Fellas im looking at a few more mods this coming spring/summer. For those of you that have added the tunnel plate, is it a worthwhile mod? Improvements versus oe plate? Did you go with the thermal abs or ceramic...etc...etc?

 

I went with the Thermal Abs plate. It was installed when I did the headers.

I noticed a reduction in heat, although the tunnel still gets warm along the sides anyway, not so much on top.

I also believe I experienced a tightening of the car, it seemed to be not as noisy with creaks as prior.

When having the H/X pipe off it is a well worth the time with this mode not so sure otherwise.

I believe it did make a positive change, how much is hard to quantify.

 

I installed the one with the thermo blanket mainly for the heat reduction but, I feel that it did more for tightening up the body more than any heat reduction. I would still buy this just for the increase in body stiffness alone.

 

I have one and am glad I did it. I think it made it stiffer, but more important, my Snickers bar doesn't melt any more when in the console. I also believe that the shifter box bushings last longer because there is less heat.

 

As a side note it is hard to remember what the car was like initially. I started modding at 800 miles and this was 6 years ago.

I do remember mostly feeling the stiffness in cornering more than heat reduction but as I said the top console seemed to be cooler.

Cheap part but access somewhat time consuming.

 

 

I had same experience.

 

Yes..much stiffer chassis.

 

From Tech/performance Sub Section:

Click "Search This Thread" and search for "tunnel plate" - scroll down and click on "1/8 EE tunnel plate: Worth doing if not tracking? How about just the $135 insulation? (Multi-page thread 1 2)
ELP_JC"

Two pages of good discussion on merit of thicker and insulated tunnel plate there.

In General Sub Section, there are more objective discussion in the past using the search function.

---

Originally Posted by timd38 View Post
"I have one and am glad I did it. I think it made it stiffer, but more important, my Snickers bar doesn't melt any more when it console. I also believe that the shifter box busgings last longer because there is less heat."

Because of Tim's remark on Snickers Bar, which prompted me stay objective and bought the Elite Tunnel Abs, although making my own with DEI tunnel insulation would save me $20 over the $85 shipped priced for the Elite.

Installed the tunnel abs last week, over the 3/8" T6 plate I made with heat reflective paint. Yesterday I went for my normal drive at fairly normal pretty much year round mid eighties weather condition we have, without AC, after my two hours drive in the city. Park car in garage, center console was as hot as before the tunnel abs - Snickers bar would not survive with my combination. Probably Tim38 will have to give me the specific on his combination to have less heat and gained in rigidity!

---

So again - from a non believer on benefits of less heat and more rigidity, I stress:

1. Thicker Tunnel Plate will not gain any more rigidity as long as the existing configuration on the two row of thin gauge tack welded mounting tabs, providing mounting base for the 36 small screws are used.

2. OEM tunnel plate is functionally sufficient for shielding heat from the exhaust piping. Since there is an air gap, a natural insulation, behind tunnel plate, existing roof of tunnel already insulated from the factory, no additional benefit can be gained from insulating the tunnel plate.

3. The major heat source, directly connected to the engine - from the connection down stream of the bell housing, connection consisted of aluminum drive shaft tube connected to the rear trans is a major "trapped" heat source, most often over looked. The combination is behind the tunnel plate - free to radiate "trapped heat", sourced from the engine due to heat conduction! Only MGW, insulate a small area on the tunnel shaft housing, surrounding their shifter box.

Food for thought, Right?

 

Victorf, I got mine from a guy in Las Vegas that had them ceramic coated, don't know if it is the ceramic coating or lack of cats that has reduced the heat on the tunnel. Maybe it is the coating of the headers that is also keeping the temps down or a combination of all these factors. I also noticed when I installed the MGW shifter box that my bushings still looked new after 7 years as well.

I have a heat gun,so when the weather gets warm, I will see what type of temps I am getting.

 

I'm with you. I believe it's snake oil and everyone wants to believe there is a difference.

 

I am not sure that I would called it snake oil because it more robust than the stock one. If it wasn't 18 degrees out today. I would get cold and hot tunnel temps, but based on the weather, it would not be accurate. I need to do it July.

 

Reading all those marketing and user hypes, didn't want to paid for such a simple plate, so I decided to make my own few years back.

After measuring one existing fasten during the prefab process, decided 3/8" thick would be the thickness already pushing the envelop for the fastener's effective length. After I researched the market, decided to go straight to the maximum thickness of 3/8' to reap the added torsional rigidity. For template, needed the oem tunnel plate, after it was removed - SURPRISE - seeing the twin weak, thin gauge, tack welded sheet metal tab along both side of the tunnel; already realized, thicker tunnel plate will not enhance rigidity other than add on unnecessary weight. But since I already have the T6 plate, I went ahead and made the custom tunnel plate then finish coat it with POR15 heat resistant header coat.

