[Jzepp300]

I have the JLT ram air intake on my 98 cobra.....Do i really need to use the heat shield? I cant even close the hood if i put it in. Am i losing horsepower by leaving it off?

[Snake Pliskin]

I'm not familiar with your specific intake but if a shield was supplied it stands to reason it is there for a reason. The reason being to keep hot air from under your hood from being sucked into your combustion chambers. The shield keeps hot out and cool in (like a Mickey' D's Big and Tasty). Put the shield on, they went to the trouble to engineer into the package.

[Snake Pliskin]

Oops, forgot this: If your hood won't close you either installed something wrong or you have the wrong kit. I would check the numbers and see if the kit is wrong first. My K&N FIPK installed perfectly on my 03 snake and the shield does what it is supposed to do.