2007-2018 Jeep Wranglers (designated JK model by Jeep) are great vehicles and were a major leap forward for the Wrangler in terms of 4x4 capability and prowess. The Wrangler JK also marked the debut of the 4-door Wrangler, a version that was hotly debated and doubted internally as to its potential success. It would quickly prove to be the best selling model of the Wrangler ever and come to outsell the traditional 2-door Wrangler by a wide ratio.

One thing the Wrangler JK is notorious for is the amount of heat coming from the exhaust system on the driver’s side. Even with the factory carpeting in place, the amount of heat radiated upward easily penetrates the floor and heats things up to an uncomfortable level. Using FLIR technology, we document before and after results installing Heatshield Armor exhaust insulation on out subject Wrangler JK’s exhaust system to get those floor temperatures down to an acceptable/comfortable level.

ABOVE: The main exhaust pipe for the Wrangler JK runs right under the driver’s side floorboard all the way to the back of the Jeep. You can see the factory heat hields in place to deflect heat away, but as the FLIR image will show next, these shields are largely ineffective for keeping the floor cool.

ABOVE: The brighter the color the hotter the temperature is what the FLIR image shows us. Here is that same exhaust pipe after the Jeep gets up to ttemperature from normal driving. All the heat is radiating upward into the floor and interior.

ABOVE: Here is the inside view of the driver’s floorboard in our test subject Jeep Wrangler JK. A good number of Jeep owners like to remove their factory carpet and have the floors covered with some sort of coating to protect the metal and make it easier to dry the inerior out after any sort of adventure that gets the Jeep immersed in water. With the carpet removed the problem of a hot floor gets worse, but even with the carpet still installed the heat still easily penetrates the interior.

ABOVE: Here’s what the FLIR camera shows us for how hot the floor gets after normal driving. Good to note that two of the brightest hot spots are where your feet normally would be during driving.

ABOVE: Heatshield Armor insulates the exhaust pipe, keeping the heat in and reducing the amount radiated upward by the pipe. The material is such an efficient insulation you can’t wrap the entire pipe otherwsie too much heat will be kept in and the exhaust pipe’s maximum sustained temperature will be exceeded and the pipe will deteriorate. If yu frequently are driving your Jeep (or any other vehicle) through water you don’t have to worry. Heatshield Armor can be immersed without detriment and the exhust pipe heat it insulates will dry the material out as you drive.

ABOVE: Past the driver’s area of the floor, the pipe and muffler run under the driver’s side passenger area and causes similar heat issues. This is where the Muffler Armor kit comes in handy. It’s a kit with precut pieces of Heathield Armor to fit mufflers so insulating them is easy and you don’t have to do a bunch of measuring and cutting for proper fitment.

ABOVE: Heatshield Armor uses specially formulate BioCool insulation material to insulate heat efficiently up to 1800 degrees F constant heat and 2200 degrees F intermittent without breaking down and losing efficiency. It can be immersed in water and completely soaked without harm and will dry out from exhaust heat while still insulating as usual. Before installing Heatshield Armor, you trim away a small part of just the BioCool material from the edge, then wrap around the foil backing to seal the ends of the armor which helps keep water out of the material so drying out doesn’t take long when it happens.

ABOVE: Here’s how Heatshield Armor looks once installed. All Heatshield Armor kits come with high-temp stainless steel ties for securing the insulation properly and easily. All you need is pair of pliers to pull the tie tight and cutters to trim away any excess.You might ask why not fully wrap the pipe in material? Because Heatshield Armor is so efficient, you have to leave a section of pipe open so it can “breathe” and the pipe not exceed its maximum temperature which will cause the pipe to degrade and fail. The way everything is wrapped here, the exhaust won’t be able to radiate heat upward towards the floor now, but breathe enough so it won’t exceed maximum temperature.

ABOVE: The FLIR shows all! After Heatshield Armor installation, here’s how the driver’s section of the floorboard looks with the exhaust pipe underneath insulated and upward radiated heat blocked from the floor. No more bright hot spots where your feet would be, and overall a much cooler floor.

ABOVE: From underneath here’s how everything looks to the FLIR camera. The lower part of the exhaust system is bright/hot but it’s the part opposite the floor so that heat isn’t being radiated upward into the floor. The opposite side of the exhaust covered in Heatshield Armor is cool as is the floor above it. Mission accomplished, our subject Jeep Wrangler JK now has a much cooler floor so no more hot feet for driver and driver’s side passenger, plus the added benefit of lower interior temperatures.