Classic cars forum & vehicle restoration.

[vitesse]

I bought some Cool It Thermo Tec Copper Impregnated Exhaust Insulating Wrap with the idea being to try and reduce the engine bay heat, as the Fiat 500 can get very hot, it being air cooled. Before the respray the heat had caused the paint on the engine lid air vents to craze but that may have been to the car having a rubbish paint job. Also the amount of times I have burnt myself adjust the distributor or checking the dipstick are too many to count.

Having posted about it on the Fiat forum. I am getting a mixed reactions. A lot of talk of trapped moisture in the tape from the heat causing the mild steel of the exhaust to rot quicker. Which I understand and the cost of the exhaust is cheapish, so that would not really be that a factor when weighing up against the cost of respraying the engine lid.

My main concern is that the heat I am potentially reducing from dissipating via the exhaust casing is still there and has to go somewhere, so my assumption is that it is going to be retained in the cylinder head and cause that to be hotter than normal, or will it simply pass to the exhaust box below? 500's can have a problem with fuel vaporisation due to heat, which may potentially make that worse. So I'm being swayed towards it maybe not being such a good idea after all.

I know Peter has read this on the Fiat forum. I was wondering if any of the technical gurus on here have a view?

I have included a picture of what the plan was/is. I was not going to hold it on with cable ties, that was just for measuring up purposes.

Tony

[ka]

Whilst I do not have a lot of experience with Fiat, I have seen and used the wrap. Unfortunately my experience was not good, and looking at the layout under the lid, I can't see the attempt making any difference to the temperature of the engine area, I would guess the heat will simply transfer to the silencer. Sorry for the negativity, but you would be better fitting air ducts, or fans to provide an airflow.
_________________
KA

Better three than four.

[vitesse]

Thanks for the reply KA. Yeah I have almost convinced myself that it would be a pointless exercise. There is a heat shield that sits over the top of the exhaust box and there is a thermostat that opens a flap in the engine casing that allows excessive heat to escape. This is located between the exhaust down pipes, so to try cool them may have an affect on the operation of this.

[buzzy bee]

Hi

Anything you do has got to help, maybe not 100% but it may reduce heat into the engine bay by 5% if it does then it has done it's job. Anything insulating some of the surface area will help.

I have some on a steam pipe next to my leg when on the roller, and it doesn't just cause the injector to get hotter, it keeps the steam hotter and my leg cooler. The injector in turn always works great. It does work.

I have put lots of this on, and I always put it on wet, then when it gets hot, it dries out, and contracts, making it nice and tight. I use copper wire to hold it on at each end.

Cheers

Dave

[vitesse]