THE TRUE QUESTION: Heat Shield or NO Heat Shield

[chriscrooz]

OK,
So I installed my new TWM Short Shifter, acutally I thought it would be shorter than it is. None the less, after installing it I removed the heat shield from below my ride because I was talking to my BC buddies and they stated that it's not really needed. SO I thought I would ask and see what everyone else thought.

Heat Shield or NO Heat Shield???

PLEASE VOTE AND ADD YOUR ARGUMENT SO THERE'S SOME DISCUSSION ON YOUR POINT OF VIEW. thanks

Chris

 

[Familia323]

Im curious to this as well.. because I have the same shifter and when I went to add the spacer I found out that mazda stripped one of the bolts and so now I can't get the spacer in and the heat shield rattles all the time because it's crooked... please tell me I can remove it and be fine!

 

[peepsalot]

I voted heat shield. Can't you just bend part of it out of the way and leave the rest intact? Spreading heat around unnecessarily seems bad to me.

 

[Familia323]

I dont know about him.. But I did, and now the wind catches it at certain speeds and it vibrates it like crazy... there is a fine line between hitting the exhaust and hitting the Shifter....

 

[KzA]

Its there for a reason...numbers of others have bent it away and have had no problems..I vote yes..

 

[PhreakV]

yeah I can't say exactly for the twm but with my kartboy I just bent it out of the way. then someone (he knows who he is ) cross-threaded the s*** out of the front bolt on the pass side so that side wasn't connected any longer and it was still fine. I'd say leave it, the only place for the heat from your exhaust pipe to go otherwise is up and against all of the plastic pieces around the shifter...

unless it becomes a large issue, I'd just leave it.

 

[Rickman]

I voted leave it in. I just installed my Kartboy and all I did was put two cuts in it and bend it.

 

[chriscrooz]

I agree with everyone who said keep it in but at the same time I've heard from mechanics that it does nothing. Finding out that there are a TON of things on the MP5 that aren't really useful, like the air box piece that is over the radiator, which actually restricts air over helping it. So I am swayed either way on this.



Chris

 

[Protege52003]

OK,
So I installed my new TWM Short Shifter, acutally I thought it would be shorter than it is.
Chris

how much lower over stock and did you use factory bushings? do you like it over stock?

thanks

-ryan

 

[(m@)]

Ripped mine out cause i tried bending, cutting, etc etc it either hit my shifter (custom made) or rubbed on my exhaust (magnaflow cat back).

so after attempting to fix it for a couple months i got annoyed and ripped it out all together.

Been driving for 10,000 KM without it and no problems, i check it when i do my oil changes every 5k, just to make sure.

Chris in your case though being that you have stock exhaust system you should be able to use the spacers provided with the TWM and shouldn't have any clearance issues, I didn't when i had my TWM and the Magnaflow.

 

[Replica]

I threw mine out. just a chunk of metal....

 

[Sir Nuke]

IF you still have the stock center section in with the resonator...LEAVE IT IN...just trim out a spot to make clearance for the shifter and spacers aren't even needed...

HOWEVER....if you have installed a complete cat back exhaust....REMOVE THE HEAT SHIELD...as the resonator is gone and its serving no purpose anymore.

 

[vindication]

the twm shifter comes with spacers for the heat shield. I left my heatshield in when I installed my TWM

 

[SciFiMan]

I voted no, only because it's a sport compact on the roads. If you had a Subaru, truck, SUV, etc. anything venturing onto the semi- or completely offroad I would say leave it on. It's only function is, like a spark arrestor on a small engine, to keep a barrier between the very hot exhaust and cat away from combustible stuff like tall dry grass, etc. that you might drive over or park on. Or in our case, paper and plastic bags and s*** blowing around the highway that can get caught up under the car and potentially smoke or ignite.

Mine rattled also until I put on the Mazdaspeed axleback. Most mechanics stay when it falls off by itself (as many do) don't bother to replace it.

 

[SciFiMan]

....Finding out that there are a TON of things on the MP5 that aren't really useful, like the air box piece that is over the radiator...

That airbox setup is very useful, to the manufacturer. The car can be driven anywhere in the world for it's intended purpose (roadway driving) and not hydrolock, and it keeps the engine quiet, and it adds some restriction to keep the torque at a lower rpm, where the common buyer needs it on such a small engine. Same reasons they do it on a M5 and other expensive performance cars with a wty. Otherwise it would be much simpler and much much cheaper for them to just put a short ram or a CAI on at the factory. But then there'd be less things for us to customize!

 

[ahb11m]

i say leave it on... .my car was cooking after 1/2 hour on the free way - the amount of heat coming off the shifter was the same amount i'd only had at the end of the day when driving to adelaide (1400km)

 

[Familia323]

IF you still have the stock center section in with the resonator...LEAVE IT IN...just trim out a spot to make clearance for the shifter and spacers aren't even needed...

HOWEVER....if you have installed a complete cat back exhaust....REMOVE THE HEAT SHIELD...as the resonator is gone and its serving no purpose anymore.

thank you Nuke.... you are always helpful...

 

[MSP#735]

i took mine off bc i wanted to advertise for Callaway lol im thinking about polishing it and putting it back on..i would polish it and put it on, give the engine alittle shine...

 

[Familia323]

i took mine off bc i wanted to advertise for Callaway lol im thinking about polishing it and putting it back on..i would polish it and put it on, give the engine alittle shine...

wrong heat shield.. although now that I think about it... the title doesnt specify...

 

[Maxx Mazda]

Leave it on. Really, what's the big deal? Weight savings? Aerodynamics? My TWM came with the spacers, so I just used them. It's there for a reason.