froggy47

I am ordering some DEI cool tape for the new rod ends & may as well wrap the exhaust near the tranny. What works best there?

Joy of 6

I'd get them ceramic coated. You can work around them right after shutting off the engine on a track day and not burn you hair off your arms. You can touch the pipes in about 5 minutes with your bare hand

froggy47

That would be very racy, but I just want to wrap the section that heats up the tranny oil, thanks.

2000BSME

I used coffee cans cut in half. The rim of the can stands the metal of the can off of the pipe by a quarter inch or so, and used hose clamps to hold them in place.

If you use header wrap it can soak up oil and act as a wick and be a serious fire hazard. On a stick shift you wouldn't necessarily have that problem, but an auto like mine, its a bad combo.

froggy47

That's pretty clever.

davidfarmer

header wrap works well. It's a bit time consuming, but I think it is a worth mod if heat is really a problem for you. I'm not sure how much it actually effects the drivetrain though!

Last C5

I wrapped my ceramic coated over the axle pipes and it helped cool the area enough that I'm no longer getting "hot tranny" messages on the track anymore. David is right, it is a bit time consuming to install it per the directions, but it comes out pretty nice if you take the time and do it right. However, there is one little thing they don't tell you. The first time you hit the track with the new wrap and really get those pipes heated up the it will smoke bad enough to fill the cockpit, get you a meatball flag, and you will be met in the hot pits by an army of people all carrying fire extinguishers. After the smoke goes away from the first smoking all will be well from there on.

sothpaw2

Good idea for the rod ends. I found header wrap and the DEI tape in about a 1"width, many foot roll in the autoparts store locally. I did the rubber portions of the rod ends and ball joints with the wrap on the inside, DEI outside to reflect the heat out.

Question though for those that have done it: For the rod ends at least, do I need to be covering the flat metal part of the rod end that is visible from the bottom of the car?? From what I've read here, I assumed the point of protecting the rod ends was to protect the rubber portion.

Andy

travisnd

I wrap the exhaust pipes where they pass under the bellhousing and the trans/rear. Keeping the heat off the clutch helps the hydaulics work better and keeping it off the trans/rear while using a good synthetic fluid works as a poor man's trans cooler. On my latest car I just wrapped the entire H-pipe other than the cats.

It's a bit messy doing it as the best way is to soak the roll of header rap in a bucket full of water; this allows you to wrap it tighter. I use metal band clamps to secure it even better at the ends of the wrap. Then I spray VHT header wrap coating on it to seal it up. Wear gloves and long sleeves if you can since it's fiberglass based and will make your arms itch like crazy.

sothpaw2

Sounds better than header wrap for a really high heat area. How many cans do you need? How do you secure them axially along the length of the exhaust pipe? Do they rattle at all?

Thanks,

Andy

travisnd

If you don't like header wrap DEI makes all kinds of heat blanket configurations...

travisnd

See my picture above... seal the wrap with this stuff...


That's correct, no need to do anything to the bottom, you just want to keep heat off the rubber...

2000BSME

I use tin snips to cut the can axially, use and many cans as you'd like to use for the length of your pipes that you'd like to shield from whatever. I used a can opener to open the bottom of the can, and then cut the can axially, an spread it around the pipe. Worm gear clamps from lowes are $1 a piece, and the coffee cans weren't more than $2 or so (the small coffee cans). After a heat cycle the paint comes off and they just look like metal, after a few years they will rust a little. I just took mine off after probably 4 years because I'm retiring my '99 vert auto from track duty. They just had a little bit of surface rust, and no they didn't rattle at all.

sothpaw2

The clamps will work radially--clamping the OD of the can to the opposite OD of the pipe. Do you just make the clamps tight and rely on friction to hold the can half axially on the pipe?

Sorry for the questions but I'd prefer this to the DEI stuff for reflecting heat away from the trans from nearby exhaust piping.

2000BSME

That's slick
Yeah I don't think mine slipped in the entire time I had it on. Really the only reason I took it off is because I removed the exhaust pipes to sell them...I might put some back on when I put the stock pipes back on.

travisnd

I stick to header wrap becuase the fancy DEI stuff gets pricey... especially when compared to soup cans