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| After seeing the Thermotec-sprayed manifold, I thought “why not spray the turbine housing as well?” It looks better, but I'll be curious to see how the stuff will hold up on the non-wrapped areas. According to Thermotec, it's still good to to 1200F this way. So, in theory, the paint should hold up well, assuming Swain's 35-55% temp reduction claim on its coating underneath. We'll see, and I'm especially curious about the paint on the turbine housing, since it will have heat even further contained with the pictured T4 housing cover on the right. |
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| Thermotec's aluminized, adhesive-backed heat barrier is easy to work with. It bends and sticks extraordinarily well. Simply cut your desired shape, peel off the backing, and stick it on. Made up of woven silica with a flexible aluminum finish, it's reported to withstand temperatures in excess of 2000F on the aluminum side, with the woven side handling up to 1200F. |
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| We ordered the aluminized barrier to cover the underside of the Hypertune intake manifold, shielding it as much as possible from the block's radiant heat underneath. Keeping the intake-air temp close to ambient is a great way to ensure prolonged engine life and achieve consistent, heat-soak free performance. |
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| A closer look at the aluminized barrier. Fortunately, wrapping this manifold only took about an hour and a half. |
Some might say all this effort is overkill, but when it comes to radiant heat I want to keep it where it belongs, as long as I can help it. In fact, I'm not done with this battle. The cooling system and louvered hood would be the last steps at keeping things cool under the hood.
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| Modified by KC is this project's assembly shop, tuner and dyno-testing facility. These guys work with anything car-related, and they specialize in boosted applications and tuning (Check out some of the shop's cars on Page 6). Here's MKC mechanic Nelson Diaz, readying to start engine assembly. Nelson also races one of the shop's many drag cars, in his case an 8-second Mazda RX-3. |
