[CEB]

So it had always bothered me since I got my Joe-Z last July that it was right over the headers and really heated it up. I could see that the stock plastic intake made sense because it didn't conduct heat very well. I thought about wrapping the Joe Z but that's ugly. I didn't want to fork out a 100 bucks for the shield though expecially since there were some reports back then of rattling and bad welds on the PLP. (Although I think the lastest gen is fine)

I finally decided to do something about this last week and this evening after work I made my own out of 1/16" aluminium. Took 2 hours to make a cardboard template, cut it on a tablesaw, bend it on a sheet metal bender, drill four holes for mounting to the engine block, giving it a brushed finish with an orbital sander. No rattles and after 45 minutes of driving I could kiss the Joe Z which was only what I would call 'lukewarm'. The heat shield was almost too hot to touch, clearly an improvement over the 440 degrees I had measured from the header.

Of course when stationary and idling, the thing heats up like an SOB but while running it really does help. The moral of the story is it really works and a 100 to buy one isn't a waste.

I'll post some pictures soon because if I may say so myself, it looks sweet.

Cost so far $0.00. I will further develop this shield by putting a heat resistant liner on the reverse side of the shield which I will have to buy. It would be great to be able to just put my hand right on it.

 

[lexyis300]

cool, will wait for pics.....

 

[K3RRY]

awesome work! i wanna see the pics

careful though, i was talking to Steve about my o2 sensor problem and he said that heat shields can be a big problem because it gets sooo hot there that it can mess up the o2 sensors



"You must show some love to other members before giving it to CEB again."

 

[CEB]

awesome work! i wanna see the pics

careful though, i was talking to Steve about my o2 sensor problem and he said that heat shields can be a big problem because it gets sooo hot there that it can mess up the o2 sensors

Thanks, interesting point to keep in mind. I noticed the PLP and LMS shields as having a skirting that would trap even more heat. Mine as no such aggressive fancy frills as I just used a sheetmetal bender (ie no welds) the idea being just something to prevent heat from radiating directly up to the intake pipe. I'd be surprised if I have a problem...we'll see. Will try to get pics up soon.

"You must show some love to other members before giving it to CEB again."

The thought counts a lot as well :bigSmile:

THIS IS MY POST NO. 1000!!!!! :bigSmile:

 

[p1nk50ck]

good job man. i'm glad that you were able to get the time and resources to pull this together. i can't wait to see how it turned out.

 

[CEB]

good job man. i'm glad that you were able to get the time and resources to pull this together. i can't wait to see how it turned out.

Perhaps you'll drive up when Monkey is here (WE of 21, 22nd...not sure which day yet) and also do a synthetic tranny and diff oil change? I recall you were thinking about going synthetic.

I found some heat resistant insulation at work so I'll slap that on this evening with rivets for what hopefully will be the icing on the cake. I'd like to be able to just put my hand on the shield no problem.

 

['03IntensaBlueBeast]

I have the PLP heatsheild and it does a good job of deflecting heat away from the intake, but I was thinking of puting thermal wrap around the intake tubing and manifold to help retain a colder charge of air.

 

[CEB]

I having been thinking about wrapping the intake as well but do like the way it looks naked. As far a wrapping the headers goes, I have no personal experience but have heard numerous times that this is not a good daily driver setup because condensation will occur between the wrap and the header and and corrode the steel. Even SS will pit. Perhaps some will pipe in with some real knowledge on wrapping headers.

How is the PLP constructed? Does the shield itself get hot or its it insulated? I am putting on some insulation under the sheild tonight. I want to see if I can get it to be luke warm to the touch. That would be another huge improvement over my 'Gen 1' setup.

 

[CEB]

Well no improvement with the heat insulation. The shield just conducts heat too well so it just gets hot all over. I suppose the fact that it is bolted to the engine block makes it a lost cause. My only other thought is to somehow do a double shield. I'll have to think about how to incorporate this into the existing shield so nothing will happen overnight on this one and I am happy so far with what I have already achieved.


EDIT: OK so I tried a double layer with heat insulation in between. It still got hot probably because it was bolted in one place to the engine block or because aluminium is such a damn good conductor of heat. I have a feeling the only way to further prevent heat transfer by convection is to actually put the insulation on the heat shield.....ugly then like wrapping the pipe in the stuff. So for the moment this will be it! :bigSmile:

 

[CEB]

So I finally firgured out how to post pics with the help of some good fellow .Netters.

 

[piesfinder]

looks good

 

[dpatterson069]

i like mine better... sorry for the semi dirty engine bay..

 

[Flipside909]

Dave, where did you get the black couplers for your JoeZ?

 

[CEB]

i like mine better... sorry for the semi dirty engine bay..

I agree it looks better but it isn't worth $120 to me. $0 is much better for the same performance (ie intake is cooler, much less blast of hot air when I lift the bonnet)

My experiments last night with double shielding have not really made a difference. Aluminium is just too good of a conductor of heat. I have just one more possibility with that though. Actually the best way doesn't score looks points and that is to put thermal insulation on the surface of the shield and this would cut down all convection of heat to the intake while driving......people should be aware that when idling the shield will only slow down the intake heating up but eventually it will get hot. Which means covering the intake is the best, although bad for looks as well.

Should I leave it unfinished or paint it black? That's the next question.

 

[the wrong tone]

Is there maybe some kind of non-conductive washer you could use where the shield bolts to the block (ceramic?)? If you could fabricate the secondary shield you were talking about, then you could put the insulation between the two. Just a couple ideas.

+REP for trying something new.

 

[osmosis]

After installing my Joe Z i had the same problem, after driving, that thing warms up a lot~! I think I'm just gonna wrap it, i don't think it looks too bad. =)

 

[p1nk50ck]

is there a way to ceramic coat that heat shield? perhaps even just the bottom side, and then powdercoat just the top side for looks. that might help bring the temp down.

 

[FourT6and2]

Lookin good.

But why, on your JoeZ intake, is the blow-by oil line routed so far out of its way--under the intake and over the exhaust manifold? Couldn't you just cut the line shorter to maybe a few inches and route it directly?

Or is there some reason for the way you did it?

 

[crontab]

There's no need for a pissing contest by posting pics of each other's heatsheilds and claiming I like mine better for no reason whatsoever.

Good job CEB, looks good. Now go fabricate a vented radiator panel and vented underbody panel for better ventilation! =]

 

[CEB]

Is there maybe some kind of non-conductive washer you could use where the shield bolts to the block (ceramic?)? If you could fabricate the secondary shield you were talking about, then you could put the insulation between the two. Just a couple ideas.

+REP for trying something new.

Thanks very much. Yes I we are thinking along the same lines. This weekend I will put a secondary shield (a test piece of aluminium so it won't look pretty) on the first one. I will stand it off the first one with bolts and insulate it from the shield using washers cut from some heat shielding material. The point being all of this has been free so far. If I have luck, then I will look into washers that would be better for the job like ceramic ones.

I also am thinking that a shield under the Joe Z like a half pipe might be a thought although if I do that then I really should just wrap the pipe....The heat shield setup works great when the car is moving with air flow but when stationary or going slow, it only slows down the eventual heating of the pipe. Ultimately the only way to better maintain a cooler pipe under these conditions is to wrap it with insulation. In other words I am probably at 90% of what I am going to get already. I used a laser and measured the manifold at 450 degrees at idle. The heat shield reads 180.