i was wondering how important that thing was, my heat sheild is a plate of rust and it fell off, but i did notice that my bushings were going puffy from the heat... so should i be doing something like not running it til i get it replaced or what??

 

In my opinion. GET A NEW ONE! not only does ti stop a fire if a drop of gas leaks and keeps the bushing and lines from becoming dry and brittle but it's really there to keep the fuel a little cooler. The coller the fuel the more you can have in the same volume as it expandes as it warms. Therefore cool+HP.

 

mazda put it there for a reason... and so should you!

 

I think the heat sheild is one of those things that the positives outweigh the negatives.... longer hose and bushing life, reduced engine compartment/intake air temperatures, fire prevention.... those all seem like important things to me...

I'd personally just make one out of a piece of sheet aluminum though, instead of ordering one from mazda or anything.... unless of course you can get one pre-made for cheap?

 

or junkyard.... if you dont mind taking the part off yourself. some sell it already off the car too.

 

why dont people ceramic coat their heat sheilds, wouldnt that greatly increase the effectiveness of it?

 

Sure would. That is a good idea but I don't think it would be wortrh the cost. I palno making my own out of alum. apwder coat would also be agood idea and not as expensive.

 

you can buy bottled ceramic stuff you paint on yourself and bake in an oven to cure. if i remember correctly its $30 for 3oz

 

sweet.

 

i removed all heatshields off my car
havent had any problems

-greg

 

i have found that without heat shields, the floor gets warmer, especially in the trans tunnel. i like the ceramic coat idea!!!! time for new sheilds. maybe a sandblast or two....

 

i will custom fab up one tommorow (no work or school )

 

Let us see when oyu get it done. Sounds sweet to me!

 

no prob

 

oh boy, big problem i found how hard it was to get to the area i need to work, so i'll have to pull my engine, or get another engine to make it on first

 

I thought that maybe you were just "the man" if you wre going to do one in a day!

 

Just an opinion here. Racing Beat exhaust systems do not have heat shields. I imagine that they think they are not necessary.

 

Mazda wants 69$ CAN for the muffler heatshield by the way, so I guess making your own is going to be much cheaper.

 

A heat sheild can only help. I imagine they don't offer one show you/they can show of their product.