Putting the Tunnel Reinforcement Plates to the Temperature Test!
Actual Test Data
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 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:
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!
Click here and take a look at how easy the installation is:
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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.
The T4 thermocouple was positioned at the passenger's side exhaust manifold. Measured temperatures were consistent at about 520F.
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.
