The motivation for creating this heat shield came from my exhaust warping the stock rear bumper – and melting/bubbling the paint on my aftermarket rear bumper. This was mostly due to the overly rich tune from the ecu install, but it was easier for me to temporarily install a heat shield, which may be useful later as well, than to tap the downpipe & tune everything now.

I bought a sheet of aluminum (.090″ x 12″ x 24″) for just under $20 delivered via eBay. I got this thickness because I read about how some were too thin – this may actually be a little too thick for some applications, but worked fine for me. I held it down via 5/32″ long aluminum rivets & 1/8″ medium & short aluminum rivets (you may also get away w/ medium, and possibly short, 5/32″ aluminum rivets).

Total Project Time:
This took me about 2 hours taking my sweet ass time with the hand / hack saw & 30 minutes of which was spent going to Home Depot to pick up rivets since I forgot where I put my other pack of rivets from way back when.

Tools:
- Dremel, jigsaw, hack saw, or any other cutting tool you prefer
- Drill w/ 5/32″ & 1/8″ bits, or whatever size rivets you want to use
- Rivets & riveting tool
- Cardboard/paper for creating a template
- Aluminum sheet (again, mine was .090″ x 12″ x 24″)
- Dry erase marker or something to trace the template onto the aluminum
- Optional: I also used a section of aluminum heat shield barrier with adhesive (used for protecting areas in the engine bay from turbo installs)

Step 1:
I found it much easier to remove the rear bumper than to work with it on the car.

Failed attempt of using purely aluminum heat barrier with adhesive (ripped off @ Horse Thief Mile & took some paint with it).

Step 2:
Create a basic template of what you want your shield to look like with cardboard or paper.

Step 3:
Once you are satisfied with your mock up, trace the design onto the aluminum sheet.

Step 4:
Cut away! I first used a dremel with the jigsaw attachment, but I ended up using an old fashioned hack saw. After that, I smoothed the edges with the Dremel w/ sanding & deburring attachments.

Step 5:
Bend the aluminum sheet if necessary for your application. Then, test fit the sheet onto the bumper. At this point, you can drill pilot holes – drill onto the sheet first, then from there, drill through the bumper & place the rivets by hand to hold the position of the sheet.

Step 6:
Finish up by riveting. In my case, I added the optional heat barrier at the bottom of the bumper so that I didn’t have to bend the thick aluminum to cover that area.

Step 7:
Reinstall the bumper on the car. Take some pics and go “oooo, aaaaa”.

Don’t mind the crooked rear bumper – just look at the heat shield, haha.

To get started, I purchased an led interior dome light panel (3×6 leds – 18 total) off eBay. My particular light came from bliss-star for just under $13 shipped to my door. On to the write up w/ pics!

Note: I also test-fitted this same led panel into the 240sx convertible trunk light – fits perfectly w/ no modding at all!

Tools:
- Philips and flat blade to pry off the dome light and remove it.
- Dremel w/ sanding disc or equivalent tool to cut the plastic in the dome light
- 18 LED Dome Light w/ 194 bulb adapter (the one I bought comes w/ several adapters), or whatever size you like

Total Project Time:
I believe it took me about 15-20 minutes, most of the time moving from my car to the house, setting up the tools, and going back to the car.

Step 1:
Remove your old dome light
- Use a flat blade to pry the plastic panel off, be careful as the cover is probably pretty old & brittle
- Use a philips screwdriver to remove the dome light; unplug the connector & remove the 194 bulb at this time.

Step 2:
Trim the plastic panel so that the led light can fit comfortably with the plastic cover on. I had to trim off about 5-7mm either side of the housing for the light to be able to recess far enough into the housing so the plastic cover cover slip over. YMMV.

Step 3:
Reinstall the light. For the 194 bulb, the red wire is on the bottom (toward the front of the car). If you have it reversed, the light won’t turn on – you can just open/close the door to verify.

The led panel comes with adhesive backing, but I opted to not use it – the pressure between the housing and the plastic light cover are enough to keep it wherever you put it.

Step 4:
Marvel at your super bright LED dome light.

In reality, each of the individual led’s are noticeable (it’s not a blur like how the camera picked it up)

Note: No flash was used for this image; also looks much brighter in person.

Overall Impression:
Looks absolutely fantastic, day & night. Of course, during the day, you don’t gain any light, but the bulbs look cool. At night, there is a very even glow across the entire front and some rear area of the car. I could not accurately capture the lighting at night with my camera, but this should give you some idea.

Compared to stock, it may not be as bright spotlight wise, but it is close enough. It also feels much cleaner, nicer and more modern than the oem bulb.

If you are concerned about possible water leakage into the housing (think you have bigger problems if this is happening), you can always cover up the back of the housing w/ duct tape, glue, adhesive, caulk, etc.

Drifting is out, “Flipping a bitch” is in! Go GTChannel!!!

Basics on how to “Flip a bitch”:
- Drive down the road
- See sweet ass parking spot on the opposite end of the road
- Scream “OH NOES!”
- Turn steering wheel
- Brake / pull e-brake
- Stop perfectly in spot you found
- VIP parking FTW!

How GTChannel.com does it: