I am getting a good amount of heat from the console area when driving for an hour or more. This is not hot air, it is heat radiating from the drive shaft tunnel. The local guys around here report that it is a common problem, primarily 'cause the exhaust system and cat are so close to the floor of the cabin and the heat shielding is not adequate for the heat generated in the cat and down the exhaust system. This extra heat is nice in the winter but is a killer in the summer on long trips and I have a black 89 GTU. Really don't need the extra heat during the summers in the south.

Has anyone come up with any good way to divert this heat or beef up the heat shielding to keep it away from the console?

 

hack the cat... replace the rusted heat shields.

personly I don't have any heat shields... but i also don't have a cat. the exhuast fumes want to kill you, but the heat isn't an issue

 

When I got my car all I had was a shift lever, and a boot, no bushing or anything else that should have been there. I got sick of the exhaust smell and heat coming thru, so I used a big old t-shirt and stuffed it in there. You can't feel any heat radiating from that area anymore, even at speed.

 

your cats are probably too cloged up. change them.

and check your tranny fluid incase it's comming from there.

 

Nope, I have about 4k miles on a new engine rebuild. At the time I also added a new Bonez high flow cat. I need a cat for the NC state inspection program. I also had a completely new RB catback exhaust system installed.

I will check the tranny fluid, thanks. No one has this heat problem?

 

have the same problem not to hot but the carpet is warm

 

I'm inclined to agree with Scott. It sounds like something is wrong here. Do you have a straight pipe or an old oem cat that you can try it out with and see if there is a difference?

Steve

 

if it really heat, heat wrap it

 

is your interior stripped?? mine was and it got pretty hot with a gutted cat. I could barely touch the middle at all without getting burnt

 

Whats with this forum and triple post?

 

I got the bonez hi-flow, don't have a prob...original interior still intact...did remove the lower heat shielding when i put the exhaust in...

 

Just replace the boots under your shift trim... 3 of them i beleive... no more heat...

 

I still have the problem and I have tried a hollow CAT and a new 3" high flow CAT, the heat shieling is still there and so is the trim.


Where did you stick your shirt???

 

I also have heat pumping in - but i think that there is hot air also coming from the blower.... the tunnel and shifter area are pretty hot as well though.

I am going to investigate those heat sheilds...

 

Thanks for the continuing discussion on this. I have not found a good answer as to what the problem is, if it is a problem or just the design of the exhaust system running so close to the drive shaft tunnel. I have a new engine rebuild, a new cat and exhaust system. All of this should be good, but I was having the same problems with the old engine, cat, and exhaust system. If we get enough people involved in this we'll eventually figure it out.

 

I Have the same problem with the heat issue . mine comes from where the stereo should be and also any of u guys get a hot shifter? like the leather that surrounds it gets really hot and so does the shaft . if anyone solves this issue please let me know . im not sure if i shoul dbe worried about the shifter gettin hot? i just bought the car so i dont know to much bout these kinda cars as everyone else does.

 

I have had 3 rx7's and they all had the heat issue. They all had after market exhaust and no cats here in florida. On my vert though its outta hand. Im pretty sure its due to hard driving with the tranny and exhaust gettin extrememly hot. the shifter gets hot sometimes. I replaced the bushing or boot that goes around the shaft where it connects to the tranny and it helped some. But in these cars the heat does penetrate into the cabin. And this happens on my friends supra too, so it isnt a 7 problem only.

 

mine came from flordia and has striaght thru axhaust system .. well its good to know its not something i should be to worried about.. hopefully just as long as theres no real damage happening to it i guess ill be ok

 

Yeah the heat in my vert is bad. also when i dropped the turbo in it the passanger floor board can burn your feet. I am heat sheilding everything with some of the stick on **** from summit. It worked on a friends race car it should do the try with mine

 

I also notice heat coming off the passenger left side seat track, which I think is right above the cat. The rest is carpeted so I don't notice it.

 

"Yeah the heat in my vert is bad. also when i dropped the turbo in it the passanger floor board can burn your feet. I am heat sheilding everything with some of the stick on **** from summit. It worked on a friends race car it should do the try with mine."

Has anyone found any information from another site or in the service manuals? Since this seems to be a common problem and not indicative of a serious maintenance issue there must be someone with a good solution. I assume the heat shielding goes under the car, between the exhaust pipe and the body? How about some of the ceramic tiles they use on the Space Shuttle? Would a thinner version of these provide enough thermal insulation for our cars?

 

LoL!! I bet they would work, but where the hell would you get them?

 

I heard that there are alot of used tiles scattered all over parts of Texas.

 

I have an 88 vert, in the dead of kansas city winter, I can do without any heater after the car is warm. :-(
i have an aftermarket exhaust and it is NOT double walled, hence the radiation of heat from the f-ing pipes.
i checked and I do still have my heat shield.
Solution:
1. Wrapping pipes - this will SHORTEN your exhaust's life
2. fabricate heat shield and weld it below the pipes and cat, LOT of work - but the best solution
3. take off carpet and glue on some heat/sound shielding below the carpet around the center console.

I bought an infrared thermometer to find the hot areas and shield from the inside.

question:
what is the best material to put in the inside of the car underneath the carpet to shield the heat? I dont want it to be thick.

 

I had the same problem. The fiberglass and the rubber boot was missing, ordered them from RX7 world and will put in. When I put duct tape across the shifter it stopped coming in thru the shifter.