron tuning, now Smeedia, only a matter of time before Josh Bader says something too.

[@Smeedia]

Time shall tell 👀

[@jvinclarence3977]

Donut did break the engines. If I remember correctly Nolan said they “had to drive the cars for 500 miles to break them in “

[@huebear8362]

I’ve owned my 03 Wrx for a year and a half I’ve put a bunch of miles on it with no issues. Just take care of your car and do regular maintenance promise it’ll last.

[@Smeedia]

Never had any major issues with mine except for my blue one which is a little R&D IMO

[@daviddin8863]

Bro, i literally have owned 4 Subarus that made it to 280k. They hate us cause the ain't us.

[@kingofmars77]

Donut ADMITS that they are inexperienced with Subaru, so I give them respect for that. They constantly refer to it as a "Learning experience."

[@MrMetal1394]

If you haven't seen or heard flat iron tunings podcast about them you should definitely check it out

[@Smeedia]

Seen that one last night 🤝

[@MrMetal1394]

@@Smeedia its such a thorough and detailed overview of all the ways donut did things wrong

[@bubbabrannan5915]

Nice vid and presentation and professionally done gentlemen. I think we all appreciate you standing up for the Subaru hobby. Thanx 👍

[@Smeedia]

Thank you my man 🙏🙏

[@mvp2000pj]

Love that you guys did this! Follow both of you guys and owning a wrx, I know that most engine failures are our own faults lol they are amazing cars and I wouldn't trade mine in! I'd only sell my car so I can upgrade to STI lol 💪🏾

[@Smeedia]

We're just trying to help where we can 🔥🙏

[@mvp2000pj]

@Smeedia you and Matt are awesome, you don't just help, you educate. It's why this community is so awesome cause of people like you 2! I watch to learn more about these awesome cars and also to learn about how to mod, while being reliable. And you guys answer questions!

[@xil3ntkha0s]

My plan was to have both a VA WRX and new gen STi. Subaru said no STi this gen so I'm just waiting for the eventual reveal.

[@frankiecastillo7016]

Get a VB. The fa24 is a much better engine than the ej. I love my 2022 wrx

[@PleadTheFifth_Racing]

I agree completely. I've really enjoyed the high low series in the past but it really showed they didn't do any research on these cars. Subaru's can be fun and rewarding but require some "special knowledge" or research to make sure you are building the car in a way that will last.

[@ivtec4fun55]

Did anyone ever say Donut was car knowledgeable? I've never thought that, his channel to me has always felt like a Novice level type of information.

[@isaiahconnors1889]

Thank you. I love the channel but they aren't super knowledge, I'm glad it isn't just me

[@Smeedia]

Gotta remember though they've got 7+ Million people subscribed to them and a good amount are people just getting into cars and take what they say as gospel

[@ivtec4fun55]

@@Smeedia I know, but it hurts my heart still. :(

[@isaiahconnors1889]

@@Smeedia I know I've watched almost all their videos they have posted in the past 2-3 years. I love the channel. They helped me get into cars

[@thisisme379]

Right, I unsubscribed when I started noticing how poorly researched their videos are. They are fun guys but you can't be misinforming people.

[@Visca_Motion_Pictures]

love this ! you guys are great and always have been. you're the perfect person to defend these cars. you and Josh the two best Subaru builders I've ever seen. crazy that they have no idea what's gong on and you've sniped every issue instantly. I think they need to call the big boys (you guys). keep being great

[@FunTimeWithSouls]

In Donut’s defense Justin wasn’t around to teach them about Subarus. Justin knows how to work on them but he was working on other projects so he didn’t get to put much input in.

[@Smeedia]

big facts, I know hes a subaru dude and was expecting him to be more of a lead in this series

[@FunTimeWithSouls]

@@Smeedia I thought the same cause it’s legit his wet dream but I guess he was in his home state and moving his xt6 to Cali.

[@xil3ntkha0s]

@@FunTimeWithSouls CA? Gross.

[@JiBenJiBee]

Love my 2009 EJ WRX. With good parts and a proper tune it's a whole new beast. An enthusiast's dream despite it's age and mileage!

[@DylanMorehouse]

Thanks for making this bro. I haven’t seen the series. I’ll have to check it out as much as I almost don’t want to now. Thanks for speaking the truth about our cars we love. Just gotta treat them right and be knowledgeable about them!

