Interior Heat(!!!)

[rob76turbo]

Hi everyone,

Pulled out the carpets on my 92 (they were wet when I bought the car...so there was mildew, but was going to strip them out anyway). I have noticed that the heat around the transmisison tunnel is getting up there. Maybe not bad when driving the car in the winter, but right now it is a bit uncomfortable.

Anyway, at TDR at MSR 2007, I noticed that several cars had a durable looking black covering on the floor. Is this the same stuff that you put in a pick-up truck bed? Where do you get it, what is it called? Is there anything else available? Are there any heat shields too? How do you apply and how long does it take to dry? AND now much does this covering reduce the heat?

I know there are a lot of questions... But I want to reduce the heat and do it in a cost effective manner.

Thanks in advance!
rob76turbo

[sammm]

Check your shifter boots (inner and outer).

[Treibenschnell]

Being that the headers and cat are right behind that area where your right leg usually rests, it's gonna get hot fast. I've seen foam pads that sit up on the tunnel that allow for a leg/knee rest so that the heat won't get so bad.

[rob76turbo]

I noticed that TDR Gary's yellow Miata has this stuff on the floor....

[Magma]

I am pretty sure it is Rhino Lined, but it still gets rather toasty to the touch

[black roadster]

+1 on checking for torn shift boots.

I installed Reflectix under my carpet. You can it at Home Depot. It's not durable enough as a top layer but perfect to insulate under carpet.

[Adam Payrot]

Check your shifter boots (inner and outer).

+1 on checking for torn shift boots.

I installed Reflectix under my carpet. You can it at Home Depot. It's not durable enough as a top layer but perfect to insulate under carpet.

He took the carpet out...


I think it's Rhino Liner too, or at least a material of that type.

[johnwag]

I noticed that TDR Gary's yellow Miata has this stuff on the floor....

Gary rhino lined the floor. The difference is under the car. Gary has sheets of the insulating material that goes inside of his heat shields. He cut out a sheet and lined the transmission tunnel on the driver's side with it and held it in place with rivets. He said, by best guess, that it knocked between 50-100 degrees off the temp. Before he placed the insulating material, he said that the interior on the driver's side was hot enough to make a blister from a burn. Yikes!!!

Check your shifter boots, this is the easiest fix.

[Mingle]

i used dynomat with the aluminum on it. makes the interior quieter, and cooler. the downside is its heavy, lead septum tar mix.

[rob76turbo]

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. Gary may be able to sell me some of the insulating material. I should probably buy a heat sheild for the header too. I will check the shifter boots for sure. But it also looks like the Rhino stuff is in the works too.

[johnwag]

Rob, talk to nealb. I just remembered that he had some insulating material that he got from summit racing. Neal lined the transmission tunnel with it, similarly to Gary's.

[nealb]

besides Gary's, you may have seen my red car at the Track Dog MSR day

I put thermotec self adhesive stuff on the inside of my tunnel, a 12" x 24" piece covered everything I needed

http://store.summitracing.com/partde...5&autoview=sku

then saw Gary's yellow car, and copied his idea for Herculiner on the inside, including covering the thermotec stuff

the combination makes a big difference

[rob76turbo]

I just put in 3 coats of the Herculiner. That stuff is nasty!! Anyway it is drying out nicely and should help. I am meeting up with Gary tomorrow to buy some of the heat shield from him. The install process looks to be a bit more involved then the Thermotec stuff you mentioned, but provided I install it correctly, it should greatly reduce the interior heat. Gary thought that if you install a nut inbetween the transmission tunnel and the heat shield (therefore providing a 1/4" gap), and still use a pop rivet gun to install the panels, that air gap will help even more. We will give it a try for sure.

Thanks.
rob76turbo

[rob76turbo]

Went by Gary's today and purchased the heat shield. Gary and I crawled up under "Yellow" and looked at how he had installed it. Looks pretty straight forward. I also replaced the inner and outer shift boots. Yes, they were both shot and the small area under the shifter where some trans fluid sits was completely dry.

Interior heat from the shifter was MUCH reduced on the way home. I will post again once I have the heat shield installed.

rob76turbo