My stereo installation with the amp in the spare tire well compounded the fact that the trunk was too hot. The main area of concern was the spare tire tool area which is sitting right above the muffler. After mild driving, if you felt that area you'd notice that it was really hot.
There aren't a whole lot of products available to solve this problem. I knew from owning a Grand National that a company called Thermotec made great products to beat the heat. I gave their tech support line a call to see which of their products would work best. They recommended the Muffler/Cat heat shield. I placed my order with Speedzone 24-7 and 4 business days later, the product arrived. The total came out to be $55.59 shipped.
The kit is a 24"x30" sheet of woven silica with a reflective aluminum side and comes with plastic fasteners which secure themselves into 1/4" holes you drill. Here is a picture of the kit:
Our cars come with an aluminum heatshield that is mounted right above the muffler. I decided to use the bolts that fasten the heatshield to help secure the Thermotec heatshield. It was a simple process. The heatshield is perfectly sized, no need to cut. I layed it out, reflective side down, and positioned it. I started off removing one bolt at a time, then taking a razor blade and slicing a line through the heatshield to get it through and tighten the bolt (You can kinda push through and feel around where you should make the slice). After about 6 or 7 bolts, heatshield was pretty secure. I wanted to make it tighter at the corners so I found parts in the frame that I could drill a 1/4" hole in and fasten it with the supplied plastic fasteners. Then toward the back of the car, I found that the edges of the factory heat shield made good spots to drill through to put 2 more fasteners in. I put one final plastic fastener in the center of the heat shield but had to cut it down because there wasn't much clearance after drilling through the center of the heatshield. The whole install took about 1.5 hours. Make sure you wear goggles and gloves and you can do the install on your back with the car on jackstands.
I took the car out for a drive today, mixed freeway and street for about half an hour. First thing I did was I checked the spare tire area and it was significantly cooler than before. It was really just a little warm, not hot like before. I wish I could have done a more scientific before and after but I can honestly say it's a huge difference.
Now here are some before and after pictures. More can be found on My Gallery
Before:
After
There aren't a whole lot of products available to solve this problem. I knew from owning a Grand National that a company called Thermotec made great products to beat the heat. I gave their tech support line a call to see which of their products would work best. They recommended the Muffler/Cat heat shield. I placed my order with Speedzone 24-7 and 4 business days later, the product arrived. The total came out to be $55.59 shipped.
The kit is a 24"x30" sheet of woven silica with a reflective aluminum side and comes with plastic fasteners which secure themselves into 1/4" holes you drill. Here is a picture of the kit:
Our cars come with an aluminum heatshield that is mounted right above the muffler. I decided to use the bolts that fasten the heatshield to help secure the Thermotec heatshield. It was a simple process. The heatshield is perfectly sized, no need to cut. I layed it out, reflective side down, and positioned it. I started off removing one bolt at a time, then taking a razor blade and slicing a line through the heatshield to get it through and tighten the bolt (You can kinda push through and feel around where you should make the slice). After about 6 or 7 bolts, heatshield was pretty secure. I wanted to make it tighter at the corners so I found parts in the frame that I could drill a 1/4" hole in and fasten it with the supplied plastic fasteners. Then toward the back of the car, I found that the edges of the factory heat shield made good spots to drill through to put 2 more fasteners in. I put one final plastic fastener in the center of the heat shield but had to cut it down because there wasn't much clearance after drilling through the center of the heatshield. The whole install took about 1.5 hours. Make sure you wear goggles and gloves and you can do the install on your back with the car on jackstands.
I took the car out for a drive today, mixed freeway and street for about half an hour. First thing I did was I checked the spare tire area and it was significantly cooler than before. It was really just a little warm, not hot like before. I wish I could have done a more scientific before and after but I can honestly say it's a huge difference.
Now here are some before and after pictures. More can be found on My Gallery
Before:
After