[@Smeedia]

Just trying to help clear the air on things with the mass exodus of hate I've seen from that series

[@DylanMorehouse]

@@Smeedia and you have a wonderful platform to do so 😊🙏🏾

[@benmeikle2319]

I’m always glad when stuff like this comes across my timeline. I’m always a little skeptical when it comes to donut builds, not because I think they’re doing a bad job, but because I’ve seen a couple companies after they’re videos come out and talk about how stuff they did wasn’t right

[@senpai9039]

Great video! I'm not even a Subaru guy, but I have the common sense to understand that people modifying a car brand they aren't familiar with are going to have issues. I'm more concerned with the fact that people actually think Donut's Subarus are how ALL of them are.

[@ShiningPancake]

So, I wanted to start this comment differently, but 1:57 is excactly what happened to me after buying it. Not even a week after. It is pretty sure that the seller lied about the car's condition, but it still got me traumatized. After that I digged down into it and read so much bad stuff, etc... I don't know. I love(d) Subarus. That's also why I subscribed to this channel, but I'm not sure if I'll ever buy another Subaru and if I do, I'd most likely wait until the engine blows up and then put in another engine.

[@EddySpaghetty]

Also you have to keep in mind, the name of the series is "hi-lo" as in expensive vs cheap not "researched vs full-sent" the most expensive parts are not always the best and the best parts aren't always the most expensive, that's on every platform. You can't blame donut because your platform doesn't work wonderfully with every mod. If you throw long tubes on an LS it will make power regardless of whether it's $100 ebay long tubes or $1500 kooks long tubes and it will love both of them. It's not their fault your platform needs the exact precise parts in order for it to not blow tf up 🤷🏻 I rather have donut show that cars are unreliable than to have them show that Subarus are bulletproof and have a ton of teenagers in minimum wage throw ALL of their money on a car that is going to blow up and leave them without a car and without money. Subarus are definitely not meant for people who can't afford a billet block and top of the line components. It's simple they don't have to disclose WHY something goes wrong as long as they don't HIDE it when something goes wrong

[@Smeedia]

But that's the problem, you think you need all these high end parts and built motors etc to make power when you don't. Oem type RA short block, middle ground parts and your set. No shit you take a stock 255 and throw random bits at it it'll Grenade itself. Literally most other platforms aside form an LS and maybe a K series would do the same. 4G63, RB26, etc. Naturally asserted engines are foe the most part way more forgiving of anything you put on them when most people know turbo engines are the opposite. Unless the car came speed density almost modifications not done properly will throw off maf and fuel scaling. They're also not buying the highest price point for each category. It's more of what sponsers will send expensive free parts over and we will use those type of deal. Fa510s come in well over 2K and are way more commonly used vs the teins they chose.

[@Anonymoose0913]

@@Smeedia Thank you for correcting this ignorant ass comment

[@natebell5026]

Honestly Subarus are total garbage. They explode after driving 600 miles. Never buy one!! (So that I can have a better choice of the used market 😂)

[@victormaciasjr.1615]

I’m so happy this video is made. Donut guys are giving subie’s bad name I wish they would do things the right way. They have great videos but this is really hurting our community. Thank you guys for coming out and defend our beloved WRX’s

[@pedrorojas0116]

The Subaru community has had a bad rep for a while lol. Are they iconic cars yes, are they the most reliable and the best pound for pound car out there in the market no lmao. There's a reason why nobody recommends getting one that is older than a decade. They're cool cars but don't act like they're on a Toyata/honda reliability level.

[@badrott8028]

@@pedrorojas0116 or even old pig iron small block reliable, and that's sad.

[@baddgcarma]

Meh some of what you say is more assumptions. Plenty of well documented and known oiling issues. just admit it. Also, most people don't go to a specialist to get advice for upgrades. But at least you admitted they are temperamental. You come off very elitist vs an everyday man who mods their cars. By what you say these cars aren't for normal people to modify . Take special money and special people to modify and that's by your mouth. You prove what was found on donut to be true. The cars tank with just using bolt ons.

[@lightsout8713]

Thank you for making this! I’ve been thinking this same thing, I love these cars and they are given bad reputations because of things like this!

[@Smeedia]

They're not bad like people make them out to be. They are temperamental I will say that

[@nicholasgill8066]

I feel they did it purposely to make Subaru look bad but, that's my opinion, I stopped watching them 2 almost 3 years ago

[@Shadow-170]

I was waiting for this video!

[@Smeedia]

Had it coming at some point

[@thewrathofbibby3381]

I loved my old Subaru WRX. Only problem I had with it was the 5 speed box so we done a STi six speed swap on it. All my maintenance was done at Roger Clark motosport UK. Home of the gobstopper time attack car. Like any car as long as you service it properly it will last you.

