I took a closer look (and pics), the heat shield is riding hard on my gas tank and I have .031 inch clearance between the pipe and the heat shield. Per Greg's expantion rates, as the car is moving and heated up, all three (the tank, shield, and pipe) can be riding or sandwiched? It's riding on...
The gas tank is plastic and the heat shield is sheet metal (reflective). There are loud vibrations at specific RPMs with the heat shield riding on the pipe…I prefer some gap. Should I be concerned of this having an impact on the plastic gas tank, i.e. melting? THANKS