Thanks man!! J.R gave him some hunks to throw in on the floor. It was the grey stuff, I'm also thinking about a heat shield on the under side of floor. I was working on hooters car and they used some insulation an believe it or not 1/4" plywood! for a floor mat
Thanks man!! J.R gave him some hunks to throw in on the floor. It was the grey stuff, I'm also thinking about a heat shield on the under side of floor. I was working on hooters car and they used some insulation an believe it or not 1/4" plywood! for a floor mat
Careful with the plywood Jim. When heated it puts off some noxious fumes and as oil, grease and regular race car crap are absorbed into it, it just becomes a huge fire concern.
Never use manufactured wood (plywood or any other bonded material).
There are three good ways to deflect heat from the foot well of your cockpit;
(Header / exhaust wrap)
Honeycomb Heat Board - available in various sizes (12 x 12 is and 12 x 24 are common)
Floor and Panel Heat Shield - available in modifiable panel sizes 12 x 12, 12 x 24, etc.
The latter two can be placed directly inside on top of the floorboard. The board / shields are installed in a specific 'face side' - read the instructions! Products that do not have specific heat facing sides are not near as good deflecting heat as one's that do - the price dictates quality in what you purchase.
All are available through speed shops and available for reasonable prices ($40 to $100 ea) and made by a variety of manufacturers & dealers:
Allstar / Lane Automotive
JR Motorsports
DEI
Speedway Motors
Grisdale's has header wrap in stock.
If you want to make a home made heat deflection system, be real nice to your local sheet metal distributor and ask for some left overs:
18 or 20 Gauge sheet metal left overs - ideally 12 x 24 or close to that; ideally 2 or 3 pieces (not heating duct!!)
You can then make a parallel sheet metal floor with 1" separation along the length of where the exhaust pipes are radiating heat to the foot well. Use the square tubing to create your mount points along the tunnel / firewall or floor area you want to create the shield area.
The air gap between the two 'floor' areas will reduce heat transfer to the cockpit approximately 25%. Using race shield materials will reduce it by as much as 75%.
In the past, I've also gone to the junkyard and used catalytic converter shields and welded them to my exhaust pipes - they work well - if you have the room. They are a pain in the ass to find in good shape though as most are rusted or wrecked.
We have the grey heat shield under the floor as well as in the foot box in the cockpit. It will do the job for you Jim.
I'm going to add another panel under the car as a heat shield, and no I was not considering plywood! I was just commenting on the plywood I had seen in a Hooter's car once. If the heat issue becomes a problem I will seek the help of my sponsor for materials..VENTURE REFRACTORIES
These car are awsome and having been taking care of our furnaces at work (2300 degrees F ) for years and they never use plywood!!!!
For the guys who are interested I have a monster box aluminum complex grease I will be handing out tubes for free to anybody who wants to try it.