The new 2020 C8 Corvette is a modern marvel of engineering. It’s mid engined design is a first for the Corvette, but here at Fabspeed Motorsport USA we’re no stranger to mid engined cars. One potential engineering hurdle introduced by a mid engined layout is cooling and some have speculated that an aftermarket exhaust system for the C8 would have to include heat shielding to protect engine bay components. Here at Fabspeed, we strive to provide our customers with the best possible product. That means it needs to meet or exceed OE reliability and performance. So the Fabspeed Engineering Team conducted extensive heat testing of the critical areas in the C8 engine bay.

The goal was to accurately measure the maximum surface temperatures reached in multiple areas. This was achieved by applying temperature test labels together in groups of four in specific numbered locations in the space occupied by the OEM muffler. The test vehicle was a 2020 C8 Corvette Z51 package with NPP exhaust. A total of 16 locations were chosen for the test (See Figures 3 - 6 below). Note: The temperature labels are adhesive backed and operate by turning black once their specified temperature threshold has been exceeded, they are non reversible. These test labels are the most accurate way of determining surface temperature.

Once the temperature labels were applied and the exhaust components installed, the rear of the car was fully assembled (bumper cover, wheel well liners, splash shield) and ran through this test process:

1. A 15-20 minute spirited road test.

2. 5 Dyno pulls in 4th gear

3. 5 minutes at 4k RPM on the dyno (until fluid temperatures reached a critical point)

To establish a baseline, the OEM muffler with OEM heat shielding was installed and ran through the 3 test steps above. The rear of the car was dis-assembled and the maximum temperature results from each area were recorded in the “OEM Muffler” column in Table 1 below. The Fabspeed Supersport X-Pipe with Fabspeed heat shielding (See Figures 1 + 2 above) was then installed, the rear of the car was fully assembled and ran through the same 3 steps listed above. The rear of the car was again dis-assembled and the maximum temperature from each area was recorded in the “Fabspeed X-Pipe” column in Table 1.

The results of our heat testing shows that the Fabspeed Supersport X-Pipe heat signature was exactly the same as the OEM muffler in all 16 test locations. That means that our Supersport X-Pipe and Valvetronic Maxflo Exhaust (which shares a similar design and the same heat shielding) meet OE radiant heat levels and will provide the same reliability and heat control as the stock exhaust system. There will be absolutely no heat related problems when installing the Fabspeed Supersport X-Pipe or Valvetronic Maxflo Exhaust System on the C8 Corvette. 

You can also see our C8 Valvetronic Maxflo Exhaust electronic valve body heat shield testing in action in this video!