PRI 2025: DEI’s Adapt-A-Shield Makes Heat Control Easy

Dealing with heat control is usually a total pain. You are generally stuck messing with heavy mats, nasty spray adhesives, or rigid metal shields that never seem to fit right in a tight engine bay. Design Engineering (DEI) is flipping that script with the release of the Adapt-A-Shield at the 2025 PRI Show. We got a hands-on demo from Eric Bond, and it is pretty obvious that this product was designed by people who actually wrench on cars and know the struggle of trying to protect a starter motor, master cylinder, or a fuel line five minutes before you have to be in the staging lanes.

The best part about the Adapt-A-Shield is just how moldable the stuff is. You can take a sheet of this material and form it around practically anything, like a fuel pump, a wiring harness, a master cylinder, or a weird section of the firewall, and it just stays there. It mimics the look of DEI’s famous dimpled aluminum panels, but behaves completely differently. It is much lighter, thinner, and way more forgiving. Bond emphasized that you don’t even need adhesive for it to work. The mechanical structure of the material allows it to grip and hold its shape once you press it into place. It is durable enough to survive life under the hood of a race car, but it is soft enough that you can literally tear it to size if you are making a quick repair in the pits and don’t have your shears handy.

Alongside the shield, DEI launched the LokJaw Ties. These are stainless steel locking ties that solve the biggest complaint builders have, which is the need for expensive special tools to get them tight. Thanks to a clever wave design in the mechanism, you can pull them tight by hand, and they lock with more force than the traditional ball-bearing style ties.

They also showcased Boom Mat Acoustic Felt. This is a fantastic option for exposed interiors in race cars or UTVs because it gives you sound deadening and heat protection with a clean, felt finish that doesn’t need to be covered up. It doesn’t matter if you are trying to keep your transmission cool in a Jeep Gladiator or just trying to keep your feet from burning in a drag car, DEI’s new lineup seems to cover all the bases.