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For those running side pipes, how often do your burn your ankle on the pipes? Do you get accustomed to getting out of the car without touching the pipes?
Do headers exhausted through side pipes help with the heat in the footwells? My big block car with stock manifold/exhaust gets almost unbearably hot. I am trying to figure out if the heat barrier/insulation will be enough to keep the heat out or will add side pipes be an additional big improvement.
Whether you get burned or not depends on the pipe style. The original '69 style with the aluminum covers do not get hot enough to burn.
I don't think adding side pipes is going to appreciably cut down on radiated heat in the foot wells. For my '72 (all had under-car exhaust) there were factory "splash" shields attached to the firewall at the foot wells which may cut down on radiated heat, but I don't know if those were eliminated in later years. Make sure you have the transmission tunnel insulation and foam collar in place.
I had a set of Hooker’s for years and had to think about not touching them every time I got in/out of the car. Goes with the territory. I put on a set of OEM N14s and have no issues. I don’t know if the repro covers have all the factory style insulation construction so that might be an issue.
Whether you burn your ankles or not would depend on the amount of power the engine is making and the inserts, if any, in the pipes.
yep, I have a stock L48 1980 with mid inserts and I can drive the car for a 20-30 minute cruise and touch the pipes, not hot enough to burn at all (Dougs ceramic) I've had side pipes for many years and used to getting in and out, my wife did get a small bite on one of my cobras and I added a roll out section of header blanket beside her seat, C2/C3 factory style nothing to worry about.
2020 Corvette of the Year Finalist (performance mods)
2019 C3 of Year Winner (performance mods)
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Ceramic headers help with heat but will still burn your shin or calf....My buddy had hooker style headers and I burned my shin walking up to lean over the fender to work on the motor. He carried a towel for his passenger and would warn them before they got out.
as for heat I used header wrap and they helped. Also I have the metal splash shield under the car which helps a little. I am going to get some foam to put behind it and under neath as well. Most people have an adhesive foil covered heat barrier under the carpet that helps a lot, but the good ones are very expensive. You can go to Door Gunners thread and read his chapter about his heat barrier, dropped his hear issue 20 or 30 degrees or more
I havent added a heat barrier under the carpet yet but I would do that next and not get the extra thick jute like I did because it does not help at all
When I first got my side pipes, every Boomer I ran into said "you'll burn your legs off!!" - even when they saw pics of my car on FB! it reminded me of: "You'll shoot you're eye out!!" LOL
I have the Doug's ceramic coated side pipes and I've never burned my leg on them. I've touched my leg on them , but they didn't sear my flesh off like people make you think, didn't burn me at all! You get used to stepping over them. I think they're way to cool looking and sounding to ever own a C3 without side pipes!
The biggest concern is your wife or girlfriend. I've been in Corvette clubs for many years. Have seen many, many burns and scars on the back of women's legs. Way to many.
The worst burn I got was during the summer when I was driving in shorts and flip-flops.
Car was fully warm and I stopped to get gas. While the gas was pumping, I went to check the oil. Popped the hood, and as I went to reach for the dipstick I also stepped forward and touched the front of my ankle area to one of the RUNNER pipes that comes right out from the engine.
That move came with a lot of hurt and I had a scar for years.
Never burned my leg after that, and every time someone gets out of the car I say "watch the pipes!"
One guy burned the palm of his HAND really badly getting out because for some reason he rolled out of the car and reached his hand down expecting to grab car body but instead grabbed hot pipe right after we were doing some spirited driving. He had a bubble on his palm. I felt bad. He forgave me.
I've never found the 1969 factory style side pipes to get hot enough to burn you, even after hours of driving.
The Hooker Header style pipes will get hot and burn you if you're wearing shorts, but shouldn't be a problem in jeans or slacks. I never personally had a set of Hooker Header side pipes on a car, but I had plenty of friends who did. As long as you remember they're there, you can get out without getting burned on them.
I've found I'm more likely to get burned by header side pipes when working on a car. The Corvette vintage racers I crew on all use a variation of the header side pipes and I've been burned by them once or twice when the car was running and I was leaning into the engine compartment. After doing it a couple times you wise up and usually remember they're there and can be HOT!
Only ever burned my leg once, the very first time I drove the car with them on!
I told myself the whole time buying and installing them “don’t touch it, you’ll regret it.” You can tell yourself that as much as you want, but you’ll only learn to involuntarily step out further by touching it. The burn wasn’t too bad though, little bit of burn cream and a day later my leg was fine.
Some people run shields on them, I like to leave mine uncovered. Like others said be sure to warn any passengers to watch their legs before they get out. Overall I would definitely recommend them. They look great, and I love having the sound of the engine right outside the window. They haven’t told me, but I’m sure everyone else in my enclosed parking garage like the sound of them too.
I've never found the 1969 factory style side pipes to get hot enough to burn you, even after hours of driving.
The Hooker Header style pipes will get hot and burn you if you're wearing shorts, but shouldn't be a problem in jeans or slacks. I never personally had a set of Hooker Header side pipes on a car, but I had plenty of friends who did. As long as you remember they're there, you can get out without getting burned on them.
I've found I'm more likely to get burned by header side pipes when working on a car. The Corvette vintage racers I crew on all use a variation of the header side pipes and I've been burned by them once or twice when the car was running and I was leaning into the engine compartment. After doing it a couple times you wise up and usually remember they're there and can be HOT!
No pipes on my '72, but factory-style on my '67. The covers never get hot to the point of burning. GM legal wouldn't have allowed that to happen.
I've seen Hooker-style pipes blued from the exhaust heat to about a foot from where they come out behind the front tires – that takes about 500°F to do that. Just 2-3 feet further down the pipe to the doors isn't that far to dissipate that level of heat to render it non-injurious. Not trying to tell anyone not to go with the Hooker-style pipes, but the owner then carries a responsibility to protect passengers from getting burned. At just 140°F (60 degrees C) a 2nd degree burn will occur within 3 seconds progressing to a full-thickness skin burn (3rd degree) in 5 seconds .
If you go with hooker style pipes, I feel covers are a must. I made custom ones just for that reason.
I remember someone here also was wearing sweatpants and the pants melted to the pipe. Yikes. Another reason for a cover.
I run the Hookers on all my Vettes, no shields. They look the best this way imo.
Just make sure you step over them, and don't ever let the back of your calf touch them, especially if you're running an engine that actually makes some decent power.
You will burn your legs once but that is all it will take to learn to step over the pipe. I still tell my Wife EVERY time she gets out of the car to watch the side pipe because the one time I don't will be the time she burns her leg and I'll never hear the end of it.
You will burn your legs once but that is all it will take to learn to step over the pipe. I still tell my Wife EVERY time she gets out of the car to watch the side pipe because the one time I don't will be the time she burns her leg and I'll never hear the end of it.
You will burn your legs once but that is all it will take to learn to step over the pipe. I still tell my Wife EVERY time she gets out of the car to watch the side pipe because the one time I don't will be the time she burns her leg and I'll never hear the end of it.
Originally Posted by Bikespace
Once. You will never forget after doing it once.
For the owner installing mods and getting injured, I'm fine with that and will only offer a "tsk, tsk". When it comes to exposing others to injury I'm much less fine. Call me a Nervous Nelly. I'd be very concerned for children who don't have that awareness or the leg length to step out far enough from the sill to lift themselves out.
Side Pipes
