Question about 348 Exhaust Shield??? | FerrariChat

Question about 348 Exhaust Shield???

Discussion in '348/355' started by GQ IMAGE, May 29, 2005.

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  1. GQ IMAGE

    GQ IMAGE Formula Junior

    Feb 10, 2005
    322
    PA
    Full Name:
    GQ IMAGE
    Guys, my friend and I are thinking about changing the heat shield for the exhaust in my 348. It just kills me that I put a Tubi on and you can’t even see it. Has anyone experimented with the heat shield? I kind of want to remake it where it is still functional but you can look down and see the Tubi. I want to flare it up and make it out of full mirror polish aluminum or stainless. Has anyone run the car with out the heat shield on at all? Thanks GQ
     
  2. Husker

    Husker F1 World Champ

    Dec 31, 2003
    11,788
    western hemisphere
    I thought a Tubi was to be heard, but not seen?
     
  3. ernie

    ernie Two Time F1 World Champ
    Lifetime Rossa Owner

    Nov 19, 2001
    22,574
    The Brickyard
    Full Name:
    The Bad Guy
    That would be a yes. I don't recomend it, unless you want melted tail lights.

    You can make a different heat shield out of pollished stainless, but make sure you glue heat sheild material on the bottom of it.
     
  4. 348SStb

    348SStb F1 Rookie
    Owner

    Keep the heat shield intact as it is.

    If you were to be able to look down and see the Tubi, then you would not have protection from the extreme heat of the muffler, which would cause melted taillights among other problems.
     
  5. Llenroc

    Llenroc F1 Rookie
    Rossa Subscribed

    Jun 9, 2004
    4,770
    Colorado
    Full Name:
    Vern
    I ran my 348ss without the shields for 7 years and nothin' melted on the car. this was the single factory piece not the older twin silencers. It looked great and it wasn't a shiny tubi.
     
  6. Husker

    Husker F1 World Champ

    Dec 31, 2003
    11,788
    western hemisphere
    I wouldn't jack with that heat shield on a bet. When you want to show off your Tubi, carry around a big mirror in your passenger seat and just slide it under the engine bay. You might rig up a couple of halogen lights for better effect.
     
  7. 348SStb

    348SStb F1 Rookie
    Owner

    You simply lucked out. Typically, the taillights melt even with the heat shields in place.
     
  8. jjstecher

    jjstecher Formula Junior

    Jan 21, 2002
    962
    Rochester Minnesota
    Full Name:
    John Stecher
    I have a tubi with no cats on the car and track my car more than enough and have no heat shield on my car. Not a single issue in three years of driving and 10000 fast miles.
     
  9. tommo

    tommo Formula 3
    Lifetime Rossa

    Nov 29, 2004
    1,245
    Gloucestershire
    Full Name:
    Julian
    I have a Tubi with no rear heatshield. The Tubi box is a good deal smaller than the stock box, hence its not necessary to have the rear shield. This was confirmed by my Ferrari independent specialist - its just common sense!!
     
  10. GQ IMAGE

    GQ IMAGE Formula Junior

    Feb 10, 2005
    322
    PA
    Full Name:
    GQ IMAGE
    Guys, thanks for all the feed back so far. It looks like it can be done. I will make a remodified heat shield out off mirror polish where you can look down and see the Tubi maybe through a window or something, not sure yet. I will also media blast etch in a cool logo again. Please continue your thoughts on this thread. I guess I will meet all the posts in the middle. I will still have a heat shield, just styled a little different.
     
  11. Jerrari

    Jerrari F1 Veteran

    Jul 24, 2001
    5,463
    Michigan
    Full Name:
    Jerry Wiersma
    My dad's been running his for 1000 miles w/o the heat shield & Tubi w/ no problems at all. I've run the car very hard so if it was going to melt the tail lights, it would have done it already.
     
  12. ernie

    ernie Two Time F1 World Champ
    Lifetime Rossa Owner

    Nov 19, 2001
    22,574
    The Brickyard
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    The Bad Guy
    Well my 348 didn't have the upper rear heat sheild, and my lights DID melt. It doesn't happen right away. It took a several months and well OVER 1000 miles of driving. First the rear light cover starts to get disfigured. It gets so hot that it becomes soft and starts to droop. The plastic will cool and it keeps the droopy shape. This continues and eventually the cover is no good. Then the tailghts themselves start to do the same thing. Then the connectors that hold the light bulbs get brittle and start to crack and break. Why do you think that there was an upgrade to the rear tail lights, by adding a heat sheild to the bottom of them? Think I'm making this up? Then go have a look at the tail lights of a '94 348 and you'll see the heat sheild around the tailings, not just the muffler. Which is why your dad has been lucky so far. But hey, who am I to question your genius.
     
    chas-3 likes this.
  13. Husker

    Husker F1 World Champ

    Dec 31, 2003
    11,788
    western hemisphere
    U GO GQ!
     
  14. jjstecher

    jjstecher Formula Junior

    Jan 21, 2002
    962
    Rochester Minnesota
    Full Name:
    John Stecher
    Erine - Dont want to argue with you and was just pointing out what happened with my car. I have no disfiguring of the tail light mechanism or tail lights themselves. As I said its been 10000 miles, 3000+ on the track, two trips to the USGP, and numerious rush hour traffic sessions. If mine were going to melt they would have.

    Thus the lession GQ Image it worked for one and didnt for the other. Play at your own risk.

    Erine do you have cats on your car or not? I dont which might be making the difference.
     
  15. GQ IMAGE

    GQ IMAGE Formula Junior

    Feb 10, 2005
    322
    PA
    Full Name:
    GQ IMAGE
    jjstecher Thanks for the feed back. I also have no cats on my car either. My car runs very cool, I just took the cats off when I added the Tubi. What a difference with no cats. People have no idea on how much heat those things hold. The car was designed in the late to mid 80's when emissions where at there worst. Those coffee cans are heat traps. Race Pipes all the way.
     
