Stainless vs. Coated LT's
 

I was just wondering what you guys think about the whole Stainless vs Coated header thing. I plan on investing in a set of headers soon and am wondering if there is a major difference or if the cash involved in getting stainless of coated would be better spent somwhere else? Thanks in advance.

Just go with the ceramic becuase they are cheaper, the stainless will last longer but its not really worth it because who knows where you will be with the car 10-15 years downt he road.

EVEN IF my headers were stainless, I would want them ceramic coated. The coating will protect the metal from the heat, hold the heat in the primary (faster exhaust gas and less underhood heat), and looks better.

With that said, then whats the point of having stainless if you are just going to have them JetHot coated anyways. :)

IMO STAINLESS is the way to go.....you'll end up like me..

i bought a set of ceramic coated headers,,,, in about 8 months without seen the winter they are rusted badly..

i am going to get them recoated, sell them and get a set of QTP's Stainless, they have a very high quality header, with a high speed merge collectors, which yields more power..

if i knew better i would have gotten them before instead of the ceramic...

Stainless + ceramic coated is the way I would do it if possible. This will ensure long header life in addition to keeping exhaust heat in the headers where it belongs. If I had to choose, I would do mild steel with ceramic coating over uncoated stainless.

Stainless doesn't need to be coated. Stainless will retain the heat much better than the metal ones to begin with.

Really? So stainless steel isn't metal then?

Yes, really.... Different metals have different properties. Stainless Steel holds the heat better than mild steel. You would have to wrap the headers with header wrap or get them coated to hold the heat in. Here is something I read when I made my decision to buy Stainless Headers.

A very popular question concerning the use of Stainless steel over Mild steel in a Competition Header application constantly arises in the industry. Stainless Steel is a better choice when Header lifespan, updates, and quality are an important consideration. A Stainless Steel Competition Header, when properly built, will virtually last you a lifetime.

A Mild Steel Header in a Competition application will soon take its toll from the elements of high exhaust temperature and rust. Performance Welding has tried many Exhaust Coating manufacturers and have found none that will withstand the extreme temperature of a competition engine. On the inside of the primary tubes and at the throat of the Merged Collector, the thermal barrier coating simply cannot withstand the high temperature and after a very short period, the coating burns off and rust begins to generate.
This rust can be disastrous to any engine and can ruin many components.

On initial overlap, there is an inevitable reversion pulse that can send exhaust back up the intake tract. If the rust loosens in the header primary tube it can, and sometimes, will carry some of this abrasive material into your cylinder.

It is highly advisable after leaving Mild Steel Competition Headers over a period of time to take any precautions to remove the rust build up; on initial engine start up this rust can be disastrous.

Stainless Steel Headers have many benefits outweighing the initial cost increase. Due to the fact that they do not need a Thermal Barrier coating you save a few hundred dollars on the initial cost. Stainless Steel Headers can be repaired, or modified at any time in their lifespan due to the simple fact that they do not rust and do not need a Thermal coating. Mild Steel Headers are very tough to repair or modify due to Thermal Coatings and rust.

It is believed that due to Stainless Steel Thermal characteristics, the high exhaust temperature is retained inside the primary tubes and can increase the exhaust speed in the header, which in a Competition Racing Header sometimes is an important goal. Due to the simple fact that there is no rust generated, the inside of each primary tube will stay smooth and flow accordingly.


Performance Welding Racing Headers feel strongly about the use of Stainless Steel in your Competition Header application. If you have a Race vehicle that you truly wish your Competition header to last a lifetime, or if we have a proven Competition Header for your engines combination, or you simply like the benefits of Stainless Steel we highly recommend it in any Competition Header application.

Stainless steel does have a lower thermal conductivity than mild steel. However the combination of mild steel and ceramic coating or (and even better) stainless steel and ceramic coating will have a much lower thermal conductivity than just stainless steel alone.

I have yet to find any published k values for commercially available ceramic coated headers but I wouldn't be surprised to see a quality ceramic coating have only 10-20% of the thermal conductivity of stainless alone.