Replacement exhaust: Do I need a heat shield?

[Bodhi]

I just purchased an ARC DT-X catback and after looking at the OEM system , I am wondering if I don't need a heat shield?? Lots of waste heat here, looks like something needs to go between the muffler and the trunk bottom. Anyone adapt the OEM shield for this? Or should I just let it go?

 

[DocL]

I just purchased an ARC DT-X catback and after looking at the OEM system , I am wondering if I don't need a heat shield?? Lots of waste heat here, looks like something needs to go between the muffler and the trunk bottom. Anyone adapt the OEM shield for this? Or should I just let it go?

Don't worry, you don't need the heat shield. Besides, without it you can keep pizza nice and warm on the way home. :biggrin:

 

[clr1024]

I have the DT-X and I left mine alone, hasn't been an issue for the past 7 months or so. I guess if you really care you could put some insulation down

see this post
http://www.nsxprime.com/forums/showpost.php?p=665418&postcount=3

 

[john@johnhudakracing]

I just purchased an ARC DT-X catback and after looking at the OEM system , I am wondering if I don't need a heat shield?? Lots of waste heat here, looks like something needs to go between the muffler and the trunk bottom. Anyone adapt the OEM shield for this? Or should I just let it go?

You can remove the factory heat shield, and with that longer dual canister style of exhaust the trunk will get slightly hotter which may or may not be an issue to you depending how you use it. Their is still a few inch gap of air between the top of the canister and the the sheet metal on the vehicle, and without underpaneling there is still good air flow which helps greatly.

In my case I had to remove my OE heat shield to locate my exhaust the way I wanted it, leaving near zero gap. With the reduced air flow in that area from the under panels.. it can get burning hot in the trunk.

If your going to take it out, you might try replacing it with an aluminized exhaust heat shield pad which is more effective than the OE piece.

 

[Bodhi]

Pizza sound good but I am installing the amp back there and don't want to have to provide a vent to outside air to keep it out of "thermal overload" all the time. The trunk already runs hot...

 

[Bodhi]

I like the aluminum plate idea! I can fabricate a 1/8" curved section out of 6061-T6 flatstock to fit between the canister and the trunk, maybe even increase the surface area to reduce convective transfer. Thanks for the idea!! :smile:

 

[john@johnhudakracing]

Pizza sound good but I am installing the amp back there and don't want to have to provide a vent to outside air to keep it out of "thermal overload" all the time. The trunk already runs hot...

I have a small lightweight amp, and eventually I relocated mine to just behind the passenger seat for that very reason. The excessive heat in the trunk over time is not great for PCB boards, and I was never crazy about the wire runs to the trunk. It's also a more ideal spot for any added weight.

If you'll be installing amps back there, you'll definitely want to keep temps in mind as tripping the thermal switch is always aggravating, and hot amps don't perform as well.

On the heat shield, I was thinking more along the lines of a Therm Tec mat or an adhesive aluminized exhaust shield.

http://www.thermotec.com/products/full/full.html

 

[Bodhi]

I agree with you on the best place for an amp is NOT in trunk. However, I'm limited due to height and the seat is all the way back. I may put a chill plate on the amp with an overboard vent and check flap. Thanks again for the idea about the aluminum plate.

 

[BATMANs]

Good info here.

Since I'm going to get my Cat Back from STMPO ceramic coated, I was thinking that I should just send the heat shield in for that as well.

How much work is it to remove that heat shield?

 

[jaffaz32]

I've not seen it, how big is it and how much does it weigh?

Your heat coating is pretty bad ass Batman, do you really need the head shield as your getting it coated?

 

[BATMANs]

I've not seen it, how big is it and how much does it weigh?

Your heat coating is pretty bad ass Batman, do you really need the head shield as your getting it coated?

I probably won't need to coat the heat shield, but I was thinking about doing a near chrome ceramic coat since exposed metal like the heat shield looks nasty after so many miles.

I just ordered a swivel nozzle that will let me pressure wash underneath my cars. In this case, I'm going to make the bottom of my car more bling for the pics.

 

[OLDMNSX]

Has your OEM trunk heat shield been removed? I am not sure why it should be removed. It is very light and functions quite well without having to do anything to it. I guess you could polish it if you wanted it to shine.
Brad

 

[tucsonsx]

I just purchased an ARC DT-X catback and after looking at the OEM system , I am wondering if I don't need a heat shield?? Lots of waste heat here, looks like something needs to go between the muffler and the trunk bottom. Anyone adapt the OEM shield for this? Or should I just let it go?

It is, of course, hot in Tucson and probably in Jupiter as well. I thought the trunk got hot with the stock exhaust and was even hotter with the ARK DTX exhaust ( I also have Cantrell Concepts headers ), so I did exactly what you are thinking about. As the attached photos show I just cut off the back portion of another stock heat shield and mounted it below the original one using the original holes and 1/2" spacers using stainless button head fasteners. I had to drill a few holes near the back to mount it securely to the original shield. As one of the photos shows I used slightly longer exhaust hangers because the tips were touching the valence and I was afraid of melting it. They are NAPA part #35229. I also used Mr. Gasket dead soft aluminum gaskets part #7420G between the catalytic converters and the DTX to center the tips in the openings in the valence ( one connection has 3 stacked gaskets to achieve this - they act as shims ). It worked really well and was relatively inexpensive as well.

 

[Honcho]

http://www.nsxprime.com/forums/showthread.php?t=40404&highlight=heat+shield