Heatshield Armor Insulation Demonstration
This Heatshield Armor demonstration compares exposed exhaust pipe and insulation surface temperatures on a 1994 Ford Ranger.
Heatshield Armor™ exhaust insulation is the best, most effective exhaust heat reduction solution, lessening the amount of heat radiated by an exhaust header, pipe, catalytic converter, and muffler by up to 70 percent. By reducing heat exposure to nearby components, Armor helps protect their reliability and service life.
Insulating the exhaust system helps retain exhaust heat, which can support exhaust flow and engine performance. You can read more in our blog covering exhaust system insulation benefits. You can also remove Heatshield Armor for exhaust maintenance or to install new components.
Heatshield Armor Demonstration on a Ford Ranger
Seeing is believing. In this Heatshield Armor demonstration, we use an infrared thermometer and a FLIR camera to compare exposed pipe and insulation surface temperatures. Our test vehicle is a 1994 Ford Ranger with a stock exhaust header. This lets us demonstrate exhaust insulation on an everyday vehicle.
ABOVE: This 1994 Ranger is a bit long in the tooth, but its factory tubular exhaust header makes a useful test subject. We’ll compare an exposed section with one covered by Heatshield Armor.
ABOVE: For a side-by-side comparison, we cut a small piece of Heatshield Armor to cover one section of the exhaust header. We left the other section uncovered. When installing Heatshield Armor, leave part of the pipe exposed according to the product’s installation instructions. Fully enclosing the pipe can retain excessive heat and lead to pipe damage.
ABOVE: With the laser thermometer, the uninsulated portion of the exhaust header reads 289 degrees F.
ABOVE: The outer surface of Heatshield Armor reads 111.4°F, compared with 289°F on the exposed header. That’s a difference of 177.6°F between the two surface readings in this demonstration. These readings compare the exposed pipe with the insulation’s exterior, not the pipe temperature beneath the insulation.
Comparing the FLIR Images
ABOVE: Next, we use the FLIR One camera to view the exposed exhaust header. The bright white-yellow areas show the hotter surfaces in this image.
ABOVE: Finally, this Heatshield Armor demonstration shows the exposed pipe beside the insulation’s outer surface. The exposed pipe appears bright white-yellow, while the insulation appears purple. This shows the surface temperature contrast in this image.
Heatshield Products
Our expertise in automotive thermal management and sound deadening allows us to create products that help your vehicle perform its best. Heatshield Products manufactures American-made heat shield armor, barriers, sleeving, wraps and other related and non-related products for automotive use. Visit our website to learn more or contact us about finding a dealer.
Edited by William Schwartz
