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Putting the Tunnel Reinforcement
Plates to
the
"Temperature"
Test!
Actual Test Data |
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We
have received several calls and
emails asking how our Tunnel
Reinforcement Plates improve or affect interior console
heat.
More specifically
how do our "ceramic coated" Tunnel Plates compare to the "Stock" OEM
Tunnel
Plates?
High
temperatures
in the console area have always
been a problem with the
C5/Z06
and
continues to be an issue with
the
C6/Z06.
We have spent numerous hours
testing
our plates and engineering ways to improve the performance and heat
shielding.
I feel we have engineered a solution that will not only add additional
stiffness to your
Corvette chassis, but also does an incredible job of reducing the amount
of heat
transfer into the console area of your car.
The first improvement we made was to coat all surfaces of our Tunnel
Plates with a
specially engineered ceramic coating to cut down on the amount of heat
transfer
through the plate. As you can see from the chart below, the added
thickness of our
Tunnel Plates along with the ceramic coating was a good improvement. By
upgrading
to one of our Tunnel Plates alone, we were able to measure temperature
drops of as
much as 64F degrees on the C5 and 29F degrees on the C6 when compared to
the
stock tunnel plate.
However Corvette owners
demanded
more!
Introducing the
"Thermal-Abs"
We went back to the drawing board and began designing and testing for
further
improvement. What we have developed and our tests will show, is a huge
improvement
over the stock Tunnel Reinforcement Plates! On a consistent basis, we
have dropped
the temperature across the C5 Tunnel Plate as much as
98 degrees.
On the C
Tunnel Plate, we have consistently dropped the temperature as much as
54 degrees
over
the stock, OEM plate.
Our new heat-shielding product is appropriately named
“Thermal-Abs”.
It
consists of our standard ceramic coated tunnel plates bonded with a
composite
fiberglass thermal barrier. The results are very impressive. You get the
best of both
worlds; the stiffening effects of our Tunnel Reinforcement Plate and the
Heat Shielding
effects of the "new"
“Thermal-Abs”. |
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Testing
the plates: |
Each
test was run in a controlled
environment and data was only
recorded once
stabilization temperature was reached. All temperatures are in degrees
Fahrenheit (F) and a constant heat source of 423F was used during testing.
The drawing below depicts the
test set-up and thermocouple
locations.
Instrumentation:
(1) Omega Model CL23A Calibrator-thermometer
(1) "K-type" Thermocouples (high temperture)
(2) "T-type" Thermocouples
Thermotron Heat source
Now let's review the "actual"
temperature test results: |
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Click Here to enlarge |
Let's
take a look at our Best Selling
Tunnel Plate (1/4" thick Coated
Aluminum):
Reviewing
data for the
C5/Z06
when a constant heat source was
applied:
Average temperature of the
Stock OEM C5 tunnel plate (16
gauge sheet metal) =
212.8 F
Average
temperature of Elite's 1/4"
Coated Abs-of-Aluminum tunnel
plate =
137.6 F
Average
temperature of Elite's 1/4"
Coated Abs-of Aluminum
with
the
"Thermal-Abs" =
115.1 F
That
is a
drop in temperature of almost 98
degrees
compared to stock!
Reviewing data for the
C6/Z06
when a constant heat source was
applied:
Average temperature of the Stock OEM C6 tunnel plate
(1/8" Aluminum))
=
165.3 F
Average
temperature of Elite's 1/4"
Coated Abs-of-Aluminum tunnel
plate
=
137.6 F
Average
temperature of Elite's 1/4"
Coated Abs-of Aluminum
with
the
"Thermal-Abs" =
115.1 F
That
is a
drop in temperature of over 50
degrees
compared to stock! |
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Click here and take a look at
how easy the installation is: |
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For complete pricing and
ordering information,
please click here |
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Here are some of the pictures
during our temperature testing: |
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This "K type" thermocouple
was suspended in between the
Catalytic Converters during each
test. |
The "K" thermocouple was chosen
because of its better accuracy
at elevated temperatures. |
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The T4 thermocouple was
positioned at the
passenger's side exhaust
manifold. Measured temperatures
were consistent at about 520F. |
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We also tested the coated plate
at extreme conditions. As you
can see from the picture below,
at over
1475F,
there was no effect to the
coating. This was tested on the
1/4" thick aluminum version. |
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