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Old Apr 3, 2006 | 05:22 PM
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i want to wrap my pipes from the cat to the rear turbo...anyone know if building up the wrap makes it work any better than a 50$ overlap???thx,mike.
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Old Apr 3, 2006 | 10:21 PM
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We've talked about this here...but no real information. Theoretically it should make a significant difference if it is well insulated. That means more than just a light wrap. Unfortunately no one really knows.

On a similar matter, I am curious about actual dyno #'s for moving the air filter off of the turbo and using the STS relocation kit. My car feels significantly slower that way. I think that the 3" pleated hose that STS supplies induces too much restriction.

We need real info w/ these rear-mount systems. Also I am eagerly awaiting more info from Jose about possible improvements to the turbo itself.
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Old Apr 4, 2006 | 02:31 AM
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I thought you had to get rid of the cats w/an sts, or any turbo for that matter, are yours gutted?,

not sure if it would do anything but make your exhaust pipe britle over time, try some propane injection and a sparker after the cats, that should make it spool quick and put on a nice show...
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Old Apr 4, 2006 | 03:25 AM
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Originally Posted by Assassin
I thought you had to get rid of the cats w/an sts, or any turbo for that matter, are yours gutted?,

not sure if it would do anything but make your exhaust pipe britle over time, try some propane injection and a sparker after the cats, that should make it spool quick and put on a nice show...
I'm running the bullet cats that come with the DynaTech SuperMaXX headers in conjunction with my STS. Don't know if I'm screwing myself by doing this, but the turbo seems to work....and no SES codes. Even running the rear O2's with them.
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Old Apr 4, 2006 | 10:28 AM
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Originally Posted by Schantin
I'm running the bullet cats that come with the DynaTech SuperMaXX headers in conjunction with my STS. Don't know if I'm screwing myself by doing this, but the turbo seems to work....and no SES codes. Even running the rear O2's with them.
From what I understand is yes you can run a sts with cats. But you have to be really careful on the tune and check the condition of your cats, Befor you mount the system. The reason is if you had a ls1 with x amount of miles and you had mods like cam ond so on and ran cats, the stock cats or some aftermarkets was not made to handel the heat and pressure. I notice that my cats where worn when i took them off. I had a ASA cam install And tuned but i had cats on my car untill about a month later i got the hookers on and my cats where flaking and this was on a o2 with less than 30k miles
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Old Apr 4, 2006 | 07:09 PM
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Originally Posted by mcx
i want to wrap my pipes from the cat to the rear turbo...anyone know if building up the wrap makes it work any better than a 50$ overlap???thx,mike.
I'm using it on my rear turbo and it does help spool it up faster.
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Old Apr 4, 2006 | 07:54 PM
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Make sure you wrap from rear-to-front, so the leading edge of the wrap is underneath. That way the wind doesn't catch it and pull all the time you drive. Lasts a lot longer that way.

Since you're looking for more insulation - I put ceramic batting with an aluminum backing under my exhaust system wrap:



And then the wrap:



Works great if you get the heavy duty stuff. I think mine's from Longacre Racing. The masking tape just crisps up and doesn't hurt anything.

Jim
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Old Apr 4, 2006 | 09:05 PM
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DeltaT, where did you get the ceramic batting with aluminum backing?
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Old Apr 5, 2006 | 08:02 PM
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Now we're talking! DeltaT, that is what I've been pondering...yours is the first I've seen done with enough insulation to matter. As I have posted before, if we could completely eliminate "delta-T" [temperature drop for the non-engineering types] from the cats to the turbine, the performance would be much closer to that of a front mount turbo.

I would also like to know specifics about the insulation products that you have used. Name, thickness, etc. I've looked around online and have seen some good stuff out there. It looks like 1/2" would really work well, but I am still speculating! Also, are you using a turbo blanket or wrap?

How hot is the exhaust coming out of the cat, anyway?

