The K04-064 turbo on the Octavia project had been running without an exhaust heat shield over the turbo manifold. Opening the bonnet after driving hard would release a strong wave of heat from the engine bay and the intake pipe would get too hot to touch.
To solve these two issues I bought some aluminium sheet from AliExpress which was sold as an exhaust heat shield. These are the results of fitting the heat shield and how the AliExpress heat shield compares to heat shields from one of the biggest names in the heat shield business, DEI.
Installation
The heat shield was nice to work with. Relatively easy to cut but at the same time being quite strong. The edges were folded over so they were not too sharp. I made a template from cardboard before I cut the shield out of the sheet.
The dimples on the sheet were quite big meaning only a small part of the heat shield was touching the surface it was wrapped around.
I think the shield should last forever, I didn’t detect any fatigue in the sheet after bending it.
There are heat shields which are thicker but honestly, I don’t think I want anything more than what this sheet gives. I’d be worried about keeping too much heat close the manifold in case it caused cracks. I think this simple sheet is a good compromise between shielding and keeping temps reasonable.
Summary – Exhaust Heat Shield AliExpress
The AliExpress heat shield did everything I wanted. Opening the bonnet after a hard run no longer releases a ton of heat from the engine bay. The heat released feels normal. And the intake pipe only gets warm with it in place.
The AliExpress heat shield was easy to work with, was low cost and does the job. In short, a recommended product.