Stock Exhaust Manifold Cover... (Heat Shield)

[Zmann42087]

All 2G's come with a cover for the exhaust manifold. Should I keep mine on or take it off? Does it have any value performance-wise? Does it help cooling/heat control issues with the manifold?... If that is the case, I would rather just take it off and replace it with thermal wrap. What do you think?

 

[DSM MAN]

Not sure about the thermal wrap, but don't just take off the heat shield and leave the manifold out in the open. Ive heard that it can melt the radiator fan and possible burn up your alternator.

 

[CanadianTSi]

Definitely leave the heatshield on. It can be polished with minimal effort.

 

[Zmann42087]

Not sure about the thermal wrap, but don't just take off the heat shield and leave the manifold out in the open. Ive heard that it can melt the radiator fan and possible burn up your alternator.

I hate how the heat shield looks though. Here is the link to the thermal wrap I was talking about.Exhaust Manifold Wrap Does the same thing but makes the engine bay look bigger and less cluttered. Lets me see the headers. Any thoughts?

 

[DSM MAN]

I know what you mean, I don't really like the look of the heat wrap. If I was gonna do something about it, I would buy a polished or chrome heatshield. They look good to me and they still serve their purpose. Good luck.

 

[psychlow]

The heatshields are there to protect the other components in the engine bay as well as keep your underhood (intake) temperature down.

Removing it can damage other components as well as performance.

I've had friends try heatwrap before, and nobody as of yet has been able to match the insulation that the heatshields provide. YMMV, of course.

 

[HighPsi92GST]

Never had one on my Gst. Alternator never went bad, fans never melted, and paint never peeled off the hood.

 

[psychlow]

Never had one on my Gst. Alternator never went bad, fans never melted, and paint never peeled off the hood.

I think you got lucky. Do a search on 'melted fan'.

 

[talondude4]

I think you got lucky. Do a search on 'melted fan'.

i haven't had a problem eather. mine are off on my 91 tsi.my alt is fine.
i don't think its a matter of luck i think it is just fact.!

 

[HighPsi92GST]

I don't know if it was luck or not. My gst never had problem, either did my friends talon.

It may not count, but my 1.8 liter hasnt had a shield on it for the last 60k miles with no problems

 

[talondude4]

i haven't had a heat shield for like 147k nothing is wrong yet. i think it is seriously just preference.

 

[never2muchBoost]

i have mine off, doesnt do anything

 

[EclipseGST-95]

I think it does keep the engine bay air temps down... even if its a cpl degrees its worth it especially on a hot day or if your working on ur car n the motors still hot... if urs looks like crap take some steel wool to it mine looks pretty good after using the steel wool for a little bit.... i dont think u can melt ur fan and all that BS what about people running after market exhaust mani... the heat shield wont fit or fasten onto those...what are they supposed to do... custom make one... no... aftermarket exhaust mani's are even bigger and sometimes closer to radiator fans and ive never heard of one melting...if there has been melted fans its from other reasons not from no heat shield...id keep it on either way...

 

[HighPsi92GST]

yes i agree with the keeping under hood temps down slightly, and if I had the urge to put one on, or purchase a new shiny one I would do so. But since it never did any sort of damage, it never bothered me.

Friend has a turbular exhaust manifold thats closers to the hood and the fans and theres to way to put a heat shield on that.

 

[Zmann42087]

Thanks for all the posts guys. Sounds like you can take it off with minimal negative effects.

Couple more questions though...

Has anybody tried the exhaust wrap (or something like it) that I mentioned earlier?
If you don't know what I am talking about, I have a link to it in aprevious post.

Has anybody had their fan, radiator, etc. melt due to excessive manifold heat?
So far it all posts have been OK. Any bad experiences?

 

[fatafall]

Seems to me that it would be hard to wrap the factory exhaust manifold. Tubular mani's are easy to wrap bc of the tubular runners, but wrapping the stock EM would be like wrapping a brick. I just leave my heat shield on.

 

[HighPsi92GST]

Seems to me that it would be hard to wrap the factory exhaust manifold. Tubular mani's are easy to wrap bc of the tubular runners, but wrapping the stock EM would be like wrapping a brick. I just leave my heat shield on.

wrapping a brick would probably be easier...

 

[EclipseGST-95]

well if its looks you're going for i think IMO that a polished heat shield would look a lot better than a stock manifold wrapped in thermal tape or any manifold wrapped in tape...

 

[CyberEye]

Take it off and put some exhaust wrap on there if you want. I had exhaust/header tape on my 1g's header and downpipe, then had an oven mit (turbo blanket thing) on the hot side of the turbo. Worked wonders. After a hard HARD run, where the turbo would be glowing red hot, I could put my hand on the turbo blanket and would only feel warm.


I might just do the same thing with my 2g. But I'm contemplating making a heatshield out of diamond plate, then covering the inside of the shield with exhaust wrap

 

[marcmsj]

i've actually been debating on this for quite some while now. i've removed that heatshield and put it back on about 3 times now. i've definately noticed a temperature difference in the engine bay with the shield on and off.

i finally decided to leave it on since the j-pipe to the lower intercooler pipe is so close to the exhaust manifold and without a shield there, that pipe gets a lot hotter therefore increasing intake temps.

i hated how the shield looked though since it was all rusted but i had some black engine enamel laying around so i decided to sand it down yesterday and spray it and it looks so much better now. the paint is really shiny and made it look brand new so i would definately consider doing that if you don't like how it looks. now it matches my valve cover really well.

 

[Mike1992]

I've got 1500 miles on my sbr cast manny with no shield and havent had anything melt. It is starting to get a rusty color to it so I'm gonna buy one of those aftermarket shields like THIS I think its a good idea to have one, but like you my stock one was all rusty and ugly. Thermal rap is even uglier though. Get one of the heat shields I linked to theyre pretty.

 

[Zmann42087]

I've got 1500 miles on my sbr cast manny with no shield and havent had anything melt. It is starting to get a rusty color to it so I'm gonna buy one of those aftermarket shields like THIS I think its a good idea to have one, but like you my stock one was all rusty and ugly. Thermal rap is even uglier though. Get one of the heat shields I linked to theyre pretty.

That looks SWEET! That is what I am going to get. Great Help! Thanks.

 

[CyberEye]

That looks SWEET! That is what I am going to get. Great Help! Thanks.

make one, it'll be a hell of alot cheaper. It'd be a good idea to line the inside of it with heat tape or something similar or else it wont do a whole lot

 

[marcmsj]

I've got 1500 miles on my sbr cast manny with no shield and havent had anything melt. It is starting to get a rusty color to it so I'm gonna buy one of those aftermarket shields like THIS I think its a good idea to have one, but like you my stock one was all rusty and ugly. Thermal rap is even uglier though. Get one of the heat shields I linked to theyre pretty.

that looks hot!

mines really shiny now that i painted it.. looks really good, i'll try to get a pic. let's hope it holds up though hehe

it should since i used 500 degree engine enamel.

 

[psychlow]

Thanks for all the posts guys. Sounds like you can take it off with minimal negative effects.

Just don't say we didn't warn you. Someone tried.