I just ripped out the crapy stuff off my hood. It was fallin apart and was a little embarsing at car shows and at the garage where i get my oil changes. so I saw this stuff called reflet-a-cool on the DEI web site. i searched but only found dead ends. Do ya'll know know of a better product or have good and bad stuff to say about the product. thanks guys.

 

When searching, it helps if you spell the name correctly. It's available through summit racing.

DEI Reflect-A-Cool Heat Shields

However, you can buy an OEM hood insulator from Mazda and go with the OEM look vs. the shiny riced-out look. The OEM heat shield works fine.

Joe

 

The oem piece is also designed to help extinguish underhood fires. the aftermarket stuff is not.

 

You know, you're right Rich, but that's just damn funny

 

I'm not going for the ricer look but I'm going for something that'll compliment my polished intake pipes and my UIM when I polish it. Maybe that'll be to much shiney. plus the OEM piece was rubbing on the strut bar. I've rot an r1. Does the DEI stuff do the trick? Or is it all hype?

 

I'm sure it does just as good of a job as the OEM insulator. It basically does the same job as any other thermal barrier material. If the truth be known, the insulator is really not needed unless the car is a daily driver or a track car.

Joe

 

And we all know it works so well

 

 

it is my daily driver. would the DEI stuff hold heat after the car is off? would that cause the hood paint to discolor?

 

I need a new one as well, mine has a LOT of holes in it, and isn't even fully attached anymore. Glad this came up!

 

Rich we all know that rx7s don't have engine fires!

 

How many of us have engine fire's on a daily basis? and how many carry fire extingushers? not trying to start a fight here. I know those cute little chrome ones at pep boys arn't worth the metal they're made of, so what's a good one to keep in the car. it's been over 100 everyday here in austin, tx for about the past week or two. I've already taken off the firewall rubber gasket that seals against the hood. it really does make a differance when you sit in traffic waiting for all the damn rubber neckers to quit gauking. but I figured the DEI product would also allow a smoother airflow accross the underside of the hood. Plus you could double up on the insulation over the turbo's and that side of the car.

 

[QUOTE=neopj3]I've already taken off the firewall rubber gasket that seals against the hood. it really does make a differance when you sit in traffic waiting for all the damn rubber neckers to quit gauking.[QUOTE]

While that does help heat escape when you are at a stop, it actually sucks air into the engine bay when you are moving since the bottom of the windshield is a high pressure area. This hinders the flow of fresh air through the radiator and intercooler which can lead to overheating. Just FYI...

 

Go to Walmart in the home hardware department. They have the red rv fire extingushers for about $10 bucks each. I keep two in my FD, one behind each seat for that just in case situation. The pretty chrome ones from Pepboys are pieces of Shi* ! I've seen them fail so many times. No to mention they are tiny and cost almost $50 bucks.

 

I've got a few 4 punders lying around the apt for kitchen fires when i cook :O but I didi some research on the fuel dampener and it seems that those are the main cause for engine fires. that sux cause i think mine is going out. ABC fire extingushers are cool for engines right.?

 

How would insulation help extinguish an engine fire? Is there some sort of heat-released extinguishing agent embedded in it?
Additionally, and I am just curious here, why do we want a thermal barrier to keep heat inside the engine bay?

 

Yeah I always wondered the same thing. Anyone have an answer?

 

I agree with keeping a thermal barrer on the hood to keep the paint from looking like crap, but getting the heat outa the engine bay is key. I noticed that after i took off the gasket on the top of the fire wall the hood is cool to the touch after driving around. i know that this idea has been beatin to death. some say yes and others no. to each his own. the DEI product might reduce a little wieght and help to keep the paint from bubbleing up and/or fadding prematurly. it also costs a lot less than stock. I did a seach on enigne bay pics and the majority of the engines don't have anything on the hood to protect it or have some sort of vented hood.

 

plus the stock engine insulator looks like shiat!!!!!!!!!!!

 

That's just the ones with a lot of miles on them. New ones look pretty good.

 

The thing w/ the aftermarket stuff is you'll have to cut it into shape, and stitch up the edges, etc. if you want it to look decent. F that hassle, i'd rather be driving. Put an OEM one on and forget it.

 

Mine is new and looks sexy as hell

 

Yeah, I think I remember seeing a picture of you engine compartment. Your nothing but a **** merchant.