[@johnlexus1]

Dropping knowledge, so sad they are creating so many eaters. Its like saying porsche is bad because they have flat engines. Great video!

[@Smeedia]

🙏🙏🙏🙏

[@pedrorojas0116]

You don't see Porsches blowin up tho lmao

[@JaredISoto]

@@pedrorojas0116Right they want to defend notoriously shitty cars by saying you just need to do it right when you don’t have these issues with most other cars

[@poudrecanyonbiker]

If I refrain from vaping in my subaru, will that save my head gaskets?!

[@Smeedia]

YOUR SUPPOSE TO DELETE THEM 😳

[@poudrecanyonbiker]

@@Smeedia Bluetooth head gaskets

[@thedylan1956]

The series is also supported by eBay motors, so they can only get parts from there as you know. So like with the brakes/turbos, I’m sure they can’t always find the very best parts.

[@JaySoNicewithit]

I appreciate people educating other people instead of putting them down. I don’t like Subaru but I can definitely appreciate this video

[@WRX-WING]

I totally hear you. But I also think it's real that people know the motors blow I'm on my third engine. The first two were covered under warranty but the oil pick up to cracked at the welds both times and I lost vacuum to the 4 cylinder so this time I got a built stage 2 from IAG

[@Thoungsai]

Let people lose interest in these subies so I can finally get a Hawkeye STi for a reasonable price🤧😂

[@RustyHondas]

Don't you want prices to go down lol

[@michaeldavis545]

Homie in the back throwing shade

[@hellyay]

It'd be cool to see you guys do your own hi-low series with pricing.

[@messmeister92]

It’s kinda sad the wealth of knowledge you guys have but the comments sections IN YOUR OWN video are completely ignoring it. This is exactly the reason Subarus blow up: the information is out there, but people just do not listen.

[@danielhardin9047]

I appreciate you not bashing them while getting to the point

[@gavinbushore4203]

@Smeedia Thank you for getting involved! I was really hoping someone like yourself would speak out to their negligence. Love Donut especially the high/low series. I saw a lot of red flags throughout the subaru episodes that I learned from your channel and working on them myself. Like you said, they could've watched ONE of your videos and been set! It's disappointing watching a channel we all love not put in any research into a platform and blaming the brand when it fails. Keep up with the awesome content! 🤌

[@pab3783]

It’s click bait bullshit. They’re playing the stereotype to get clicks.

[@KevKev691]

I’ve been screaming at my screen “WHERES THE OILING MODS” for every episode

[@Smeedia]

Lol who needs those 😅

[@Hakiri27]

The whole series has been making me want to bash my head in. We rebuilt our engines! Oh btw we didn't break them in and they blew up whoopsies

[@dubi127]

In my opinion, this all can be summed up in a few sentences. Subaru are reliable if you dont expect unreasonable amount of abuse. And they can be made reliable for such abuse, but it has to be done properly which is not cheap. It all boils down to that old triangle where you can only choose two options: fast, cheap, reliable.

[@TheTechTerritory]

Thanks so much for making this video, I love subarus as you do, love the unique sound, love the look of the cars, love the engines, super awesome to work on for me, so just want to thank you for standing up for Subaru, because Subarus can be amazing cars if you treat them right. Been watching you since EP 1 of the flat 6 Subaru build, and still love the channel... Keep up the content!

[@Smeedia]

Appreciate it my friend! The STI has definitely been an interesting journey 😅💪

[@TheTechTerritory]

@@Smeedia No kidding

[@eaglevisionengineering4687]

I own a Subaru and was surprised that coz i daily drive it and they don't break that easy

[@smillman437]

This video had to be made. There has been a lot of weirdness with Donut’s “bad luck” in this Hi/Lo series

[@Team8k]

Donut did the same thing when they attempted to plasti-dip their 350z low car and the results came back quite poorly making people think plasti-dip was really bad. Fonzie from DipYourCar had to clarify for most folks and helped them realize their mistakes.

[@Jt7166]

Glad you guys made this video, I think it’s important to get out there. Donut seems like they have the budget to get the car built properly, but appear to be in it mostly for entertainment/memes. And they are entertaining, I don’t have an issue with that. I just really hope people aren’t making car related financial decisions based on those videos

[@Smeedia]

It's definitely an entertainment factor but I hope no one takes what they're saying to heart

[@antelopevalleyfwd]

People do sadly

[@kweightthree]

No! Let this play out. Let the market flood with people dumping their WRXs and STIs. The prices will drop and we will be able to scoop up all the good ones and keep the Honda bois from ruining these special cars.