With the tunnel plate removed, I could clearly see the factory installed excellent heat shield (consisted of rigid aluminum face, backed with fibre insulation), fastened to three sides of the tunnel housing, effectively surrounded the aluminum torque tube. Factory used good insulation at this tunnel area, because torque tube will be a great source for trapped heat. With these given attributes, the only way to enhance cooler cabin comfort is to insulate the floor pan. Otherwise, putting external barrier is like having an perimeter alarm system at your fence line, all the while, intruder(in this case - heat) - is already in the house.

----

My curiosity with Tim's Snickers bar been on my mind for several years. I was going to remove my LG Pro to seal up the slip fit joints, would be perfect time to insulate the tunnel plate to reap what Tim claimed and the Tunnel Abs sale was on - perfect timing! But that effort, in my application is proven ineffective.

It is my intention to remove my "custom" tunnel plate w/heat reflective paint/Elite Tunnel Abs and reinstall the thinner oem plate. I am in for performance, no sense leaving something on, proven there is not any advantage other then added weight! One thing I will do, during the plate R/R, is to paint the two sides of the tunnel, where it has no factory insulation with high temp heat reflective paint. Where it is doubtful for standard type tunnel shielding adhesive to remain effective over time, certainly, the insulation material will attract moisture and corrode the tunnel beneath.

I also followed MGW's direction to insulate the shift box surrounding area during the installation. IMO, it is better then nothing - but still can't get away from the fact - shifter/shifter box is directly connected to the heated torque tube, so in reality, it will suffer by direct heat conduction but insulation will certainly dampen vibrations.

Maybe I am not objective, rather, posting all these for post counts!!

 

I would like to see how much the stock one actually deflects vs an aftermarket one. I have no idea about the heat reduction but I don't believe the stock one is that flimsy after having mine off a few times.

 

Well I had other mods done at the same time including bigger sways and headers etc.

I will say for sure that I had less creaking goin on. This could've been attributed to both tunnel plate and bigger sways. At the time ZI felt it was the tunnel plate though being at slower speed improvement

Like I said probably not worth the switch unless you have the exhaust pipe off anyway.

 

Victorf, can I send you a Snickers bar to test?

I think that this good conversation and we all learn for threads like this.

 

I made it a habit to do installation one at a time, that gives me time to asset pro/con and an objective feel.

I have several favorite familiar roads for my drive. Over the years, I got to know where it would induce chassis noise and such. Before/after with the thicker tunnel plate resulted with no discernible change to the chassis worth mentioning. Along with no drop in console heat feel after Tunnel Abs install.

However:

1. Hotchkis sways from Z51 - significant!

2. Bilstein Sports from Z51 - significant!

3. Pfadt Pintop Delrin bushing from Bilstein Sports supplied bushing - significant!

4. High Temp Copper RTV is certainly held up, short time interval, at the fore/aft location of the LG Pro's cats. Right now, no more ticking exhaust leak from those four joint! After several more thousand miles(one year worth), if still holding, I will remove exhaust piping to seal the rest of slip fit joints, paint both exposed side of the tunnel wall with heat reflective paint and R/R with the oem thin tunnel plate same time.

You are too funny Tim! Thanks for the offer!

 

Looking back to 2006 when the Thermal abs tunnel plate first came out it was advertised by the Manufacture as reducing heat 54* over the OEM plate for the C6. It was a more significant reduction of 94* in the C5.

 

Manufacture claims are in flavor of trying to sell their products. For this experiment for my own confirmation, I used the popular brand insulator to stay objective - at a sale price. Although I could saved $20 and made my own.

Temperature at the back of the plate really have little bearings in term of cabin temperature. Unless it has no air gap and is directly connected to the floor pan. In which case, the measured temperature will certainly have an direct effect to the cabin. In the case of the C5/C6, there exist an air gap with the location of the tunnel plate. Air is an natural insulator, heat from the exhaust piping, first has to radiate through the first air gap, then onto tunnel plate, heat from the warmed over tunnel plate then again, radiate to the next air gap, which is below the torque tube....movement from car will make that an active air gap.....so goes the heat....

But the problem lies with the top most component within the tunnel housing - which is the torque tube, carries with it the heat from direct conduction, sourced from the internal combination process within the engine. With its proximity at the top most location within the insulated tunnel housing, that trapped heat has no place to go - there is an air gap, but unlike the tunnel plate's location, warmed air in that location is trapped, it has very little to no flow. Therefore, torque tube plays a bigger role in terms of cabin heat.

If cabin heat is of concern, then insulation for the entire cabin floor is most effective.

Like I said earlier, dealing with heat is akin to an intruder already in the house, with the house intruder alarm hooked to the perimeter fence, but this fence having an opened gate.

 

I didn't bother with the tunnel plate or associated insulator. I did however insulate the interior under the carpeting of the tunnel and under the center console when I had it removed for other mods. I noticed a substantial reduction in console and interior heat.