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A Hack on the old front grill


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I added a bit more intake, a bit more exhaust.. and uh oh.. a bit more heat. I took the grill out as an experiment, the car actually likes the guiding fins, it got hotter without the front grill.:cool: So to maximize an OEM grill , I drilled 22 3/8th inch holes 1 inch apart,in a spare grill, and let the bit be the same angle as fins below them, to guide air, for a total of an 8.25 inch opening, dispersed, right at the top of a/c condensor, and just below the top of radiator. I may bevel the outside of holes to funnel it in. The black grill with black background, makes the holes hardly noticable. I just saw Subarutex's well opened blue rx grill up close (nice car btw :)) and it got me thinkin....

Anyone have an rx grill to sell cheap?

frontgrill825io5.jpg

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The math to acheive 8.25 opening is incorrect-- this is the way it should have been

(.375*22)/3.14== 2.62 inch opening, which isnt very much. 42 holes would bring it to over 5 inch opening dispersed. Forgive my boredom, I have some time on my hands today :) . I'm off to get 42 holes drilled in my perfectly good "little sube" grill. :burnout:

Unless someone has an rx part no. for thiers....?

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hmm. so taking out the grill caused it to heat up even more. i was thinking of taking a junkyard grill and putting wire mesh in it. wondering now if i should do that.

 

the wire mesh would break up the air-- that seems logical. Mine is stubborn as heck and wants the guiding type fins. I ended up cutting slots and leaving the middle rib between them for support, it is still strong-- kinda like how it looked.Between the slots it is tightly guided.Reminds me of an older Nissan Pickup grill :) . Dropped temp two widths of the temp needle or so -- Someday it will be as cold running as my old DL :mad:

frontgrillb1xt6.jpg

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on your site you have a rubber flap on the bottom of your car. Can you please explain what it does. I tried to read it, but I have no clue what you were talking about.

 

PS. that grill looks cool with the slots, didnt really like the holes.

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If you want a 3-door grille, since all RX coupes had the same grille as a 3-door, you're going to need to do a bit of other work to the front of the car in order to get it to fit. What I mean is the wagon/sedan have different headlight buckets and mounts then the 3-doors. So in order for a 3-door grille to be a direct bolt in, you're also going to need to find a set of headlight buckets and mounts for a 3-door as well. Headlight glass is all the same, just the parts I mentioned. Don't ask me why Subaru decided to do it this way, but I found out the hard way and had to spend an extra couple hours swapping hardware after I had installed my "new" headlights...

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on your site you have a rubber flap on the bottom of your car. Can you please explain what it does. I tried to read it, but I have no clue what you were talking about.

 

PS. that grill looks cool with the slots, didnt really like the holes.

 

It raised the exhaust pipe temp, and it made it slippery for air flow to increase and keep top end cool, which in turn drops temps more and keeps air flow increased into the tiny spfi and intake for a bit more power.Also keeps engine vapors down and away from cabin air ducts in back of the hood forcing it underneath the car. Hot pipes==clean pipes== more flow from pipes diameter for more years, not to mention emmission helper for the cat, and sending some heat to the muffler to keep moisture evaporating, promoting longevity. I have spotted those dangling exhaust pipes since these cars were new and just shook my head in disbelief and wondered what Subaru forgot to put on the bottom to keep it protected.After spotting an RX spoiler kit and the holes all subes have pre drilled to accomodate them, I just simply compromised and made one. Also here in maine, going down the main road at 50 mph in 10 inches of snow is common. Having 600 degree pipes smashing into a never ending supply of cylinder head cracker (snow over 6 inches deep) is not a bright idea.Along with iceballs falling from fenders of cars in front of you, and rigs right out out of the woods with half the dirt road stuck to them, and on and on and on.I haven't needed a y-pipe yet, unlike my other dangling old sube :) I probably forgot a few pros to this, and can't think of any cons yet.

 

 

The grill with the slot hacks is great. I went down the highway at bent wheel shaking 85 for a few miles, and what I gained on the needle stayed consistently gained. I am assuming my non-hotrod sube had a heat riser type grill to go along with the suicidal EGR :banghead: . No more probs there...

 

I think I am finally done with the chores on this old free sube.. holy cow!(for now)

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