The Mist Got Some Bling

 Hello Sports Fans!

The Red Mist is in stock condition and will remain stock for a while yet, especially when she is in warranty. Also, time, money, and resources are not in my favour to do a lot of work on my own as I do not have a place or tools to do the work on my Impreza.

Still, there are tons of opportunities to make my Impreza my own and there are several sites that respond to the needs of the 6th Generation Impreza Community, though, as the Impreza is not sold in the same number as other Subaru models, such as the WRX, there are not the resources for parts and mods available to the Impreza community.

Luckily, I have a local resource, Subie Supply Co. in Brantford, Ontario. They do about 95% of their business online but I am a bit old school Sports Fans in wanting a person to "interface" with to ask questions, get ideas, and generally establish a relationship that benefits both parties.

Before I left on vacation I bought a Perrin Battery Tie Down in red (PERPSP-ENG-700RD) and ordered a Billetworkz engraved Engine Bay Caps (BW-EBCZ-SUB-VASTI-RED-E). I would have ordered the caps from Perrin to keep consistency in colour and branding but they only make an oil cap at this time.

Billetworkz Caps

The installation of the caps was pretty straightforward but note the following:

Oil Cap: it has an o-ring which was loose and I almost lost it. It seems to want to fit in the recess machined into the mating surface that mates with the oil filler housing. I put some oil on it and firmly secured the cap. It would be a good idea to check the cap after driving several miles to make sure it was not venting or leaking oil.

Washer Fluid Cap: Pretty straightforward press-on fit but the fit was tight and was afraid of distorting the washer fluid tank top. It worked out but taking it off may be problematic.

Brake Fluid Cap: You need to take the gasket off the inside of the OEM cap and transfer it to the new cap or the cap does not fit properly. The gasket is thin so use care and a blunt object to separate the gasket such as a wooden coffee stir-stick. The fitment was good.

Coolant Reservoir Cap: Same as Washer Fluid Cap.

There is no Power Steering Cap as the power steering is electric on the 6th Gen.

Overall the look and feel of the caps are very good and I think the small volume production and machining setup equate to the cost for these parts.

Having said that the Mist is pleased with this bling.

Billetworkz Engine Bay Caps Set

Perrin Battery Tie Down

I read the instructions on this part thoroughly. I have to admit that Perrin's documentation for several of the parts I am interested in is well written and thought out and engenders confidence in my in looking to decide on using their parts in the future.

The tie-down does involve removing the negative cable of the battery and following the instructions closely but I modified my installation. You will note that the tiedown ends are different. One has a deep recess and one end does not. The instructions have the deep recess end of the tiedown facing forward. I reversed this as I only had an adjustable wrench and access to the nut was easier. If you shortened the battery hold-down rods you then could get a socket on the nuts. As it was, a conventional deep socket would not work with the OEM hold-down rods, such as those you can get from Klein Tools.

Good NEWS Sports Fans! If you undo the negative terminal you do not lose your radio presets and other settings. They must be kept in non-volatile memory so you do not have to re-program your radio and infotainment settings!

Note the difference between the ends of the hold-down. The end on the left has a deeper recess than the one on the right.

I reversed the orientation as my battery tie-down rods are longer.

The last thing added was a Perring Reservoir Cozy.

Perring Reservoir Cozy

Simply stretch it carefully to encompass the reservoir taking care not to use too much force as it could separate at the seam.

BEFORE

AFTER

Note the shallow recess on the battery hold down facing the washer fluid resevoir.

Overall I am really pleased. I a bit more expensive than I imagined but if one wants to play the game one needs to pay the people willing to take the time, money, energy, development, and risk to create the things we want to add to our cars.

Though the red anodizing on the Perrin and the Billetworkz parts are different, over time, with aging, they may begin to give a similar cast.

I am hoping that the caps are reliable and do not make it harder to add fluids, especially the windshield washer reservoir.

Next purchase...

Perhaps a set of Perrin Solenoid Covers!