Heat Shield
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 29,798
Likes: 128
From: London, Ontario, Canada
Here we go again. Manufacturers are not in the habit of putting on unnecessary parts.
If you look at a stock and unmolested RX-7, you will see that nearly the entire exhaust system is shielded. From the manifold back, it's all shielded at some point. There are many reasons.
The manifold is shielded to keep heat out of the engine bay and protect the components nearby. This is especailly important in turbo cars. Without the manifold/turbo shields, the rubber in the surrounding area will be cooked. As will the wiring harness (ever wonder why those injector clips fall apart in your hands?), coolant hoses, etc.
The catalytic converter shields keep the CONSIDERABLE heat generated by the cats off the floor and ground. If those shields are missing, the passenger floor will become very hot. So hot in fact that the insulating tar will begin to melt under the carpet, which can smell and fume up the cabin. Also very uncomfortable for any passanger. There is also a bottom cat heat shield designed to prevent fires if you park a hot car over grass. These go missing very quickly.
There is a transmission shield on the crossmember that prevents the mount from being baked. If this is missing, the cats bake the mount and you get sloppy transmission...
The muffler shields are pretty self explanitory. They keep heat out of the trunk area, and prevent the fuel tank from warming up due to exhaust heat. Warm fuel is easier to boil and less dense, leading to performance problems.
There's no excuse to remove the shields. If they are falling apart, they are easy to make since they're just sheets of aluminum. Go to the local metal store, buy thing aluminum and a set of shears, then cut and bend by hand. Drill the holes and you're done.
If you look at a stock and unmolested RX-7, you will see that nearly the entire exhaust system is shielded. From the manifold back, it's all shielded at some point. There are many reasons.
The manifold is shielded to keep heat out of the engine bay and protect the components nearby. This is especailly important in turbo cars. Without the manifold/turbo shields, the rubber in the surrounding area will be cooked. As will the wiring harness (ever wonder why those injector clips fall apart in your hands?), coolant hoses, etc.
The catalytic converter shields keep the CONSIDERABLE heat generated by the cats off the floor and ground. If those shields are missing, the passenger floor will become very hot. So hot in fact that the insulating tar will begin to melt under the carpet, which can smell and fume up the cabin. Also very uncomfortable for any passanger. There is also a bottom cat heat shield designed to prevent fires if you park a hot car over grass. These go missing very quickly.
There is a transmission shield on the crossmember that prevents the mount from being baked. If this is missing, the cats bake the mount and you get sloppy transmission...
The muffler shields are pretty self explanitory. They keep heat out of the trunk area, and prevent the fuel tank from warming up due to exhaust heat. Warm fuel is easier to boil and less dense, leading to performance problems.
There's no excuse to remove the shields. If they are falling apart, they are easy to make since they're just sheets of aluminum. Go to the local metal store, buy thing aluminum and a set of shears, then cut and bend by hand. Drill the holes and you're done.
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