I think when the car was in paint and body they took the heat pad off and just set it on the floor somewhere in the shop. Thus, it is really dirty and has shoe prints on it. it's kinda impossible to clean becaus ethe pad like absorbs the dirt and dust so it doesn't wipe off. The only options are to paint it, or (because it's in sH!##y condition anyways) take it off. But would removing the heat pad have any affect on my paint? I don't do crazy long trips anywhere. The longest ones might be 15 min, so it doesn't get really hot. Can I remove it and not damage the paint??? i hope so because it looks like crap.

 

I would take it off and replace it with a dynamat hoodliner. Thats what I plan to do. It has a silver finish on it and looks way better than the stock one. Summit sells them, $59.95US page 311 in the Jan-Feb catalog. Hope that helps.

 

http://carmotorsports.com/Underhood%20Insulators.htm

 

Just to expand on this topic, has anyone's paint been negatively affected as a result of not having the heat insolater pad installed?

 

I was wondering the same thing.

 

my camaro does not have one and i havent had any problem. the paint still looks beautiful on my 91 after countless long trips, so i dont think you have anything to worry about.

 

thats usually one of the first things to go , if its not already been taken off already . usually they're ripped , falling off , or have some burn marks in them(carb backfire with no air cleaner on) never seen anything happen to the paint-
think about it , you can drive your car for hours and the hood still wont get as hot as having the sun beat down on it all day,

 

Yeah, I didn't think it would matter. In fact, a guy I work with said that he has seen some of these heat shield pads/fire shields actually catch on fire during an engine fire when there purpose if not too. I don't plan on an engine fire EVER so I think I might just take it off entirely. I love those custom ones on Car Motorsports but i'm not sure if I want to sink money into a heat pad

 

take it off and throw it away it'll make the hood feel a little lighter too

 

i replaced mine with a new gm one. looks great. I want to say it was only about $30-$40 bucks too.

 

get a new one or throw it away. won't hurt anything.

 

aftermarket fiberglass hoods don't have one on them ever and they're more prone to warpage from heat than steel ever would be. I have taken them off every time they start to look ragged with no ill effects.

 

Throw it away. It's not a heat insulator anyway, its sound insulation, helps deaden all the little ticks and taps from the engine and accesories.

FWIW: none of the slp cars, from 91 on up.... the CompTA's, the Firehawks, or the SS's, have insulation under their composite hood.

 

I saw keep it off. I do quite a few long drives and had no problems so far. Once I took off the heat pad,i could hear my open element air filter sucking air =P...Something I couldnt hear with the heat pad on...

One thing to worry about is I think the heat pad is also some sort of fire insulant(not sure if thats the right word)..Atleast thats what I have been told from a few VW dealerships...

 

I saw keep it off. I do quite a few long drives and had no problems so far. Once I took off the heat pad,i could hear my open element air filter sucking air =P...Something I couldnt hear with the heat pad on...

One thing to worry about is I think the heat pad is also some sort of fire insulant(not sure if thats the right word)..Atleast thats what I have been told from a few VW dealerships...

 

I think he is right, it was what cought on fire when my dads old truck backfired.

 

I don't know, seems like no one is really sure what this pad's purpose is. It may possibly be both a fire shield as well as sound insulator, either way, I have heard stories about them igniting so it's not going to stop a fire. Plus, I have Flowmasters, who cares about insulating the sound of anything??? It's coming off when I get home today.

 

It's always been my understanding that the black pad under the hood is mainly there as a sound insulator, not a heat insulator. People remove it all the time with no negative effects on their paint, though you will hear some engine noise (tapping, clicking, etc.)

 

I thought that the engine fire was supposed to melt the black tabs and the pad would fall on the engine fire

just my $.02 worth

 

and I've had mine off for quite some time on two cars, and neither of them have been negatively affected paint-wise