I noticed that some after market exhausts don't allow you to put the heat shield back on the bottom of the battery box. When I looked at that shield (on my MCS 2006), it looks like it is trapping the exhaust heat under it (heating the battery). The battery box does get very hot (hotter than I expected before realizing the heat shield arrangement.) Why do you think they did that?

If/when I get an after market exhaust I am thinking of putting that shield back on but cutting or bending it so it doesn't trap the exhaust heat but shields that battery from heat. What purpose does it really serve? I wonder if they just did it for looks. What do you think?

 

My dinan exhaust was hitting it when it got really hot, so I bent it. Then the car was on the lift at Helix, and Eric just took it off.

mb

 

Purpose? That's a good question, maybe just cosmetic or prevent that drain hole (vent?) in the battery box from being cloged with grime, soil, etc.