Is the heat shield really necessary
 

ARGH!!:mad: is this fucking heat shield REALLY necessary? ive spent the last hour trying to get the damn thing back in. and besides, what happens when you upgrade to a new turbo? fab a bigger heatshield?

Frustrated Troy

It is a good idea to keep it, but not totally necessary.

Either way, you will want to switch all your tubing to tie-wrapped silicon tube.

I don't have any of the heat shields on my turbo....I had to cut them off when I changed my exhaust manifold. It's much easier to see and work on everything. I have had NO heat problems at all. Been like that for 2 years now.

Todd

I had mine off for a while. When I put it back on I noticed a huge difference in under hood temps. It was a lot cooler with the shields on.

DOnt forget that a major engine wiring harness is only about 18 inches away from the ehaust manifold. Thats 1700 degrees at least

like SaabGuy said, having a heat shield will decrease under hood temps and make your hoses/wires last longer If you want brittle and cracked hoses/wires, then by all means save yourself the 2 pounds and do not use the heat shield.
You do not need to put the stock shield back on, you can buy some sheet metal and make yourself one. It would be much easier to make your own then messing around with the stock one. It is a PITA to put on/remove the stock heat shield.

good luck

if i were you i'll keep it on
cause when i got my 88 gxl.
there is no heat shield on it
and when i rebuilded my engine..
i find many parts has melts ....
is a good idea to keep it on

You can hear the turbo spool much better with it off too! :D

Personally, I'd keep it on. I put mine back on when it was off.

I left mine off. Anyone know where I can get heat wrap from? Id be interested in doing that.

I've been wondering about that heat wrap for turbos also. Is it a good investment or just a waste of money?

Over one year w/o heat sheilding here. No problems.

well, I FINALLY got the damn thing to line up. Guess its gonna stay there till my T04E swap :mspank: That should be a while but whatever. Im also interested in the heat wrap for when I change turbos. Anybody know where to get some and weather it really works?

check out either the Jegs or the Summit Racing catalogues -- they usually have all kinds of that stuff in it. Also check out their websites... www.summitracing.com / www.jegs.com

What about for headers? I noticed on my n/a the upper manifold temp was hot enough to cook my dinner on after the RB header! I wonder how much heat wrap would help?