Heatsheilds, heat wrap, turbo blankets

c20elephant

C20ELEPHANT
Apr 25, 2013
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Phoenix, Arizona
Are heatshields, heat wrap, turbo blankets necessary.? When you install a downpipe, uppipe wrap, turbo blankets or reinstall heatshields what is the reason for them.? I reinstalled my turbocharger heat shield after I installed the downpipe, a blanket was not in the budget and figured the heatshield would do just fine....

1. To retain heat in the turbocharger system for maximum energy efficiency.?

2. To keep under hood temperatures down.?

3. To keep noise down.? (I have a sleeve on my hotpipe and downpipe (Thanks Levi) sure gets rid of the turbo whine in the cab.

4. To protect other underhood wiring etc. nearby from melting or being damaged.?

5. If heat shields are not needed why did GM install them in the first place.?
 
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Oct 16, 2008
948
12
18
Idaho
D. All of the above since blankets, coatings or heat shields will all have an impact on the things you mentioned. GM didn't use heat shields for heat retention so much as they used them for heat deflection. No shields on the up-pipes, downpipe, turbo and eventually the firewall insulation will breakdown and be a good fire candidate. A/C will be less efficient. Electrical component life gets shortened or destroyed from extreme heat nearby. Underhood and intake temps rise.

The factory metal shields don't necessarily contain heat in the system as much as help deflect radiant heat away from things that can't take it or don't function well with excess heat. Obviously the blankets just take that one step beyond a metal shield and put the heat to use driving the system.

Hopefully others weigh in with their personal experiences too. It's surprising how many fire near misses I hear about.
 

clrussell

pro-procrastinator
Sep 23, 2013
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D. All of the above since blankets, coatings or heat shields will all have an impact on the things you mentioned. GM didn't use heat shields for heat retention so much as they used them for heat deflection. No shields on the up-pipes, downpipe, turbo and eventually the firewall insulation will breakdown and be a good fire candidate. A/C will be less efficient. Electrical component life gets shortened or destroyed from extreme heat nearby. Underhood and intake temps rise.

The factory metal shields don't necessarily contain heat in the system as much as help deflect radiant heat away from things that can't take it or don't function well with excess heat. Obviously the blankets just take that one step beyond a metal shield and put the heat to use driving the system.

Hopefully others weigh in with their personal experiences too. It's surprising how many fire near misses I hear about.



I'll jump in a little.. But for a question..

Levi do you offer anything for the factory manifolds? Blankets? I have a set of up pipe and turbo blankets sitting waiting.. Just curious on factory manifolds.. Lml driver side and normal passenger side.
 

c20elephant

C20ELEPHANT
Apr 25, 2013
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Phoenix, Arizona
Levi, the 4ft. sock you made for my hotside pipe sure reduced the turbo whine in the cab on my truck and I'm sure probably missing some noise with the sock/blanket on my downpipe....:thumb:


1. To retain heat in the turbocharger system for maximum energy efficiency.?

2. To keep under hood temperatures down.?

3. To keep noise down.? (I have a sleeve on my hotpipe and downpipe (Thanks Levi) sure gets rid of the turbo whine in the cab.

4. To protect other underhood wiring etc. nearby from melting or being damaged.?

5. If heat shields are not needed why did GM install them in the first place.?

6. Noise reduction

7. All of the above minus #5
 
Oct 16, 2008
948
12
18
Idaho
I'll jump in a little.. But for a question..

Levi do you offer anything for the factory manifolds? Blankets? I have a set of up pipe and turbo blankets sitting waiting.. Just curious on factory manifolds.. Lml driver side and normal passenger side.

Yes, I can make manifold blankets for factory manifolds. To be 100% honest, I ran a set on my tuned-stock turbo truck for years but didn't get a noticeable improvement when I added them to the up-pipe/down pipe/turbo blankets that were already installed. Not to say they didn't do anything, just that I didn't get a seat of the pants or discernible difference. Given, this was summer so maybe a winter install would have given me different more noticeable results. Or if I had been trying to drive a bigger charger I might have noticed the manifold blankets more. I would always do turbo/up-pipe blankets before factory manifold blankets since they contribute far more to underhood temps. If you're already all covered there, the next step would be manifolds.

