Wrapping the down pipe

[Turbo6Smackdown]

I did a search for this but it didn't turn up anything. Has anyone cracked a stainless down pipe by wrapping it with thermal coatings?

 

[Heisenberg]

Like wrapping with it with DEI header wrap like material?
Not me - running a blue similar alternative for years with my 3" DP
When it is not getting sliced to pieces rubbing on my A-arm.

 

[2QUICK2B6]

nope

 

[Turbo6Smackdown]

Like wrapping with it with DEI header wrap like material?
Not me - running a blue similar alternative for years with my 3" DP
When it is not getting sliced to pieces rubbing on my A-arm.

Yes, like the DEI stuff. Was considering it for next summer.

 

[EYE-OPENER]

I wrapped mine a year ago. Holds up great and no cracks. and one less thing to polish...lol...

 

[Turbo6Smackdown]

Oh good

 

[turbo nasty]

The wrap will soak up oil and fuel if theres a leak and the fire from it is a big concern and why many dont run it.

 

[Turbo6Smackdown]

A leak from where?

 

[TexasT]

The wrap will soak up oil and fuel if there's a leak and the fire from it is a big concern and why many dont run it.

X2
IF an engine uses fuel or oil you will have a leak eventually.
What do you feel the upside of wrapping the down pipe? How much do you plan to gain? Is it worth the chance of an under hood fire? Until your car is on fire it seems like it can't happen, but it can.
Your call.

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[Turbo6Smackdown]

I see. Good point. I'm also seeing how it insulates soo well, that it destroys the structure of the steel over time because it stays soo hot for soo long. I think I'll go with a thermal coating instead. I can get it done for cheap, as I live down the street from one of the major thermal coating guys in the industry. Thanks for the motivation to further research this project guys. I appreciate it.

 

[Amelio]

I have had my DP and headers wrapped for about 5 years now........never any issues.

As far as gains I don't know how much...the idea is to keep under hood temps down and it does a great job of that plus if your working on the car when its hot and you bump a header pipe you don't leave skin behind.

Also it keeps the heat energy in the pipe (heat is energy) the hotter that exhaust the faster it moves....etc... blah blah blah most of us know that but as far as the gains I don't know.....again I did mine mainly to keep the heat low under the hood and from burning the sh*t outta myself when your making passes and adjusting things.

I did not wrap the cross over pipe because most oil leaks will end up there.......I have had the occasional valve cover leak when its time to change the gaskets.......as a matter of fact I just changed my valve cover gaskets Sunday................

Does oil get in the wrap...yes......does it cause a fire....well I guess anything is possible but from my experience it just burns off before any fire. I have no oil leaks (other than the valve cover....I fix that when it happens) if my rear main starts to seep then so what its not gonna hit the header wrap.

Its been great and every time I am checking plugs after making a pass I tank myself for doing it

 

[Amelio]

I see. Good point. I'm also seeing how it insulates soo well, that it destroys the structure of the steel over time because it stays soo hot for soo long. I think I'll go with a thermal coating instead. I can get it done for cheap, as I live down the street from one of the major thermal coating guys in the industry. Thanks for the motivation to further research this project guys. I appreciate it.

Thermal coating is nice....I did not have the money at the time for that so went with the wrap.

I rewrapped mine a few years ago when the engine was out and I freshened up the bearings after a head gasket let go.......they had been on the for 3 years or so and after a while they can work a little loose.....

While they were off I inspected everything.....zero signs of rust, cracking or any type of problem I have a TH down pipe and ATR SS headers I bough 12 years ago never any issues.

If you drive in the rain or the wrap gets wet you would wanna let the car run long enough to heat up the wrap and burn off the water....wet wrap sitting could cause a problem. They do make a silicone spray to help with that but my car does not see rain.

After I changed the valve cover gaskets this past Sunday I started the car and sprayed the sides of the heads and headers and block with purple power then rinsed it off with the hose......lost of steam but let the car run for a few and it dries out.....no more smoke and no oil residue on the heads or block. This is how I have been doing it for years never an issue......

 

[Turbo6Smackdown]

I see. That's good news.

 

[mikemcvaney]

Blew a radiator has the anti freeze soaked into the heat rap when the hood was opened it ignited like a gas fire. Good thing the car had an extinguisher in it or I would no longer own it .

 

[Turbo6Smackdown]

Though wouldn't the hot downpipe have ignited the rad fluid anyways?

 

[earlbrown]

Stainless should put up with the wrapping just fine. Don't try it with alum, cheep mild steel or titanium. It does make a nice wick though, so I would choose the thermal coating route since you have access to it. Coat the pipe inside and out and you should be ahead of the game.

Keep in mind too... yes, heat is energy... but by the time it's in the downpipe it's on the other side of the energy capturing device (turbo).

If your coating guy is in a good mood and cuts you a great deal, get the headers and crossover pipe coated too. I noticed my 02 got much more active when I swapped out my headers for a set of coated units.

 

[sscamino]

Wrapped and a blanket. I had ceramic coated DP and its just as good.

 

[Red C5]

Coating if you can swing it. I had a small engine fire years ago and the wrap started burning too.

 

[sscamino]

A flammable liquid must have soaked into the wrap. The Titanium that I have on withstands 1800 deg. direct and 2500 intermittent heat. Another good thing is its a little harder to get burnt.

 

[sscamino]

My up pipe and headers are ceramic coated.