  16. Kevallino

    Kevallino Formula 3

    Feb 10, 2004
    2,257
    Mid-Ohio
    Full Name:
    Kevin
    I have a '94 spider - my taillights were buggered when I got the car and I had to jack around with a couple of the lamp housings to change lamps. I put the Tubi and Hyperflows on it but put the heatshield back on. Yeah, you can't see the Tubi but you can bloody well hear it so I'm happy enough.

    I reckon I'm with ernie on this one but make a new shield if you like. Price the taillights and plan accordingly - if the exhaust runs cooler than stock then perhaps no worries or worst case is you buy new lamp housings and replace or upgrade an exhaust shield.

    Cheers
    Kevin
     
  17. ernie

    ernie Two Time F1 World Champ
    Lifetime Rossa Owner

    Nov 19, 2001
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    The Bad Guy
    Yeah I have the cats. They do make alot of heat, that may be why you are not getting the melted lights.
     
  18. matteo

    matteo F1 World Champ

    Aug 1, 2002
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    Heir Butt
    Look at his username. Nuff said.
     
  19. Jerrari

    Jerrari F1 Veteran

    Jul 24, 2001
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    Jerry Wiersma
    Take it easy there stud, I was only saying what MY experience was, not what possibly COULD happen in the future nor what anyone else should do. Take a chill pill and loosen up a little, life will be much easier. :)
     
    axarunner likes this.
  20. tommo

    tommo Formula 3
    Lifetime Rossa

    Nov 29, 2004
    1,245
    Gloucestershire
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    Julian
    Well today I got caught up in a huge delay on our M4 motorway. What should have been a 1 hour 30 journey became 4+ hours. So there I am thinking, ****, my Tubi with decat pipes has no rear heat shield and I've done about 5 miles in 1hour 30mins, in other words the car was cooking - I mean seriously cooking, no rain, quite hot, and I could see the rear heat fumes waving all around my tail. Then I remembered this post, oh god, what if my plastic rear light casings melt - it would be the natural time to collapse - guess what - they were perfect - I am sure it has something to do with having straight through pipes and not cats!
     
    axarunner likes this.
  21. sf348s

    sf348s Karting

    Oct 8, 2003
    168
    Lazio, Italy & UK
    Full Name:
    Steve Holden
    I got ANSA pipes ,pig ugly, no cats,took the shield off last week as it was rattling! 200 klm run in 80 degrees of Italian sunshine........dunno if the lights melted as i only just read this thread so never thought to look! Hope they haven't as i'm jobless at the end of this month and i can't afford to replace them!
     
    axarunner likes this.
  22. burriana

    burriana Formula 3

    Jul 8, 2004
    1,675
    North Yorkshire UK
    Full Name:
    AL
    TOMMO348

    Your experiences could be the answer I'm looking for... the lower half of my heatshield has broken/torn and has slipped down slightly... so, the question is, as I have a Tubi and no cats, if I simply take the bottom section of heat shield out all together (what bit is that protecting? - bumper I assume?) and leave the top section in place are the odds in my favour of things being ok.

    I would have thought it took a lot more heat to melt the bumper than the lights.

    The other question - I am taking the car down to Spain in August, and will have a 10 hour run from North to South. I would have thought however that with the heat generated from the exhaust anyway the outside temperature would have relatively little effect - am I right or wrong?

    As a safe option, any idea of the cost of a new bottom half heat shield?
     
  23. tommo

    tommo Formula 3
    Lifetime Rossa

    Nov 29, 2004
    1,245
    Gloucestershire
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    Julian
    #23 tommo, Jun 8, 2005
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
    Al - the reason my rear heatshield was removed had nothing to do with aesthetics. The car was having the Tubi fitted with the decat pipes - I'll avoid discussing the cock up which resulted in the wrong pipes being fitted, but because of the non standard Tubi decat pipes, the back Tubi box was forced forward, meaning we had to put on 355 exhaust brackets to support the box. This in turn required the rear heat shield to be removed - cause it wouldn't fit over the 355 brackets. I was told that the rear heatshield was not required because the Tubi Box is a good deal smaller than the stock box.

    After about 3 weeks of my pipes fouling the rear bumper section, I took the car to my local F specialist to have the real Tubi decat pipes fitted. The specialist confirmed that the rear heat shield would not be required.

    If you look at a Tubi back box, it sits lower and is a lot smaller than the stock box. I just can't see how it would melt the light casing anyway.

    As for the external temperature, the point I was making was that if the car can withstand 5 hours of very slow traffic with no rear heatshield, then surely the car does not need one with a Tubi box - you'll be fine on a 10 hour trip to Spain.

    I did remember a post recently about stainless steel heatshields - good looking bit of kit - keep an eye out on ebay - but go to www.eurospares.co.uk for originals they've got some spare (says £0 cost) - probably £25 notes should suffice plus packing. Anyhows - here's a few pics to put things in perspective
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    Image Unavailable, Please Login
     
  24. burriana

    burriana Formula 3

    Jul 8, 2004
    1,675
    North Yorkshire UK
    Full Name:
    AL
    Thanks for that Julian, may well have a tinker this weekend!
     
  25. jkuk

    jkuk Formula Junior

    Nov 3, 2003
    259
    Wirral, UK
    Full Name:
    John K
    AL,

    The inner surface of the bumper is fitted with a reflective heat shield (Foil covering a type of matting).

    The foil on mine was peeling away - to correct it, it was a quick trip to TESCO for the strongest baking foil, and I glued it back onto the matting - worked great. Use TESCO finest range only :)
     

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