I've been looking off and on for a while now (ever since Bisi's CR-Z was on the cover of some magazine my step brother got) for a new exhaust manifold heat shield. I've been slowly trying to clean up my engine bay, and the one thing that always bothers me when I pop the hood is that big ugly turbo manifold. I've seen plenty of aftermarket heat shields that looked great, but either I can't find the company that made them at all, or they're a one-off.

Does anyone know where I can find one, or even better, find a few options for one? Right now I have the Greddy turbo manifold, so if it fits that 2 bolt pattern that would be awesome, but I have no qualms drilling new holes if need be. I'd also probably be painting it, and I'm not a fan of chrome. Any ideas?

 

Benen used to make one for the B-series. Otherwise it'll be custom. And those Greddy's I've only seen once. I've been looking.

 

Yeah, I called Greddy about the heatshield a long time ago, told them how I got the mani/turbo/DP from their kit secondhand, and their answer was that I can only get the heat shield if I buy the whole kit. Seems silly, you'd think a company would love to make money, but evidently it wasn't worth their time.

Guess it's time I get some sheet metal, cutters, and a ball peen hammer. This is going to be one entertaining DIY.

 

In it for diy

 

The Benen one was simple. Just some sheet metal bent with a large 90 degree radius and some mounting holes drilled.

 

Different colors, but not cheap.

http://benen.com/index.php?option=co...chk=1&Itemid=3

 

Well, that's out the window. Guess I'll go to the hardware store tomorrow to pick up some sheet metal and other tools. I talked to a friend who has a welding machine, and he said he can do flatwelds on any seams. This might just turn into an interesting little project.

 

When you are done spray it with some hi temp paint.

 

That's kind of a no-brainer. I've been doing some work on paper, drawing up what I think will look good, and so far the most interesting (and probably most difficult) is a full shroud that covers up to and including part of the valve cover, just to keep everything looking as smooth as possible. When the manifold comes off for measuring, it'll also be getting heat wrapped. Damn thing gets hot as hell with spirited driving.

 

You want to keep the manifold and turbo hot, but not hold the heat in the head. It seems like if you have a full shroud, it would just be containing it against the front of the motor.

If I were making a cover, I would get a piece of posterboard (walmart has packs of like 10 sheets for a few bucks) and just cut and bend until you get something you like. If it doesn't look good, tape it back on or cut it off with a pair of scissors.

 

I have a feeling that posterboard would at the best burn, and at the worst catch on fire. I'm not putting anything made or derived from wood under my hood.

 

Make it out of CF and label it JDM.

That's my ******* comment for today.