I had posted this in the C6 General Discussion Forum, but wasn't getting any responses. I'll try again here.

I've been researching headers and can't seem to wrap my head around a few things. I've found four types of headers (listed in order of ascending prices):

1. Painted Steel
2. Ceramic Coated Steel
3. Stainless Steel
4. Ceramic Coated Stainless Steel

I'm looking at a number of different manufacturers, so it's hard to make general statements. However, there is a BIG jump in price when you go stainless. Adding the Ceramic coating to the Stainless (when available) tends to add an additional $300.

My gut feeling would be if you're going to ceramic coat the metal anyways, wouldn't it be a shame to start with expensive stainless steel?

I don't find many options for Ceramic Coated Steel for C6 Corvettes. I do find a few that claim they fit (with modifications) such as Flowtech, Hedman, Hooker.
When it comes to C6's, everything appears to be Stainless Steel with a few offering the Ceramic Coating as an option...such as Dynatech.

It just seems to me that if Ceramic Coating is such a good idea, there would be more options for Ceramic Coated Steel at a price lower than non-coated Stainless Steel.

Looking forward to hear your comments...

 

I would just go straight stainless unless you really are trying to go for low/lower under hood temps for a particular reason (obviously the cooler the better etc). From what I've been told the coating doesn't last very long on the stainless steel which is probably why you don't see a lot of options for it.

I have hooker headers on my 68 Camaro and painted them with a few coats of the hi temp paint and they've done just fine for years. For my corvette however I'm going straight stainless.

 

AR's fit great on the LS3..

 

I agree 100%. I've been running stainless steel LG long tubes for over a year now with no heat problems. This includes a few trips over 400 miles a day.

Tom

 

Kooks SS Jet Hot coated on my car for over four years and no issues ever they still look new.

 

I installed my OBX longtubes this past weekend. They are just stainless and look amazing and in the way I drive/use my car, I dont notice any negatives about heat and temperatures... And saved me tons of money...

 

Ceramic coated 4 sure.
WAYYYYYYY less heat
Better performance as heat moves away from car.
Thats why NASCAR uses ceramic

 

I've had KOOKS uncoated on for over 8 years. I'm not sure if ceramic coating was even available then but if I ever replace or buy new on another Vette they will be coated.

 

Does it keep the cabin any cooler?

 

NASCAR also runs at 8k rpms for three hours straight. There is no need on a street car for ceramic coating, but it certainly doesn't hurt anything.

I went with bare stainless.

 

This was definitely the better forum to post this question. Thanks to everyone for your responses.

For those with Stainless Steel and no coating, how much discoloring did you get so far? I think I've read some that say they have "purplish" pipes but it doesn't look bad at all.

 

That is the advantage to ceramic coated...they look good for years. Bare stainless will discolor but it's not as ugly due to the fact they're somewhat difficult to see in the C6.

 

For looks, you can coat just about any header system. From a street driving standpoint, it really won't have any measurable impact on performance. Coating cheap steel headers will look good, but you still have cheap steel underneath. The higher heat on the mild steel will only make the lifespan even shorter on a material like mild steel. Hope that helps clear it up a little.

 

I suggest that you take a look at headers manufactured by Bill Boat Performance Exhaust. Quality products,great people to work with and American made.

 

Ceranic will keep the interior cooler.
It helps to hold the heat in. It also
cools MUCH faster than any other coating.
If you want to get rid of exhaust heat. Its
simply the best way. I would also wrap the
rest of the exhaust.
Robin

 

I have regular Kooks stainless 1-7/8" with cats on my LS3 GS coupe. No heat problems under the hood even on super hot Texas summer days either

 

don't buy chineese stuff cause they may not fit and the probably crack on you after a year or two. do it right and do it once. top brands use stainless, it will last. if you want get it coated to look pretty and help with temps, do it.

 

What are your goals? I mean, why would you get a crappy header and ceramic coat it? Do you want HP gains, or something that looks pretty?

 

How come you don't offer ceramic coating on your headers? I've heard good things about the Tri-Y headers, but I would want them coated You're losing business by not coating them.

 

We haven't seen a need to offer it with our headers. We've constructed them with the highest quality materials, and with the highest manufacturing standards. The Tri-Y design is exclusive, and it has been tuned to maximize the HP/TQ on an LS motor. Most importantly, they are built to last. Its hard for me to recommend a coating to anyone when there are so many sub-par coatings and coating companies out there. Its important to remember that the application of the coating is just as important as the actual coating. I don't want to see our headers, which we stopped at nothing to perfect, with poorly applied coatings that may shorten the life of the header. Hope that helps,