http://www.centuryperformance.com/heatwraps.asp

found it kinda interesting, although it relates to race engines, i dont think as a daily driver you cause as much damage as what that websites states. Now if ur doin any serious racing with a high HP motor then ya might run into issues.

 

Thanks very helpful and interesting. I'm going with the coating.


http://www.puresynthetics.com

 

I regretfully have to withdraw my recommendation for the header wrap. Yesterday I finally got around to pulling off my headers to have a look at the leak. Unfortunately it cracked completely around one of the tubes (it's a Tri-Y design, I'll post the pics later tonight). So this was after ~1.5 years with the wrap (I think).

The wrap truly is too good of an insulator as I could see the metal deteriorating. I was more concerned with rust and there is barely a hint of rust. I do still think it did a wonderful job of insulating, I wonder if they make it thinner or anything...

I did get out the welder and patched it up slightly...the trouble is that the tubes are so close I couldn't make a full pass around. I just might have to cut it apart, fix it, and reassemble.
(Also found out my arc welder I got as a present a while back is truly not my style. That thing is going on the market this week - gotta get me a MIG!)

Jim

 

Does anyone have any recomendations on a company for coating ?Resonable price for the coating in and out? I seen the HI Perf Coating. I will check them out. Any others?

Thanks
www.puresynthetics.com

 

Figure I'll chime in too. I did a bunch of web research on header wrapping before wrapping my LCE ceramic coated headers. I wrapped them for a different reason than most. I couldn't stand the sound of them! A few years back, they made their headers out of 16 gauge material instead of the 14 I believe they use now. The result, it sounds like I have beer cans for an exhaust system.
I read a lot and decided to go ahead and wrap the pipes, but didn't notice as much difference as I hoped. So, I kept reading and finally found some info I was really after. Companies like LCE tell you explicitly NOT to use header wrap. It isn't so much rust issues or "trapped heat" but that the header wrap prevents the pipe from the normal swelling it would do without the constriction of the wrap. It is this binding effect that really causes the damage and eventual cracking of the pipe.
So, I pulled the wrap and while doing it, I happened to notice that the real noise in my case was coming at the collector so I went ahead and somewhat loosely wrapped the header at that point and voila! much better reduction in noise and hopefully the collector won't kill itself with the looser wrap and being at a point where some of the heat has already dissipated.
There is another product which will reduce engine bay temps and help push the heat out the pipes; exhaust sleeves. You can check around places like Jegs or Summit for them. These will cover and snap onto the main tubes just like putting your arm in a sleeve and shouldn't cause any restriction of the normal expansion of the metal. I haven't picked any up yet since I'm in a "cheap bastard" phase, but on my '93 4Runner when I get is set up with whatever motor/header combo goes into it, I'm definitely going with the sleeves and not the wrap.
Just an opinion.

 

Yup. Pretty much everything I came across said if you wrap them, figure on them being dead in a year. From what I read, I wouldn't waste your time trying to weld them. The rest of the metal is probably so fatigued that it is ready to fall apart anyway. You'll probably wind up chasing breaks from here on out.

 

I had my TRD headers coated by Hi Perf coatings in '99 and I have nothing but good things to say. I haven't had the cracking problems or the blown out gaskets that these headers have been know for and that a few friends have had to deal with. I can't speak for the other coaters out there but I would expect similar results.

 

Is this the place that you delt with ? Did you get the coating on the inside and outside? Do you remember what they charged ?

http://www.hpcoatings.com/

-Thanks

 

Yep, I used the one in Chandler, AZ and they did coat the inside as well as the outside. The inside is relative because the bends in the pipes but they did spray the inside. I believe it was about $250ish. I thought it was a high price on top of what I paid for the headers but looking back 6 years and having no problems, I think it was more than well worth it.

 

We experimented on some of our turbo'd race cars and found out that the coating worked the best, and it only really worked if you did it both inside and out. We have always shipped our stuff to Jet-Hot for our header coatings. We tested this out on some friend's 935 purpose-built racer with great results. The exhaust temps that he sees would burn away our rigs, they can get so hot, and with this coating, we've not had to replace this guy's headers in 5 years, where he used to go through them each season. My vote goes for Jet-Hot, I've seen it perform too well on the track for years www.jet-hot.com

 

Thanks Guys