Last edited by MTBDOC; Apr 5, 2006 at 08:10 PM.
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Old Apr 5, 2006 | 08:40 PM
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sorry to stick my nose in this post again but you guys seriously need to get rid of the cats if you want to consider wraping the pipes, the cats will break apart and jam up your turbo and wastegate moving parts...
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Old Apr 6, 2006 | 06:21 AM
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Originally Posted by Assassin
sorry to stick my nose in this post again but you guys seriously need to get rid of the cats if you want to consider wraping the pipes, the cats will break apart and jam up your turbo and wastegate moving parts...
How is wrap that is downstream from the cats going to contribute to the potential failure? I do understand the risk of failure, and have left mine simply because I don't want to deal w/ the increased noise inside the car. Please explain as I don't get it!
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Old Apr 6, 2006 | 06:34 AM
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weather you wrap the pipes or not, a cat pre turbo is a bad ideaw, it will break apart, and there's only one place for the parts to go, I've seen the insides of cats on non turbo cars break apart, I'd hate to see those peices fly into 60k+ rpm turbine blades, do what you will, I'm not trying to beat down on your system just give some advice, and also, no cats does not increase inside noise by alot as long as your exhaust pipe is going out the back of the car, I could hardly notice it on my camaro..
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Old Apr 6, 2006 | 09:21 AM
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ohhhhhh yes it does. the car is much louder without the cats. unbearable for me in fact. I know the risks but it's been almost a year so far and knock on wood no issues. I know I will be bummed if at some point a cat lets go and whacks the turbo but until then I will enjoy being able to hear
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Old Apr 6, 2006 | 05:08 PM
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I used this:



- Stops heat dead - to 2000º
- Super insulating ½" thick ceramic fiber with heavy gauge aluminum foil bonded to one side.
- Wrap around headers, insulate firewall, many other uses to help keep the driver cool.
- Cut to shape with strong scissors or shears.
- 48" x 18" x 1/2"

From: http://www.longacreracing.com/catalo...id=127&catid=4

The wrap is black Thermotec header wrap, put on snugly but without super-compressing the batting. I have no cats. I also have no turbo but thought my pix might still be useful. I wrapped for noise reduction mostly. I also wrapped the Flowmasters with the same batting and header wrap, to reduce the Flowmaster 'ring' that I don't like. Any performance increase is a plus.

If I were doing a rear mount turbo, I would go double layer of ceramic batting, then the wrap. Also a turbo blanket. I would not get ceramic coated headers so I could wrap them as well. Anything to keep the heat in the exhaust. Maybe some shielding to keep airflow down. I've seen estimates that show the heat as providing 60% of the turbo's driving power.

Jim
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Old Apr 6, 2006 | 10:19 PM
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I painted it w/ 2000* paint. Keeps it from absorbing any moisture/fluids... feels like a freakin cast.




Arnel
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Old Apr 6, 2006 | 11:39 PM
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I agree with paint on the header wrap on the actual headers, but the section of the dual exhaust that I had wrapped and painted on my earlier 2.5" setup rusted only where it wasn't painted. My theory is that the header area gets hot enough to boil off any trapped moisture, but farther down the exhaust it can stay cool enough to keep water around longer and rust. Note that moisture is why I put all the ceramic batting on with the seam pointed down.

Arnel, looks like a good job on the wrap - very careful and clean.

Jim
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Old Apr 7, 2006 | 01:17 AM
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Thanks man... I'll be picking up that longacre stuff. That should work nicely on the hood if they come in larger pieces.


Arnel
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Old Apr 7, 2006 | 01:26 PM
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DELTA T...thats just what i was looking for!!!i was wondering when you car is fully warmed up ,can you put your bare hand on your wrapped pipes???does that wrap stop the majority of heat transfer??thx,mike.
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Old Apr 7, 2006 | 06:38 PM
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I will try next time I have it fired up, which will be around the 25th. I am waiting for a new damn CSR starter snout - mine broke under 5K miles - and it's not supposed to ship until the 24th.

I suspect you can touch it but not hold it long, but I'm not sure.

FYI - Do not let anyone tell you the yellow fiberglass batting with the thinner aluminum backing will do the job. I tried it before and the aluminum vaporized and the batting collapsed and left the wrap limp and flapping around. That ceramic stuff is the only product I've found that holds up under the wrap.

Jim
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