Big Plastic Engine Under Tray. Necessary?

It will cost me $67 to ship to where I moved to (where the car is).

 

Is the engine plastic under tray thing beneficial at all? I live in Texas so salt is not an issue. I know the engineers create positive and negative pressure zones to help air flow through the intercooler (which no longer matters to me) and turbo, and radiator. Wondering whether $67 is worth it or just a complete waste.

 

And with my upcoming APS header install, I know some people remove the tray for headers. Any info is much appreciated.

 

Thanks.

I believe its also there to offer a little protection to the oil pan and other vital components and to help prevent dirt and debris from accumulating.

Just my $.02

I believe its also there to offer a little protection to the oil pan and other vital components.

 

Yeah. I guess the key word is "little." It's plastic.

I just put mine on after a year of it being absent. It will keep dirt & debris away from the engine bay, but it's not "necessary". I seem to recall that some with aftermarket header setups have had issues with the belly pan melting.

You have to watch out for all the armadillos hitting your oil pan.HaHa

Lots of folks have tossed them and been happy for years, others will stay awake at night imagining all of the bad things that could happen if the tray is gone.

Now I can sleep finally!

 

Edit: looks like the best way to go is to pull the doors off it and see if a sleepless LGT owner wants to buy them to replace what the evil mechanics association broke or lost. $67 buys half of an eBay china intercooler

If you are still running a TMIC, you need it for proper air flow through it. I'll post up the autospeed article on it when I get home... I have all the tools they used for testing, I just need to find time for testing on our cars.

 

edit: http://autospeed.com.au/cms/title_Optimising-TopMount-Intercoolers/A_109440/article.html

Any protection when hitting a large object at any speed is worth $67...At least to me.

 

I think of it as a engine condom...Yeah it may get in the way, but it will keep you clean and any protection is better than none

If you are still running a TMIC, you need it for proper air flow through it. I'll post up the autospeed article on it when I get home... I have all the tools they used for testing, I just need to find time for testing on our cars.

 

Don't bother, I read the article and have the device. I haven't tested with it either

 

I figure with how often I work on the car it would just annoy me more often than not. I also don't run over things . I don't tailgate largely for this exact reason. Stuff always falls out of pickup truck beds on the highways here. I see it happen about once a week.

 

If I lose oil pressure then a number of things will inform me and I will turn off the engine and call AAA. Then I can put in a bigger oil pan so my car will run better. If my permanent plans included a Tmic, I would probably ship it down.

 

Thank you all for your input. Someone in Providence can pick it up for free if they want, but you might not get the doors because I'm a member classifieds whore.

Btw I'm joking about the bigger oil pan. It doesn't make the car run better. Unless you consider better MPG to be 'running better'

It will cost me $67 to ship to where I moved to (where the car is).

 

Is the engine plastic under tray thing beneficial at all? I live in Texas so salt is not an issue. I know the engineers create positive and negative pressure zones to help air flow through the intercooler (which no longer matters to me) and turbo, and radiator. Wondering whether $67 is worth it or just a complete waste.

 

And with my upcoming APS header install, I know some people remove the tray for headers. Any info is much appreciated.

 

Thanks.

 

You can always get the "rallitek" underneath engine cover, made by Al so it wont melt. Up to you anyway,

 

my o.o2

Any protection when hitting a large object at any speed is worth $67...At least to me.

 

I think of it as a engine condom...Yeah it may get in the way, but it will keep you clean and any protection is better than none

 

The plastic tray won't do anything when you hit a large object but it will keep away spray and gravel.

Every part added to a car adds to cost for a car maker.

 

There is an engineering reason enough to justify the under tray otherwise Subaru would be pocketing the likely $10-15 cost/car.

 

My $0.02

This /\times x1000

 

It's there fr a reason,airflow,gravel etc etc.I personally don't have a clue but like raj said

"There is an engineering reason enough to justify the under tray otherwise Subaru would be pocketing the likely $10-15 cost/car."

cars are built for idiots. Plain and simple. the plastic crap is for minimal protection from the elements and the idiots mixed together. I pulled off my belly tray and there was 30 pounds of mud and water soaked into that fiber mat they stuck on there. I'll be getting the aluminum belly pan because we have snow and ice and slush all winter and gophers and grasshoppers in the sumer, and I pulled off the plastic sh*t cause it half fell off with the snow anyways

When I got my car it did not have one. Previous owner ripped it off. Anyway the car is fine without it.

Leave it to my fiancee to come up with a better way to get it to my house:

check it in at the airport. I'll do $25 no problem.

 

In the mean time if a gopher damages my oil pan I'll give you a call.

This /\times x1000

 

It's there fr a reason,airflow,gravel etc etc.I personally don't have a clue but like raj said

"There is an engineering reason enough to justify the under tray otherwise Subaru would be pocketing the likely $10-15 cost/car."

 

Agree completely. With that it mind I find it funny that some of the newer subarus (I know that base model forester, for one) don't come with the undertray, but the XT and limited models do.

It's there to draw air into the engine and slight aerodynamics. If you don't race it though, then you can probably live w/o it.

i thought mine was ugly. took it off and actually painted it red..looks pretty good and different

i thought mine was ugly. took it off and actually painted it red..looks pretty good and different

 

Pics please!

i thought mine was ugly. took it off and actually painted it red..looks pretty good and different

 

 

You painted it red? I have the dreaded 2 inch lift on my LGT (think ifs part of the spec b suspension) and theres no way I could see mine...did you just paint it for the hell of it?

 

http://i43.tinypic.com/r04abp.jpg

When I got my car it did not have one. Previous owner ripped it off. Anyway the car is fine without it.

 

:lol:

Just a thought the money your thinking of spending to ship or replace the part and take money and spend it on one of the after market metal covers. it could provide better portection from assualts from underground. and maybe do something with the aero dynamics underneath.

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