Space mat question

[Jonny69]

That silver coated padded insulation you can get for interiors. I've got a roll that I'm putting under the carpets. On the roll it says that the shiny side should face the source of the heat but whenever I've seen it used it's been shiny side facing in the car.

Thinking about it if it's used shiny side down the metal side is going to soak up the heat from the floor rather than insulate it surely?

What is the correct way round or doesn't it really matter?

 

[DingleBerry]

the source of the heat is the interior inside the car, well the air inside. So I guess it should be facing in like everyone else has done.

 

[volospian]

Yeah, you have to decide where the heat is coming from. The silver side is supposed to reflect radiant heat, so you would put the silver side facing outwards if you used it to line the tunnel, or the firewall, around pipes, wires, etc. to reflect heat from exhausts or whatever, or used it under the bonnet to keep heat off the paintwork etc.

I'm going to try some under the car in the exhaust arches at the back of the car. The exhausts have recently been melting my boot carpet and I think that it *may* work... although I may need to fit some metal shielding as I'm not convinced the glue will hold up.

I doubt it matters if you are just using it to reduce internal temps by laying it on the floor, as there is no direct source of radiant heat.

 

[Jonny69]

Black floor with a hot exhaust very close to it underneath. The bare floor gets hot enough to fry an egg on

I think I'll do it shiny side pointing into the car because it can't reflect any heat anywhere with carpet on top of it anyway.

 

[kaiowas]

I would have thought you're better off putting a relective heat shield between exhaust and the floor rather than inside the car. Do you have room for something like that or is packaging in the exhaust tunnel too tight?

 

[Jonny69]

Unfortunately there's just not enough room and anything against the bodywork will trap water. Well it's in now and it's shiny side in

 

[DingleBerry]

ah right you are trying to keep the heat out not in. Gotcha. You've probably got it the right way round anyway. You could always paint the bodywork around the area silver