My mother thinks that shutting the oven door when done baking helps keep the heat in the oven and doesn't heat up the house. That heat still has to dissipate into the house because the oven is in the house. The heat doesn't just disappear. It just dissipates at a slower rate.
Closing the kitchen door works better to isolate the heat in the kitchen, and helps keep the rest of the house cooler.

I would spend the money on isolating the heat from the interior of the car.

 

Best result for heat is to use LIZARD SKIN on the entire firewall and floorboards.

 

Well if your car just sat in the kitchen, then that would be a valid theroy, however insulating a pipe that has an exit and channeling the heat out of that pipe are 2 different things completly.

As I had mentioned that I have insulated my interior, and it helped a tiny bit, but wrapping the headers helped a Lot.

BTW what did you do on your car that helped the most?

 

OK. Let's say I don't have a valid theory and you do. Why are we not wrapping the complete engine?

What I did, after insulating the interior, was I used some catalytic converter insulation on the underside of my floor. That helps stop the heat from penetrating the floor and allows the air around the pipes to continuously help dissipate the heat from the pipes. It dissipates the heat faster.

To understand the kitchen door theory, you would have to think of the Corvette engine compartment as the kitchen and the interior as the living room. If that still doesn't compute, I'll leave mom out of this.

 

Your kitchen oven theory makes sense but this is more like using a clothes dryer, heat is being lost to the outside. The wrap insulates the pipe, keeping the heat in the exhaust and when the exhaust goes out the tailpipe so does the heat. This isn't to say that wrapping your exhaust is your best option for lowering cabin temperatures but it does work, and can work well if your exhaust runs close to something like a body panel, starter, electrical.

 

Here is another post I found on the subject. It actually suggests wrapping (protecting) the parts of the car that are effected by the header instead of wrapping the pipes. That makes better sense to me.


Regularly we are asked about, or have commented on the use of header wraps (header tape). This issue is a real pet peeve of mine. Good or bad about a product I'll give my opinion based upon direct use and fact, and this stuff screams "Do Not Use!"

THE FACTS:

* Header wraps are designed to keep the heat in the header to improve scavenging of the cylinders. Keeping the heat in the header allows the exhaust speed to remain high. (the right idea)
* There are no header manufacturers that I know of that will warranty their headers if any header wraps are installed on their products.
* In most cases the header wrap damages the headers beyond repair. (I will explain below)
* If you run a lean mixture, you "may" see a slim performance gain using header wraps. A rich mixture may show slim to absolutely NO gain in performance.
* If you do not mind replacing your headers and header gaskets regularly, and you like that ugly look of a wrapped header, go ahead and use the heat wrap.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

In the past, almost all NASCAR and other racing engine builders and crew chiefs used header wraps for the added power gains and thermal control benefits offered by their use. Problems occurred when these same teams had to replace the headers after each race (NASCAR) due to the wrap being about the only thing holding each header together. Most engine builders, crew chiefs, and definitely header manufacturers do not promote the practice of installing these wraps directly on the headers any longer! They now utilize the thermal coatings that are chemically and electrically applied to the headers. Popular header coating services include Airborn, Jet Hot, HPC, and some header manufacturers now applying the coatings in-house.

Imagine having to replace a $1200.00+ set of headers after each race weekend! Few but the most financially well-off race teams can afford to do this. Also consider the downtime in remaking a custom set of headers. Most custom header makers do not have copies readily available.

I believe that the wraps are good to protect various 'items' from heat, but not to hold the heat in the header. For example: you can use the wrapping for the protection of fuel and oil lines, wiring, covering a starter motor, etc.

Cool air needs to be around the header, and insulating it with a wrap to hold exhaust heat in makes the header material temperatures near molten. When you wrap the header you trap the heat in the header, but also in the material that needs to breathe to dissipate heat for it's own survival.

 

1) Read what builder just said. Read it again.
2) Header wrap only looks good on circle track race cars.
3) It will look like $HIT under your hood. Think Im kidding? Go wrap a exhaust pipe in a burlap bag and try to make it look pretty...Maybe if you were building a nasty *** rat rod, but not in a C3.

If you want cabin heat reduction, insulate the floor and firewall. Better yet, drive a bigger car. Lets face it, C3's are really just a thin body built around a engine.

 

Well I Wrap my headers and almost all the scape just a bit after the spare tire. I helped me a lot with the heat, because it was a hell inside the cabin, I admit that the looks isn't pretty and the sound also changed, I liked more without the wrap. But for me it's better to have the less hot as possible in the cabin because here 90+ it's the average temperature for almost all the year. And also to help the heat inside I 2 kinds of heat insulators the one that are with a thin liner of aluminum and the one that it's like wool. And of course I changed The Valve that goes to the heat core to a new one.

I put the only picture that I have here. there's no much to see of the wrapping but it's what I got for now.

 

I know this old but was looking for some wrap tips for my Z-16 under body stuff,what happen to all the super fine rides in the pic ??

 

I wrapped my stock exhaust and saw no change. The big change came when I insulated the cabin. I coated the firewally, tunnel floorpans and waterfall with hushmat (sound) and reflectix (heat) insulation. Night and day difference.