[@TheGCJourney]

As a Subaru owner (currently building my GC8) I just want to say thank you for making this video. Someone had to say what you did! 😂❤

[@Conranos]

It's just like how I put it to people who talk crap about Subaru's. The cars are not tolerant of misuse. They can take a lot of abuse, they can push a lot of power, but if you don't do it right they will fail.

[@judahi8206]

Really appreciate this. This makes me wanna work hard and get one if that’s even possible in this era of cars. None the less love to see this message spread about subarus.

[@mrbeans2425]

Imo always felt like Donut was always more concerned with clicks and views vs reliable information. They just seem like they have absolutely no clue how to build these cars. And in turn giving them a very bad reputation because of their own incompetence.

[@codykellner9985]

Been wanting this video

[@Smeedia]

Got you my man 🤝🙏

[@geertvanoyen1234]

Thank you for bringing this video. When i looking at the donut serie all i can think of is "what are you doing to those poor wrx'en". They don't have any respect for them. It realy hurts to see them treat them the way they do.

[@deadghost50ify]

Unfortunately these guys came to our shop with bad news every time even with the blown blocks we sold them 3 cars for the series. We told them how to take care of them and…. They didn’t do that, they literally did not listen to us. They sent Adam to come make the purchase and drive off with them. Also the series has been done for some time now. They film everything before hand and then post it after. Those brand new engines, were my homeboys build. It’s the same build and recipe in all my Subarus from him and it should the be the full long block. I can get you all the info for all the cars they bought from us, and the all the engine builds. But that recipe is tried and true and has taken me all over the country, even in a break in period and has stood the test of the road. All engine failures were on them. I sit and watch these engines be built by Chris (my homie who builds them and owns the dealership that sold them the cars) and the level of consistency is unmatched. If you don’t mind, on your next live stream, I would definitely love to clear the air up about all of this and hopefully get the man who originally built these blocks on there to get you guys all the details but this all 100% on donut media. Not us

[@ib.i.b]

My EJ257 puts down 748whp on pump gas and methanol injection, and I find it really reliable as a daily driver/ripper

[@CodElevator]

I can appreciate the fact that they're someone who shows the "Don't do's" on cars and not just "do this, do that". Keep in mind also, they're literally novices from never turning a wrench before the 350z and doing those things for the first time, which wasn't that long ago. It was literally during covid. I would love to get a 2.5rs 2d subie one day that hasn't been stripped.

[@promethieos1875]

Wouldn't that make it more relatable to almost everyone? Most everyone who's gonna work on these things are going to be newer car enthusiasts with limited space and money. The expectation that the only way to have a good Subaru is to drop more than the cars worth into it in just support mods is wild

[@vespernightsky1169]

aw man that's the absolute dream is finding a 2 door imp and swapin it to turbo EJ. hell i'd even take a NA 6cly if i could get it in a manual, they sound exotic.

[@benfuller542]

Part of the reason I just leave alot of those opinions of Subaru's people have at the door. Like most of those people had a bad experience or just don't even own one. Love my 2021 STI and can't wait to finally build the engine once the warranty goes. I've had so many people just have a super negative attitude towards when I got it. But, researching how the RA block has been performing (with only a minor amount of searching and research) I'm excited to build it when that time comes. Gonna basically do a sort of series on KZbin on how far it the stock RA block can go before it blows up (or it might not lmao). It'll be my daily of course, but still it'll be fun to do a no expense spared build (not just buying the most expensive stuff, but making the most power reliablely) and just laugh at people when it runs for the stock engines estimated lifespan (likely a bit shorter but who knows I haven't had a built one before). Nonetheless love your channels guys! been watching well before I got my subi and you'll likely see mine rolling around up in WA once I move back from AZ.

[@zephyr.r]

sounds to me like you guys should have start your own hi low project! id watch that

[@seangibson1219]

>We rebuild these engines all the time >these are good cars Pick one bros

[@Lerma23]

I was watching the whole series shaking my head 😂 I get they don’t know anything about Subarus but damn they could’ve hired someone just for this season who was knowledgeable. I used to think like they did, now I’ve owned my 2014 WRX for almost 3 years and I’ve put 13K miles on it and 0 issues. It’s just a stigma around these because people do shit the wrong way.

[@Datboi_Mo]

That's the thing. There are so many cars you can hop in and do shit the wrong way, and the car won't blow up on you back to back like that. They represent the typical WRX owner.

