Hey all, I'm sitting here, bored in a metals shop, and was wondering if there could be any dangers to fabbing a heat shield I the same style as say the NM one? Materials or machinery wouldn't a problem. I know I'm coming off as a cheap bastard but I figured since I had the means, I'd ask

 

No dangers I can imagine I used titanium and made mine

 

I always like a fun DIY project, so I see no reason why not. If you're talking about the large flat heat shield that attaches at the valve cover, I would still no bother. You aren't saving anything. Your intake system is sealed decently from engine bay temps and that head shield simply will be holding the hot air from the hot side of the turbo and letting it sit stagnant over the ENTIRE turbo. This is a good way to speed up the process of coking the bearing and adding intake temps via the cold side being heat soaked. Between POTENTIAL reduction in performance, and certainly speeding up turbo failure, I don't get why people put those big heat shields directly over a very hot turbo.

If you want to help performance and reduce engine bay temps, get a turbo blanket. Heat in the hot side HELPS performance, and keeping it off the bearing and cold side helps performance and longevity.