Heat shield question?

[XxBLiNdxX]

Do I need the heat shield? I painted my exhaust manifold with 1200 degree flat black paint and was wondering if I still need the heat shield. I don't like it plus it is cracked. Any help would be great.

[naed240sx]

the heat shield only does good things. Sure, you can get by without it, as people have done with aftermarket headers that will not fit under the shield, but if you can fit the shield on, use it. Function over form. The more heat that you can keep out of the engine bay, the better

[DjPantsSpecR]

he's right, absolutely

but on an entirely differnent note, i dont have one on one of my 240s. However, i have my intake on the other side of the engine bay. But this is saying nothing to everything else on that side you are subjecting extra heat too.

so since you read all this, short answer, no you don't need one, and you wont be too adversely affected.

my other car's heat shield i wire brushed the rust off of and painted high heat aluminum, it matches my front timing covers and my intake manifold, so it looks pretty damn good. Yours is cracked? maybe not too badly? or you know someone to donate theirs cuz they already ditched it. just some more food for thought

[240DRFT]

i would keep it on if i were u...especially if u had a cone filter

[1991S13]

Im sure finding a cheap one at a junkyard that isn't cracked wouldn't be hard.

The guy that painted my car told me to keep the heat shields because exposure to high heat can mess with the paint. That might have been just on fresh paint though...