The weather has been unseasonably hot up here in Michigan as of late, making it difficult for me to find the motivation to drive my car much at all, let alone work on it. With actual temps in the mid 90s and the heat index well over 100º with humidity factored in, today’s high of 75º is a welcomed change as far as my ability to enjoy my car is concerned.

Between the weather and my daughter’s birthday party last week, the car has been on the back burner. However, I did manage to install my new OEM SR20DET exhaust manifold heat shield while nearly sweating to death a few nights ago. I painted my exhaust manifold when I swapped this SR20 into the car back in 2015 but the paint did not hold up well and the manifold was looking a bit worse for the wear. I searched around for a used heat shield to install but didn’t have much luck.

I ended up sourcing a brand new unit from Japan as it turned out to be fairly affordable. Having this cover in place cleans up the engine bay a lot- and I’m sure it spares my hood from a bit of heat in the process.

While my engine bay isn’t as clean and filled with aftermarket parts as it used to be, I am fairly content with it. I went through a phase of wanting my engine bay to look completely shaved and tucked with a lot of go-fast goodies, but these days I prefer the basic SR setup with a more factory look. I try to keep a fairly neat and tidy appearance, but I’m much less concerned with what things look like under the hood these days. As long as the car is running well I am a happy camper.

Aside from installing the heat shield and fixing a small exhaust leak that developed due to the bolts between the downpipe and catalytic converter coming loose, I don’t have much else to report this week. I picked up a pair of generic battery post covers and installed them in the hatch area to ensure that none of my cargo in the trunk bumps against the battery and causes a short.

I’m looking forward to driving around a bit and enjoying the cooler temps over the next few days. Have a great weekend and thanks for reading!

Damon