Now.. this is just my opinion so don't freak out on me..

Ive been noticing a lot of cars that look great on the outside, but when you open the hood, it looks like a bomb went off inside. My opinion is that.. you could have the fastest car in the world, but if it looks like shit.. i don't care about it.

Im just saying this so hopefully, tomorrow (Sunday) you people with dirty engine compartments will clean your shit up, organize wires, run better quality hoses.. etc.. Make it look good.

Hell.. does anyone remember what my engine compartment looked like after a 5 hour drive to the 2gnt meet in IL? Damn close to spotless. :thumbsup

ok.. 7 views and no replies..

looks like im about to be :puke 'ed on

james

you know, i agree with you 100%. But i am going to wait until i do my rebuild and turbo install to do all the cleaning and tidying up. It seems like the best time to do it. But yes, a clean engine bay is the best thing in the world.

who cares :shrug



Hello Mr. 12's . How are you today ?


Member # 333

Good intentions, Sui, but i haven't the time when it comes down to it to keep my engine bay spotless clean. My priorities involve making it run, having it get me to work every day, and keeping it running. This is my only car, after all.

I am not so dedicated to perfection that i must correct every single minor oil leak, replace every single harness in its original location, check and correct every torque spec on every bolt. Time constraints dicate otherwise - i have to drive to work, and thus it must get me there first and foremost. I put it back together in such form that it will run and run hard, but not for 100,000 miles. I know that within three or four months i'll probably have it apart again anyway, and so i don't worry about the small things; i know i'll be back before too much longer to check them again.

Cleanliness and organization have nothing to do with how much power a car makes. I have been around enough 1G cars to know.

Im not too concerned with what it looks like, but its always good to keep the engine bay clean. Living in michigan in the winter its hard to do, I usually end up washing my car 4 times a week literally. F salt!

I too dont' have the time to keep that spotless. I work like 10hrs a day, go out on the town 4-5 times a week and hang with my friends and my GF. This leaves little time to keep my engine bay really clean. Besides, who is going to see it when your drivimg by them? Not like someone is going to be like:
Q:'whoa, did you see that guy's engine bay?'
A:'no he was doing 55mph'

I guess that if you go to show's and the such you should pay more attention to it, but for us average joe's......a bit of dust on an engine is ok. I typically clean mine 4-5 times a year.

Im not trying to be a jerk, just my thoughts.

i would clean mine if i had it finished....:shrug
(hrc stage 3, wang and side skirts painted, racing seats, rims, etc....)

I feel ya man. And just so you know, my engine bay is pretty much spotless also :thumbsup

let me tell you..I want to clean mine..
Especially I just installed my turbo.
But I still ahve so much things to do for my turbo kit before I feel that it's COMPLETELY done and safe.

Like insulate my intercooler pipes, paint them, make heat shields for my manifold and turbo, check for fuel smells interior, rear muffler nosie.... so muc hshit to do... how can I have time to do my engine bay..but truly, I think my engine bay is very clean already!

Gil

I like a clean engine bay too. The thing is, I only clean it in 2 circumstances.

1) When I'm working on something in there - If I'm working on something and I have to take it out and its ratty looking I definately clean it up. I don't go as far as new paint for brackets or new wire loom covers - but if its caked in crud I clean it off.

2) When I've got the hood open - This happens when I'm at a car show, or at the race track, or just in general showing it off for a while. I carry around those "wet wipes" for glass, dash, and general-cleaning. You can get them as a 3 pack at pep boys. If the engine bay is lookin dingy, I break out the general purpose cleaner wipes and just give it a wipedown.

I've got some scratches on the upper front strut brace which I don't care about because it works fine. My winshield wiper resevoir is missing the cap, so I only fill it half way. The overflow tank has a big ol p/s pulley mark in it from some spirited driving, but I never overheat or seem to need it so I'm fine with it. It's not spotless, but most of the time it looks allright when I open the hood - it's not an eyesore anyways.


95 Eclipse RS : 5 speed
15.7 @ 87.9mph
Jeep TB writeup - http://www.dimensia.com:81/jimbo/JeepTBfor2gnt.html

I could really care less. if I clean the engine bay till I can eat on it, is the car going to go from hi 12's to 11's? PRobably not (not talking about my 2g either, it spins too much to even go 13's)

I never have time

Originally posted by DarkOne
Cleanliness and organization have nothing to do with how much power a car makes. I have been around enough 1G cars to know.

so true, 1G's usually have the nastiest engine compartments known to man. They usually haul a$$ so It's ok with me.

So basically....having a more powerful engine is more important than having a spotless engine, however to have a spotless powerful engine is just a bonus.

A spotless N/A engine is almost meaningless to me. (Unless it's hitting 14's) I don't care how clean it is...there has to be the power first and foremost.

p.s. My engine bay is always pretty darn clean...I wouldn't go as far to say spotles...but it's clean.

The only thing a clean engine bay is good for it help diagnosing a problem. Obvisously if your engine bay looks like ass it'll be harder to troubleshoot leaks, electrical problems, etc. Plus it does give you a piece of mind knowing if all your wires are done nicely that there won't be some electrical short.

Heheh my 1G is a dirty beat-down ho. But on the inside- she.... is... so... beautiful... to meeeeee :+

http://www.whack.org/~dan/car/4g63/enginein/P1010004.JP G
http://www.whack.org/~dan/car/4g63/enginein/P1010001.JP G

Mine looks like it took a saltwater bath and was sunbaked with the hood up.

i could care less how dirty my engine is i never open it up while people are around anyways