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It will keep under hood temps down. If your headers aren't stainless you might have a problem with the headers rusting out over time. Definitely worth doing though.
Don't do it! Wrapped headers hold moisture and will rot out in about 2 years time. After I didn't listen to this same advice 20 years ago because I rarely got the car wet they got a hole in them anyway. Went with ceramic coated inside and out afterwards and under hood temps were cooler and headers lasted forever. Plus looked great!
It will keep under hood temps down. If your headers aren't stainless you might have a problem with the headers rusting out over time. Definitely worth doing though.
Thanks! I got TPIS, coated headers. I like the clean look of the headers as they are. Did add the Greenwood hood louvers for venting heat. Putting a heat shield on the starter too.
Maybe it's just my luck but I have never had ceramic coated headers last. The coating always flakes off for me after a few years. This last set I got from Street and Performance were the worst. I would rather go stainless and wrap them. But YMMV
Maybe it's just my luck but I have never had ceramic coated headers last. The coating always flakes off for me after a few years. This last set I got from Street and Performance were the worst. I would rather go stainless and wrap them. But YMMV
Mine have been on since 05. Bottom where debris hits it of course is having issues but that is life. Dull now, of course but WGAS since I don't look at it while driving.
I just received my TPIS Headers this week as well. I went with the ceramic coating. I'll be installing them withing a few weeks. I'll post pics.
I ordered them months ago and I have been in contact with Angie. Mine were # 2 and were getting coated, I guess you were #1. She was confident I would've gotten them, so I said I'll follow up on Thursday(17th), that was two weeks ago.
Did they send you notification of them shipping? Give you a tracking #?
I ordered them months ago and I have been in contact with Angie. Mine were # 2 and were getting coated, I guess you were #1. She was confident I would've gotten them, so I said I'll follow up on Thursday(17th), that was two weeks ago.
Did they send you notification of them shipping? Give you a tracking #?
She did. I ordered them in early December. Excellent communication throughout. I don't mind delays so long as there is communication. At the end of may they were sent out to get coated and I received an email on June 3rd with a UPS tracking number that they had shipped. Received them on the 8th.
Had good luck wtih coated (inside and out) over the years it sure makes a difference underhood and plug wire boots last much longer.
Regardless, I think he needs to understand that even if he gets it done well, it will go dull and come off at some point. IOW, diamonds are forever but this isn't. If he is insisting on it being as shiny as Day 1 on say Year 5,it isn't happening. Just got done telling someone that last month.
Do Not wrap the headers unless they are not expected to last more than two years, they rust really fast when water is absorbed by the covering wrap.
Don't bother putting a shield on your starter, remove the factory starter and replace it with a gear drive starter. They are smaller and easier to work with when you are working on the engine. They don't have the heat soak issues and they crank the engine right up.
The support people at Hedman Headers told me that you should never use ceramic headers on a re-built or NEW engine. The extra heat can damage the coatings. They said that even the heat from a Rebuilt engine can get hot enough to damage the first couple inches of pipe.
IF you buy Ceramic coated pipes and want them to last be sure to buy the systems that are coated inside and out. The racing industry like NASCAR use ceramic coatings but with their high compression and other tricks they are using a higher temp rated ceramic coating. You can have them re-coated with the Higher temp material for ~ $200. They burn off the old coating and install the higher temp ceramic coating and bake it until done.
The support people at Hedman Headers told me that you should never use ceramic headers on a re-built or NEW engine. The extra heat can damage the coatings. They said that even the heat from a Rebuilt engine can get hot enough to damage the first couple inches of pipe.
It almost sounds like they don't want ceramic at all. No new engine, no rebuilt engine. So what engine can I have it on?
It almost sounds like they don't want ceramic at all. No new engine, no rebuilt engine. So what engine can I have it on?
The company I used just didn't want you to do a cam break in with it. IE 2500 rpms for 20+ minutes stationary before the coating heat cycled a few times. It was spelled out very clearly on the instructions. I used a roller cam so no issues.
I would however not wrap them. The ceramic rejects heat just fine and header wrap is a pain in the *** and I think it looks tacky. If it's stainless why not bit otherwise it's just inviting rust imo.
The company I used just didn't want you to do a cam break in with it. IE 2500 rpms for 20+ minutes stationary before the coating heat cycled a few times. It was spelled out very clearly on the instructions. I used a roller cam so no issues.
If it's stainless why not bit otherwise it's just inviting rust imo.
It was melrose but came through who ever did the coating for them if I'm remembering correctly.
The damn auto save on the fourm strikes again. It was supposed to read: if it's stainless why not wrap them, but otherwise it's just inviting rust. Especially on uncoated parts. Sorry about that.
I'm trying to figure out why I have such bad luck with ceramic coatings? This is a picture of the headers that are on my car right now. They are Jet-Hot coated inside and out.
They looked like this after a year. I've had two different sets of stainless headers now with a wrap on them. I've never seen a stainless header rust with or without a wrap. i'm so fed up with ceramic coatings I'll never have one again.
Header wrap OR not?