Aftermarket manifolds are a whole other monster and tend to contribute temps considerably more than factory manifolds. They should always be covered. Especially a header style thinner wall tubing style.
 

clrussell

pro-procrastinator
Sep 23, 2013
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363
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Yes, I can make manifold blankets for factory manifolds. To be 100% honest, I ran a set on my tuned-stock turbo truck for years but didn't get a noticeable improvement when I added them to the up-pipe/down pipe/turbo blankets that were already installed. Not to say they didn't do anything, just that I didn't get a seat of the pants or discernible difference. Given, this was summer so maybe a winter install would have given me different more noticeable results. Or if I had been trying to drive a bigger charger I might have noticed the manifold blankets more. I would always do turbo/up-pipe blankets before factory manifold blankets since they contribute far more to underhood temps. If you're already all covered there, the next step would be manifolds.

Aftermarket manifolds are a whole other monster and tend to contribute temps considerably more than factory manifolds. They should always be covered. Especially a header style thinner wall tubing style.


Awesome thank you. I'm not really after the performance side of the manifold blankets as much as temp control. Its going to be stock turbo but has rear ac so it'll be nice to be able to cover the passenger manifold at least, then might as well do both.
 
Oct 16, 2008
948
12
18
Idaho
Awesome thank you. I'm not really after the performance side of the manifold blankets as much as temp control. Its going to be stock turbo but has rear ac so it'll be nice to be able to cover the passenger manifold at least, then might as well do both.

Sorry, didn't see your reply til now. Yeah, oddly enough I get a lot of customer commenting on how much the blankets improve A/C performance so I think it would be worth your while if you're concerned about it.
 

clrussell

pro-procrastinator
Sep 23, 2013
5,907
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Sorry, didn't see your reply til now. Yeah, oddly enough I get a lot of customer commenting on how much the blankets improve A/C performance so I think it would be worth your while if you're concerned about it.

No problem. I appreciate the Info!
 

56taskforce

Well-known member
Mar 30, 2014
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Here are my manifolds and up pipes I also have one of Levi's turbo blankets that will be going on soon...
 

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WisconsinHick1

New member
Mar 11, 2009
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Minnesota
I think I might have to reinvest in a turbo blanket for my S475. I had one the didn't take the heat the best when I had my pulling truck and I don't believe it was yours Levi. But if it helps spool up on my drag truck that would be awesome.
 

56taskforce

Well-known member
Mar 30, 2014
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Thank you it made for some very sore finger. :( here is a little hint cover the places where the wrap crosses first and the best way to secure it is aircraft safty wire them stainless steel bands suck...
 

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Oct 16, 2008
948
12
18
Idaho
I think I might have to reinvest in a turbo blanket for my S475. I had one the didn't take the heat the best when I had my pulling truck and I don't believe it was yours Levi. But if it helps spool up on my drag truck that would be awesome.

Yeah, there are definitely some blankets out there that will get hammered from the overall temp a diesel can produce. That's why I use a 3 layer rather than a mesh to hold the insulation in.

They tend to help spool more on larger, laggier setups. It's harder to notice the difference on the bottom end on smaller chargers. Not to say they don't help, there's just a smaller window for improvement on fast spooling setups. Everything gets noticeable help in the mid-range and up top.

Thank you it made for some very sore finger. :( here is a little hint cover the places where the wrap crosses first and the best way to secure it is aircraft safty wire them stainless steel bands suck...

Honestly one of the nicer manifold wrap jobs I've seen. That stuff is never fun to wrap and it's even harder to make it look nice afterwards.
 
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c20elephant

C20ELEPHANT
Apr 25, 2013
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Phoenix, Arizona
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WisconsinHick1

New member
Mar 11, 2009
1,231
1
0
Minnesota
Yeah, there are definitely some blankets out there that will get hammered from the overall temp a diesel can produce. That's why I use a 3 layer rather than a mesh to hold the insulation in.

They tend to help spool more on larger, laggier setups. It's harder to notice the difference on the bottom end on smaller chargers. Not to say they don't help, there's just a smaller window for improvement on fast spooling setups. Everything gets noticeable help in the mid-range and up top.

Yeah I need one lol S475 is a little difficult to spool lol. I already have the up pipes wrapped so turbo blanket is next.