Speaking of exhaust pipes, yesterday I finally did something I've always wanted to: I removed all the heat shields and covers over the exhaust pipes. Everything. Doing so required some tin snips and a lot of cussing, and every knuckle I have is badly skinned up, but the shields are completely gone.
Not to mention MUCH better looks under the hood, I even have a new-found exhaust snarl from under the hood I've never heard before. I can here every cylinder firing. And no, there isn't any more heat at all in the engine bay.
In fact, I'm quite sure there's less. My temp needle hasn't reflected it as far as I can tell, but my huge, open hood venting always did a great job at getting rid of heat - plus the headers are literally stuck out in the open (and I have no front bumper which lets in a ton of fresh air), and my steel tubular intake plumbing seems less hot to the touch. Moreover, those shields looked to me like gigantic heat radiators anyways. I think they are, and they're only there for "lawyer fodder" like so many other things.
Even if there was a little bit more heat, the looks and the sound are way more than worth it.