Heat wrap on headers and/or dp

[GN owner]

I thought I read sometime ago that the heat wrap will cause the pipe to run a lot hotter and the metal will get brittle after awhile. Has anyone experienced this as I would like to wrap my DP also to drop under hood temps?

 

[Turbo RX-6]

I also read it is bad for the metal over a period of time... I read this from another forum a while back... I finally found it...


"The viscosity of a gas increases with temperature, the opposite of a liquid. Trapping the heat in the exhaust will impede the cooling of the exhaust gasses. Thus, preventing the viscosity from dropping and reducing the flow rate through fittings, bends, catalytic converters, etc. Granted, a good portion of the heat is converted into mechanical energy at the turbo. But, the exhaust, post turbo, can still benefit from cooler gas temperatures.

You will have to choose which is more important, minimizing heat soak or freer flowing exhaust. Both provide performance gains under different"

So wrapped headers wont flow as free as unwrapped????

 

[Turbo RX-6]

I didnt mean to post twice

 

[Lturbo6]

Do not....... and I repeat, Do not wrap the headers. If you get any oil leaks, the wrap absorbs the oil and eventually it will light on fire. If you want the thermal properties of wrap, get the pipes ceramic coated.

X2 don't do it

 

[jlat]

Hello people; Speaking of heat it seems people are forgetting the crossover exhaust pipe under the engine. Heat rises and I'd bet if you coated,covered or what your choice is it would drop some degrees under the hood. There was a guy here parting out his GN and he had his crossover covered and it looked like it was holding up.
IBBY

 

[three turbos]

Very good point you have there,that did slip my mind thanks!

 

[rmar]

Hey 3 amigos tell me a little more about the powder coated exhaust parts. Headers /dp/ ex. housing. What all is powder coated???? And with what coating?

 

[Joe 1320]

I thought I read sometime ago that the heat wrap will cause the pipe to run a lot hotter and the metal will get brittle after awhile. Has anyone experienced this as I would like to wrap my DP also to drop under hood temps?

Yes, wrapping the exhaust leads to metal fatigue and rust.

As far as exhaust wraps.....
There are numerous examples of bad thing things that happen when using thermal wraps, use the search feature and read it for yourself. Numerous long term experienced members don't recommend it. Cars have burned to the ground because of it, yet a new member says it's OK. Do the math on that one and you'll have the correct answer. Powder coating has virtually no thermal properties and can cook off over time. Ceramic coating or Jet Hot coating is the right way to do it. It's durable, it has thermal properties that help keep the heat in the exhaust pipe rather than radiating though the metal, it helps resist breakdown of the metal.

As far as HP gain, well..... it's more like reducing the HP lost due to heat radiation. There are advantages to keeping the heat in the exhaust rather than letting it radiate from the pipes under the hood. Ceramic coating on the headers aides in turbo spool up, but not by much. Remember, expanding heated gas is what drives the turbo. Cooled exhaust containes less energy and ability to drive the compressor. There's also the arguement that as the exhaust cools in the pipe, it helps pull out the exhaust further upstream for a scavenging effect.

However.... I subscribe to the theory that these cars respond to a sum of lots of little details that eventually add up. It's the sum of all of it's parts. Your hoses and plug wire will last longer too due to less radiant heat. I mentioned previously that my headers, crossover and downpipe are coated and still look new 10 years later. That is money well spent. Try that with a wrap or powder coat and you're in for a disappointment if not a downright safety issue. There are turbo blankets that have been used with some success, they aren't sitting right next to a valve cover and are far less likely to become saturated with oil.

In the end it's your choice, my advice is do it right rather than do it over again later.

 

[dynoman]

Check out Swain Tech White Lightning @ swaintech.com . I plan on coating as much of my exhaust and turbo as I can . It may be white, but because of increased thermal barrier you can paint it with high temp paint and it won't flake off. :biggrin: Sam

 

[GNBRETT]

because of increased thermal barrier you can paint it with high temp paint and it won't flake off. :biggrin: Sam

u try it or just hear it works. swain is supposed to be a great product but the white always steered me away. if they could be painted silver or black i might look at them in the future

 

[dynoman]

That was one of the reasons why I didn't care for it until I read the whole write up on their site . Swain Tech says that high temp paint works well on top of their White Lightning coating , so I plan on using a silver or cast aluminum high temp paint. I still will call them just to be sure or stop by cause they are only 30 min. away from me. :biggrin: Sam

 

[Joe 1320]

I would be interesewd in the Swain coatings. The hot side of the turbo is still bare and that would be a nice way to deal with that instead of any kind of wrap or blanket.

 

[jlat]

hello peoples; HIJACK Joe 1320 Are you the guy that plays the organ? If so how about another tune. I liked the last one. If not So Sorry.
IBBY