During past 10 months with my '03 WRX Sedan I've made about a dozen trips to Crescent City, CA from Davis, CA (a great WRX drive..outclimbing and outcornering beamers and the like). That's about 380 miles each way, about 1/2 freeway and the other half 2-lane HWY 101.

I can feel a lot of heat on the section of the trunk floor that's just above the stock muffler after making one of these trips. Same story during hot summer days after just a 45-mile trip, too. It really gets VERY hot, so I no longer haul paint or varnish there when I go out to work on the boat.

What's up with this, is it normal for this car or a cause for concern?

While I'm on the subject of the WRX trunk...why won't that super-lightweight trunk carpeting stay in place when you put in an item like a medium-sized toolbox? Am I going to have to resort to using tie-downs?

 

Don't know about the other stuff, but buy a pack of industrial strength velcro from Home Depot or something and stick it under the carpeting. Works great. Has kept my subwoofer in its place even during very hard corners.

 

Check to see if the muffler sheild (under the car) is damaged or missing. I have one for sale if you need another one.

Nick