another custom heat shield

[bmdubbayoo]

i posted this in the rides and styles section but it will probably be more useful here since its e36 specific....i'm sure there are a few other diy's in the archives but i thought i'd add my own in case some of you were on the fence about creating one...

well i did the custom cai awhile back and finally knocked out the heat shield for it....who wants to spend $250-$400 for a name brand kit? not me...

i started out with the raw supplies:

1)two pieces of scrap flame retardant ABS sheets ($5)
2)some door seal ($15)
3)misc. hardware...L-brackets, screws, and nuts($2)

here's the progression...custom amsoil intake with no heat shield ($80 total)


the scrap sheets of FR-ABS


mocked the heat shield with cardboard


traced it onto the ABS sheets


to cut the ABS sheets all you have to do is score the non-textured side with a razor on the lines that were traced with a sharpie. then you take your pliers and apply pressure along the score and it will crease and break cleanly.


test fit in case i need to trim anywhere. this is when i noticed the gap at the bottom which will still allow the heat from the engine to be sucked through.


so i took a leftover scrap piece and cut to fit.


time to cut out the circle for the 3.5" maf to fit through. i started with my largest circle bit and cut a hole. then i scored the remainder with a razor. i then took my pliers and removed the rest of the circle with a little bit of pressure.


test fit the circle and cut a slit for the cruise control line.


everything seemed like a good fit so i pieced the three pieces together with a few L-brackets and threw on the window seal on the top edge and the wheel well edge.








here's the finished product installed. i plan on sealing the inside edges with some black high heat silicone and spraying the silver hardware black as well for a cleaner look.

[bmwaddicted49]

Wow! nicest custom heatshield I have seen by far, great work! :

[nderwater]

That looks very similar to the piece I got for my car on ebay:
hxxp://lukasmotors.com/e364.jpg
hxxp://i4.ebayimg.com/01/i/05/6b/3c/3f_1.JPG

how much it run you in time and materials?

[bmdubbayoo]

That looks very similar to the piece I got for my car on ebay:
hxxp://lukasmotors.com/e364.jpg
hxxp://i4.ebayimg.com/01/i/05/6b/3c/3f_1.JPG

how much it run you in time and materials?

i've seen those on ebay go anywhere from $50-$70 shipped and wasn't too confident on buying one....mine cost me $22 in materials and less than 2 hours to make....

[chadwick405]

That looks very nice, im glad to see someone putting some time into a custom part.

[Moron95M3]

nice!! I'm copying yours

can you pick up the flame retardant ABS at an autozone or equvilant???

[nderwater]

I felt the same way, but felt the price was low enough to take the chance. The previous owner of my car put on a cone filter and threw away the stock airbox, so I wanted something cheap, quick and easy to keep the summer heat out. I bought it for $45 shipped and installed it in about 10 minutes, but I'm not sure if the plastic is as nice as the material you used.

[bmdubbayoo]

nice!! I'm copying yours

can you pick up the flame retardant ABS at an autozone or equvilant???

awesome, that's why i posted this thread....but no, you cannot buy these ABS sheets at autozone or equivalent....if you look online these sheets are normally around $60-$100 for a 4x6 sheet

it's actually a weird story....i just so happen to live close by a plastic sheet store so i verified over the phone that they had FR-ABS sheets (talked to a nice old man)........when i got there i noticed that he had several different plastic sheets on a work table....he was polite on the phone and when i stopped by his attitude changed dramatically....

i must of stood at the counter for 15 minutes while he walked by me ten times or so....no greeting at all....when he was done doing nothing at all, he looked at me and said "what do you want?" i told him that i called about the abs sheets and he said "that was you on the phone?" i told him yes and he replied "you sounded white on the phone" (btw, i'm filipino) i chuckled and told him that i just wanted a couple pieces and that i would be out of his way....i sell plastic and know abs when i see it and i saw the two pieces on the table and offered him $5 for both....he laughed at me and then said "sure whatever, just get out of my store." i set the $5 on the table, grabbed both pieces and walked out....he must have been 80 yrs old or so....he was pretty rude and he basically wanted me out of his store....i can take a little abuse for a extremely great deal on FR-ABS sheets....

[nderwater]

"you sounded white on the phone"

that just about says it all.

[bmdubbayoo]

"you sounded white on the phone"

that just about says it all.

no biggie...i just let that shit roll off my back....he was an old man set in his old ways....i got the better end of the deal anyways...

[Theodore]

Nice work!

[joe91985]

ha ha thats great, what a douch! Great job on getting the fr-abs for super cheap! Excellent job building that, looks very professional(sp?)!

[Xiphos]

So....will you make me one?

[m3maker]

I may just do this when I get home! nice writeup man!

[bmdubbayoo]

thanks....if any of you want to create your own i just removed it and took measurements to give everyone something to go by....let me know if you have any questions....

[Moron95M3]

thanks....if any of you want to create your own i just removed it and took measurements to give everyone something to go by....let me know if you have any questions....

Awesome!! thanks!

really nice post.

[SoTexM3]

You're filipino?!?!? I've been telling everybody that you are the only black dude I know in south Texas. My bad.








(no flaming please, it's an inside joke)

[Moron95M3]

I have time (finally) to build this this weekend, is there any reason not to use a thin sheet (1/8th - 1/16th?) of aluminium for this instead of the ABS flame retardant plastic???

I can find it a lot easier than the ABS around where I live. And I can also just bend it instead of fixing two pieces together...might be easier a little

Any reason not to??? thanks all

[gsxrpeter]

nice job bro I love that you didn't just go and buy one like everybody else. people need to be more creative. here is the one I made. In total 40$

[bmdubbayoo]

I have time (finally) to build this this weekend, is there any reason not to use a thin sheet (1/8th - 1/16th?) of aluminium for this instead of the ABS flame retardant plastic???

I can find it a lot easier than the ABS around where I live. And I can also just bend it instead of fixing two pieces together...might be easier a little

Any reason not to??? thanks all

i've seen it done with aluminum, which is fine....i do know that aluminum will get hot much, much, much quicker than the ABS....once that shield gets hot, then your filter will draw heat off of it almost the same as absorbing the engine heat itself....which is why i chose to use the abs material (which is what the tuners use for their custom heat shields)....

[Moron95M3]

oooooooooooooooooo

good point.

thanks, i'll find ABS...

[racer m]

nice write up!

[TheM3nsah]

thanks for a great writeup and pics!!!!!

[TheM3nsah]

thanks....if any of you want to create your own i just removed it and took measurements to give everyone something to go by....let me know if you have any questions....

+ i heart you for this!!!

[bmdubbayoo]

thanks guys....maybe a mod can put this in the diy sticky section