RichardEngland

On my 73 coupe, I installed smaller mufflers and placed them closer to gas tank to hide them. To help protect the gas tank and more importantly, the fuel lines I also created some heat shields from .09” thick aluminum between the gas tank and the mufflers, and left about 2” space between them. My assumption is that the value of a heat shield is to add surface area to dissipate heat. When I measure the temperature of the mufflers and the heat shields, the heat shields are a few degrees hotter then the mufflers, about 10%. I can’t measure the temperature above the HS because I don’t have any line of site. I know that since the HS is higher then the muffler, it might get hotter. Question is, by adding the HS, am I blocking some potential air flow to the gas tank and to the top side of the HS, increasing the temperature on the fuel lines?

ts_vette_st

My guess is it's the material. Aluminum dissipates heat well but also conducts heat well. You may get better results using steel as a heat shield.