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Hi, since I'm not into payin out 50-60 bucks for a pipe sleeve, anyone know of any good insulation I can rig up for my intake pipe? I bought some aluminum tape, might try that, may not be the greatest, but at least it should reflect some heat.....
I'd be wary of aluminum tape, or any other tight fitting material. As the engine compartment warms, they may shield at the beginning, but once the whole compartment gets hot, a tight fitting wrap will just retain the heat. Eventually, the material of the intake will start to degrade. If you can find a piece of sheet steel and wrap it around something of 25-30% greater diameter(full roll of paper towels, coffee can, etc) just to form the shape, then take the sheet steel and place it around the intake pipe. Use large pipe clamps or heavy-duty cable ties to keep the shield from unrolling.
Hope this helps, or someone has a better suggestion.
Kool thanx, Yeah I can get some thinner sheet metal than what I just bought to make my heat shield with. this way, the thinner stuff is a bit more easier to bend and wrap, you think that sheet metal will make a good difference? oh yeah, so do you mean, to put it on loosley? I mean just let it sit over the pipe with air space on the bottom area? or just make it so it will make a nice wrap right around the pipe with about the same width?! have you or anyone out there in forum land tried one of those exspensive aluminum insulated wraps?
Last edited by axl_james; Jul 24, 2003 at 10:14 PM.
The aluminum insulated wraps are the best, however, there are alternatives if you aren't concerned about looking pretty. I have seen tape/wrap stuff at Home Depot that you wrap around hot water pipes to keep them insulated that would work, but it wouldn't be the prettiest thing around. Then again, if you did the sheetmetal thing over the insulation....
Do you know anyone that has used it? The reason I ask, is that i'm a bit concerned about it "holding in" heat. Kinda like what the post a few above this one states about the aluminum tape can work at first, but then actually keep heat inside the pipe. I wonder if a wrap such as this/that one plus the aluminum tape would be good?!
With the two (aluminum tape reflecting radiant heat and the foam stuff reflecting conductive heat from the air) it probably won't be all that much of an issue, in terms of keeping heat in. The problem with the aluminum tape alone is that it provides no protection against the conductive heat of the air, only the radiant heat from engine parts.
There is only so much you can do to totatlly prevent engine heat from soaking into the air, but at the velocity the air is moving the insulated pipe should be a big help. You will probably soak up more heat from the manifold than the tube after the mod, but that is what phenolic spacers are for, and it just goes downhill from there, since to put the spacers in you have to take the manifolds off, so you may as well port match them, and since you pretty much have the engine apart anyways, why not throw in a cam? The mod bug is bad, but so good .