No more sweaty knees and ankles!

 

Thanks ,I have about the same stuff to go in my 04 Z-16 .I am going to insulat floor Etc. in the cabin also ..I may wrap the pipes going under the thing .I have the wrap ,might help some.. I have enough stuff to do a rocket to the sun ..It's going to be cool inside for sure ..... I"m in Houston 30 days 100% +..HOT HOT...LOL

 

I used wrap on my headers with the waterproof paint. It really seemed to keep underhood heat down. I did not use wrap to stop heat in the cab. I think it kinda looks cool. Sort of a race car look. If you like the all chrome look, you won't like the wrap. Will my headers rust out, burn up, fall apart or have any other kind of failure? Maybe, but it's been on there for about 4 years with no problems yet. I may have gone the jet hot route, but just didn't have the extra cash. It's easy to say " buy this or buy that" if you have an unlimited budget, but it doesn't always work that way.

 

[QUOTE=bondoboy;1584682312]I used wrap on my headers with the waterproof paint. It really seemed to keep underhood heat down. I did not use wrap to stop heat in the cab. I think it kinda looks cool. Sort of a race car look. If you like the all chrome look, you won't like the wrap. Will my headers rust out, burn up, fall apart or have any other kind of failure? Maybe, but it's been on there for about 4 years with no problems yet. I may have gone the jet hot route, but just didn't have the extra cash. It's easy to say " buy this or buy that" if you have an unlimited budget, but it doesn't always work that way.[/QU



Thanks for the onfo ,I have stanless Sys. Headers Etc all the way out ,heat comeing inside , I am going to gut the 04 and just do the insides for now ,my just wrap under the middle thats all it will wrap...The wrap should help a little also...Thanks..

 

Have you looked up Eastwood exhaust coating?

I called Hedman and they said a wrap will void the warranty, an internal coating will not .... so based on this alone the wrap must be doing damage to the pipes.....

 

I agree that the wrap can cause problems. I don't mean for this to sound dumb, but exhaust is sort of a "consumable." If you have regular steel exhaust it will eventually rust out. Headers, like exhaust pipes, are usually not permanent parts of a car. Some are made of thinner metal and may have an even shorter life. Not counting stainless, ceramic coated, or special racing styles, headers are one of the cheaper bolt on performance parts you can buy. If you get several years out of them you probably got your money's worth. I have hooker headers on my car and they are heavier metal than other brands I've seen. I've had them 4 years now. They are holding up well, but they'll probably rust sometime. I agree that holding in the heat with wrap can fatigue the metal. I am just street driving with the occasional high speed run through the gears. I'll never build up the heat like someone that is racing and running wide open most of the time. Ceramic coating is expensive. I just couldn't afford it when I bought mine. I would have bought it if I could have. Hope I explained this well.

 

Sorry to resurrect an old thread but I still have questions regarding header wrap.
I have ceramic coated headers on my 409 SBC but would like to reduce the underhood heat. I know lots of folks love to wrap everything else with insulation but it seems to me that it makes more sense to eliminate the heat at it's source vs protecting everything around it (it's also a lot less effort). I know everyone has their preference but the engineer in me wants to stop it at the source.

Anyway, can anyone explain the reason why header wrap on coated headers is a bad idea? I'm looking for technical reasons, not aesthetic.
(It's an exhaust system, it's supposed to look like crap anyway ;-)
I don't get the moisture/rust argument because any moisture absorbed would be quickly evaporated from the heat when the engine is running.
So unless you are soaking the headers (when cool) and just parking the car, I don't see that as being an issue-
What other issues can I expect to run into wrapping coated headers?
Any factual, real life experiences would be most appreciated.
Thanks!
Elm

 

header wrap is the best thing you can do to eliminate heat in cab,works great.also, some say it will rust out your headers fast,ownly if you ride in rain alot.I have regular steel headers that are wraped and they have lasted many years and still going,but i dont drive my vette in the rain,that makes the difference.i have my headers wrapped with the graphite header wrap,it has like graphite in it.take your time and do a good job and it will be well worth it.wrap each tube .

 

I can't stand "wrap"----the stuff is u-g-l-y no matter how well that you do it. And I've seen exhaust systems literally rot underneath the wrap!

BUT............

It really works! And in Louisiana weather, my headers and under-cab on my '36 Pickup exhaust look great after 6 years-----I unwound some of the wrap in different spots to check for rust---I found NONE---but where areas didn't need the wrap---there's the nice reddish thin layer of corrosion on the steel exhaust. (Once a year I clean the unwrapped areas and re-coat them with header paint--it lasts about 6 months....LOL)

I really think that it being a daily driver dries out any moisture and keeps the metal looking good.

 

I dont drive mine everyday,maybe 3 times a month,only on good days.so the theory of driving everyday isnt right,my headers have no rust with the wrap on it. I think if you constantly drive in rainy weather and keep getting the wrap wet ,its going to rust .

 

Any advantage/disadvantage of using the 'Blankets' vs the 'Wrap'?
Seems the blanket is the easiest to install/remove and would also reduce the whole issue of header deterioration due to moisture but are they as effective as wrapping each tube individually?
Anyone have any experience using both?
Thanks!
Elm