Late July 2005
I decided to paint my engine bay a flat black for a clean look. I figured it would be too much money to paint the engine bay.
Here are pictures of the engine bay before and after.
Before
After
August 2005
At the moment, it is a good time to take out the OEM X-member. I took out the OEM X-member and put in a REVERSED x-member.
Reversed x-member kit can be bought online, again, from a SR20DET dealer.
A couple pics of the x-member, in order: OEM x-member Vs. Reversed.
Also, the center link needs to be reversed. I was told it would hit the motor, so I sent it out and had it reversed.
Centerlink is the small metal rod next to the x-member (circled) first pic.
At about this time I purchased some goodies for the SR20DET.
With the DIME, you will need a TOPMOUNT exhaust manifold, otherwise you are looking at extensive modification to fit. Reason is the steering column will get in the way.
Topmount exhaust manifold brings the turbo up from the bottom and clears the steering column.
I bought this topmount Log Exhaust Manifold from ebay. You can also buy this log manifold from any shop who specializes in SR20DET engines.
There are a few different topmount exhaust manifold out on the market. Choose one that fits your budget.
Here are a couple of pictures of the manifold. I also have a turbo and external wastegate that came with the log manifold but sold them to get
bigger turbo and different wastegate.
Log Exhaust Manifold. Comes with an external wastegate flange.
Another Ebay turbo. It is a 70 trim turbo with T3 flange. This is just an average turbo. Don't be fooled by it's huge size.
There are better turbos out there. I am on a budget so this will do it for me for now.
This is what a topmount log exhaust manifold look like on the SR20DET.
Let's go to PAGE THREE.
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