Header Wrap
Race Director
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 10,554
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From: Not on either liberal coast.
He's probably talking about a race car application with sustained high rpm levels that a street car doesn't typically see...
Last edited by hotwheels57; Apr 22, 2010 at 07:11 PM.
Tech Contributor
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 19,246
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From: Dyer, IN
Reduce temps with wrap around 50 MAYBE 100 if you are lucky.
Reduce temps with a good ceramic 250 - 350 on the high side.
Wraps will rot the metal no matter what it is. Even with the silicone spray you will still hold moister under the wrap AS well retain moister within the pipes themselves. You also run a much greater risk of cracking your SS header with a wrap. Not to mention wraps create hot spots in the header causing thermal fatigue and heat soak that will eat you alive.
Reduce temps with a good ceramic 250 - 350 on the high side.
Wraps will rot the metal no matter what it is. Even with the silicone spray you will still hold moister under the wrap AS well retain moister within the pipes themselves. You also run a much greater risk of cracking your SS header with a wrap. Not to mention wraps create hot spots in the header causing thermal fatigue and heat soak that will eat you alive.
Just spoke with Anthony at LG about ceramic coating last week. He didn't seem to think it was worth it. He said they keep burning it off the pipes on their car.
Not sure about wrapping.
Racer
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 452
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From: Washington DC
Race Director
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 10,554
Likes: 33
From: Not on either liberal coast.
If you happen to like bare metal rusting headers, that's your choice. If you like to R&R headers to re-paint them regularly, that's your choice. If you like the bronze patina of heat/cool cycled stainless headers, that's also your choice.
Here's a recent thread about a used set of AR headers being coated with JET HOT...
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-g...m-jet-hot.html
Last edited by hotwheels57; Apr 25, 2010 at 03:22 PM.
Former Vendor
Joined: Mar 2010
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From: North Carolina, Oklahoma, and Arizona
Pro
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 538
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From: Long Island N.Y.
Swain Tech coating for headers. Just had ARH headers installed with the Swaintech coating, big change in underhood temps.
I've used wrap before on headers and downpipes and xpipes...never had any issues with moisture or cracking or corrosion...I really wonder how an exhaust pipe, that is usually several hundred degrees, can hold moisture...just doesn't make sense to me. And the wicking up of oil...well, that's another problem now isn't it. If your car is spewing oil underhood, I'll guess headerwrap isn't your biggest problem.
With the time/effort needed to buy/wrap/spray and then need to do it again in a few years, I'd say a good coating of Swaintech is better than wrapping...but I'd say wrapping is better than nothing. I'm not a fan of the shiny metalic coatings.
I've used wrap before on headers and downpipes and xpipes...never had any issues with moisture or cracking or corrosion...I really wonder how an exhaust pipe, that is usually several hundred degrees, can hold moisture...just doesn't make sense to me. And the wicking up of oil...well, that's another problem now isn't it. If your car is spewing oil underhood, I'll guess headerwrap isn't your biggest problem.
With the time/effort needed to buy/wrap/spray and then need to do it again in a few years, I'd say a good coating of Swaintech is better than wrapping...but I'd say wrapping is better than nothing. I'm not a fan of the shiny metalic coatings.
Pro
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 620
Likes: 3
From: Harwood Heights IL
Swain Tech coating for headers. Just had ARH headers installed with the Swaintech coating, big change in underhood temps.
I've used wrap before on headers and downpipes and xpipes...never had any issues with moisture or cracking or corrosion...I really wonder how an exhaust pipe, that is usually several hundred degrees, can hold moisture...just doesn't make sense to me. And the wicking up of oil...well, that's another problem now isn't it. If your car is spewing oil underhood, I'll guess headerwrap isn't your biggest problem.
With the time/effort needed to buy/wrap/spray and then need to do it again in a few years, I'd say a good coating of Swaintech is better than wrapping...but I'd say wrapping is better than nothing. I'm not a fan of the shiny metalic coatings.
I've used wrap before on headers and downpipes and xpipes...never had any issues with moisture or cracking or corrosion...I really wonder how an exhaust pipe, that is usually several hundred degrees, can hold moisture...just doesn't make sense to me. And the wicking up of oil...well, that's another problem now isn't it. If your car is spewing oil underhood, I'll guess headerwrap isn't your biggest problem.
With the time/effort needed to buy/wrap/spray and then need to do it again in a few years, I'd say a good coating of Swaintech is better than wrapping...but I'd say wrapping is better than nothing. I'm not a fan of the shiny metalic coatings.
