Godless Commie
06-23-2009, 08:47 AM
I know, I know.. Gary has a nice heat blanket for about $90 plus shipping, but by the time those things make their way all the way to Turkey, cost+shipping burns a hole in my pocket..
I had removed the heatshield and not done anything about my headers (mazda - '01 style that were stock on my car) during my hotside install.
My thinking at the moment was the excess heat would simply melt away and blur the three letters on the blower bracket that somehow did not form an acronym for "FastForwardSuperchargers". The heat seems to be blurring my vision and searing my hands when I reach into the engine compartment, instead.
(And, I have to do a lot of reaching there these days.. To replace a cracked radiator, for instance. Or, to replace a less than stellar performing O2 sensor - really, is it THAT though to put put a measly 1 (one) volt every so often? Or to install an adjustable FPR, or Tom's fuel rail, or new somethingorother..
(By my estimation, my miata shall be tipping the scales at 17.6 metric tons by the time I am done installing things and bits in it... And, it will de the quarter mile
in about 27 minutes.. )
Anyway.. I had to come up with a solution for the ungodly underhood temps.
I went ahead and bought a gigantic roll of header wrap (please remember the 17.6 ton goal here). The problem is, this wrap is only rated to withstand a constant temp of 450 C ( about 850 deg F), so I invested in a sheet of ceramic wool, as well (about $6 or so..) The ceramic wool "paper" is rated at about
2300F! It is about 3/16 to 1/4 inch thick.
My plan is to cut nice custom tailored sleeves out of the ceramic wool sheet and fit them on the individual runners, all the way down, past the collector. I will then wrap the header wrap over that, doubly insulating the system. I do anticipate moments of creative cursing around tight spots with the added thickness, but it will, I am sure, cause a significant reduction on the underhood temps.
So, this is my plan..
Any comments?
(and, no, I could not line the headers with lead to achieve my weight goal sooner, I have discovered lead melts pretty much right away under boost, and that you have to do a lot of explaining to the EPA helicopter brigade that pulls you over)
(oh, and to those who would suggest I should wait for things to cool down before I reach in there: what about the innocent blower who seems to be reenacting Dante's inferno on a daily basis, huh? That poor thing is always there.. Geez.)
I had removed the heatshield and not done anything about my headers (mazda - '01 style that were stock on my car) during my hotside install.
My thinking at the moment was the excess heat would simply melt away and blur the three letters on the blower bracket that somehow did not form an acronym for "FastForwardSuperchargers". The heat seems to be blurring my vision and searing my hands when I reach into the engine compartment, instead.
(And, I have to do a lot of reaching there these days.. To replace a cracked radiator, for instance. Or, to replace a less than stellar performing O2 sensor - really, is it THAT though to put put a measly 1 (one) volt every so often? Or to install an adjustable FPR, or Tom's fuel rail, or new somethingorother..
(By my estimation, my miata shall be tipping the scales at 17.6 metric tons by the time I am done installing things and bits in it... And, it will de the quarter mile
in about 27 minutes.. )
Anyway.. I had to come up with a solution for the ungodly underhood temps.
I went ahead and bought a gigantic roll of header wrap (please remember the 17.6 ton goal here). The problem is, this wrap is only rated to withstand a constant temp of 450 C ( about 850 deg F), so I invested in a sheet of ceramic wool, as well (about $6 or so..) The ceramic wool "paper" is rated at about
2300F! It is about 3/16 to 1/4 inch thick.
My plan is to cut nice custom tailored sleeves out of the ceramic wool sheet and fit them on the individual runners, all the way down, past the collector. I will then wrap the header wrap over that, doubly insulating the system. I do anticipate moments of creative cursing around tight spots with the added thickness, but it will, I am sure, cause a significant reduction on the underhood temps.
So, this is my plan..
Any comments?
(and, no, I could not line the headers with lead to achieve my weight goal sooner, I have discovered lead melts pretty much right away under boost, and that you have to do a lot of explaining to the EPA helicopter brigade that pulls you over)
(oh, and to those who would suggest I should wait for things to cool down before I reach in there: what about the innocent blower who seems to be reenacting Dante's inferno on a daily basis, huh? That poor thing is always there.. Geez.)