The heat sheild shouldn't effect the exhaust tone at all, the only noise it could make is rattling. That is, if we're talking about the same thing.

 

My heat shield rattles, but only when the exhaust is cold, and it is cold outside. Putting a new one on won't always fix the rattle. I'm assuming you have an aftermarket exhaust. If it rattles with the stock exhaust, then a new shield may fix your problem.

 

can you use a base header/heat shield on an SH?

 

i have that raspy sound too. should i replace that gasket?

 

I'm not sure, but I don't believe so, because the heat shield, I believe is right near the ATTS controller, and may be a different shape/size. Someone else may be able to comment with a more definate answer.

 

The heat shield on the manifold is the same for both Base and SH. The other shields are somewhat different due to pipe lengths and the ATTS. The shield on the CAT should be the same. Pricing is dependent on how nice the you and the dealer parts people are about discounts. Then again you could order what you need online or use that price as "leverage" to get a better one from the dealer-I do it.