Nice clean WRX engine

[02 t-wrex]

After my little "off track excursion" at Buttonwillow Raceway, and a couple fast rally-action drives down dirt roads... the engine bay of my WRX was looking quite disgusting after 18,000miles.



I finally couldn`t stand it any longer... people always want to see under the hood, being a rather unique engine arrangement and all, but I was always embarassed to open the hood! :o



I used some plastic friendly engine degreaser from the local autoparts store, a little quick detailer for the spots I missed with the degreaser, and lots of 303! :D I made sure to use as little water as possible when rinsing the engine, and I covered the MAF sensor, alternator, battery, and a couple other exposed electrical plugs with plastic before washing.



Everything worked out well, the car started up with no problems and I let it idle for 5-10 minutes after getting all of the standing water off with a towel and it dried up nicely. After that I hit everything rubber or plastic with the 303.



I think it looks pretty good. Probably better than it did when I bought it brand new!



http://members.cox.net/mutza4/wrxengineclean.jpg

[ragtopgolfer]

that looks brand new. :D

[laynlow]

I think a clean engine can make or break a detail. I love working on my trucks when the engines are clean. Yours looks fantastic! Nice work! :up

[Vegas1]

Looks fantastic!:up

[ExplorerXLT95]

Sweet lookin engine man! Now I got 2 questions for ya...



1) Ever think about moving that intercooler to the front?? (cooler air/cooler charge = more hp; hope it`s not watercooled, cause then I`d have my foot in my mouth)

2) If no to #1, ever think about cutting a hole in the hood to let the intercooler have some cooler air??



Just some thoughts...



But nice looking engine!! :xyxthumbs

[vroddad]

Silly you, the WRX has a hood scoop to cool the intercooler. The airflow upgrade would be a STi hood scoop which is taller.

[imported_Aurora40]

I guess you`ve never seen the hood of a WRX... There already is a hole in it.

[bjwebster]

Looks Great!



:xyxthumbs :up :xyxthumbs :up

[02 t-wrex]

Thanks for all the compliments! I`m really happy with the way it came out :up

Now this weekend I just need to start my war against swirls! :shocked






Originally posted by ExplorerXLT95



1) Ever think about moving that intercooler to the front?? (cooler air/cooler charge = more hp; hope it`s not watercooled, cause then I`d have my foot in my mouth)

2) If no to #1, ever think about cutting a hole in the hood to let the intercooler have some cooler air??





There ARE front mounted ICs available for the WRX, but they have lots of downsides... price (well over $1000), on most if not all you have to cut the front bumper support to make it fit, all the extra piping makes throttle response slower, and there really isn`t much gain to be had unless you are running a larger turbo.



The WRX already has a hood scoop, and I`ll soon be installing the taller scoop from the Sti. Maybe when I get my Vf30 someday I`ll upgrade to the Sti or similar larger top mount intercooler.

[imported_dchu1975]

Nice ride. :xyxthumbs

[caddyman]

Nice Detail!:xyxthumbs

[ExplorerXLT95]

Yea, see I don`t know much about WRXs. I do remember when seeing them that they had a hood scoop, but, as with most cars that have them today, I was questioning whether or not they were functional or just for looks. I`ve never been UP-CLOSE to a WRX and had someone open the engine. Sorry about the confusion. I still like the car though!! :) Just might need a bigger turbo :bounce



Nice work and nice car!! :xyxthumbs

[Lowejackson]

Great car, great cleaning job:xyxthumbs :xyxthumbs



Steven

[02 t-wrex]

Thanks for all the kind words ;)



Stay tuned, I`ll be detailing the engine bay of my Alfa Romeo Milano racecar this weekend :D

[Lowejackson]

I`ll be detailing the engine bay of my Alfa Romeo Milano racecar this weekend



:cool:



Cant wait, before and after pics?



Steven