[@pedrorojas0116]

The thing is you shouldn't have to be an expert just for the car to run right, which is why Toyota and Honda are amazing cars to get into regardless of the skill and experience level of the owner.

[@Datboi_Mo]

@@pedrorojas0116 Absolutely agree. I think it is ridiculous that people are acting like its unreasonable to say, "These four other cars didn't blow up, so we should except these two new cars to also not blow up."

[@jordan__berry]

@@pedrorojas0116you don’t have to be an expert for the car to run right. You want to modify a car and alter the way a manufacturer has designed it? Yes you’ll need to have some skill and experience or at least basic research to maintain a cars drivability

[@pedrorojas0116]

@jordan__berry From what these guys are saying and from what everyone else is saying in these comments, that seems to be the case. Donut media has somewhat some knowledge of these cars but no that still isn't enough for them to be able to make the cars even drive. Yes you need to do some research to modify them and stuff but the fact that you need to go above and beyond for these cars just to be reliable is ridiculous and just goes to show how they're not in the same league as the other manufacturers I listed in my previous comment

[@Nailfourty7even]

Thank you for making this video I too have seen their Hi-Lo WRX series I like it I love them but they're doing it wrong with the Subarus. I've had my 05 STI since 2010 with almost zero problems after 9 and 1/2 years the turbo finally wore out and now I have a fully built iag motor that's theoretically should last me another 10 years

[@2ch4ngz]

Donut x Smeedia collab would be so sick! You should be their subie advisor so they build them properly 🙏🏽

[@Smeedia]

That would be dope 😅

[@Nicholas_Hardy]

Y’all are forgetting donut outsourced their engine rebuilds to a 3rd party. It’s not them. It’s either the car or the 3rd party shop.

[@patrickgarvin2570]

Preach brothers, preach. 2005 STI owner here. I Have been watching that series and shaking my head too often. I'm on my second ru and love the platform, even with all the eccentricities they inherently bring to the table. Keep doing what you do, some of the best to do it.

[@tidusklein3387]

Fellow 05 sti owner, and i agree with the statment above.

[@jackgainey315]

I think this is a very good criticism of donuts new series. I hope they see this and take notes. It was a very respectful video I think they can learn from.

[@ObiWanStromboli]

Can’t wait to watch Donuts response to how they were “attacked” for this.

[@David-kl5ln]

Maybe the cases by donut were not normal in the short amount of time the failures happened, BUT, it shows what happens to a lot of them. I just watched a video of 2 Subarus breaking on race day recently. I see multiple engine rebuilds on competitive cars in a single season. Are they "that bad" maybe not for you guys or their fan base, but they are worse than most other options for beating up a car on track with power.

[@DarkWolfWRX]

It really is unfortunate the stereotypes these cars get. I get Donut is playing into it hard, but its been a long going thing for awhile that Subaru owners themselves push. These are also the worst type of owners. The kind of people who beat the ever living hell out their car, don't do maintenance, throw parts at it without a tune like a Honda and go online and rage that Subaru is unreliable. I quickly left the FB Subaru groups because it was nothing but a circle jerk of people bashing the cars and treating new members of the community like trash. The prime reason I follow you and Matt are because you are non gatekeeping legit enthusiasts who are ALWAYS out there to help. How the car community SHOULD be. The problem has long existed before Donut sadly, but they are not helping it thats for sure.

[@drosky50]

Honestly just sounds like fanboys crying cause their toy “isn’t supposed to be used that way”. A lot of assumptions and a lot of whining

[@771Maxim]

Yep

[@brandoninfranca2755]

I'd rather have a turbo ej25 than a turbo k20. 🤷🤷

[@SaulHeno]

Very well put. Been a long time Donut fan and from the start the Subie HiLow just felt. Rushed. Wrong. I was very surprised they didn't do a reveal, first video was just "WE'RE DOING COILOVERS" and I genuinely went searching thinking I missed the first episode that talked about the stock car and everything. During that episode they said they're on fresh engines, HiCar blew, and I immediately went "they HAD to have done a break in first, surely" but nope. I think they're great, and they've helped me a lot with my Miata and cars in general. But this just doesn't feel like them. The other episodes with the Taco's and the Z's felt a lot more researched and prepared.

[@fauxvier8519]

I didnt even finish the current Hi-Lo's first episode thinking that something is wrong with it and turns out my gut was right

[@thisisme379]

I unsubscribed from Donut years ago because it became clear they don't actually know much about cars and the focus is on entertainment over quality research.