stainless headers or not
the type of material the headers are made of shouldnt have anything to do with the heat of the exhaust ceramic coated headers may run a lil cooler but i wouldnt bet on it being a huge difference. plug wires should be fine use some heat boots if youre that worried about em
Get granetelli wires wont matter what kind of header you have and if its even touching or what type of driving you do. Get stainless headers though not for heat purposes but for longevity. Nothing is more fun than doing the same part swap when you could have only done it once.
Trending Topics
LS1 Tech Stories
The Best V8 Stories One Small Block at Time
6 Common C5 Corvette Failures and What's Involved In Repairing Them
Pouria Savadkouei
Retro Modern Bandit Pontiac Trans AM Comes With Burt Reynolds' Autograph
Verdad Gallardo
Top 10 Greatest Cadillac V Series Performance Models Ever, Ranked
Pouria Savadkouei
Top 10 Most Powerful Chevy Trucks Ever Made!
Hennessey's New Supercharged Silverado ZR2 Has 700 HP
Verdad Gallardo
Coachbuilt N2A Anteros Is an LS2-Powered C6 Corvette In Italian Clothes
Verdad Gallardo
Awesome K5 Blazer Restomod Comes With C7 Corvette Power
Verdad Gallardo
10 Camaros You Should Never Buy
10 LS Engine Myths That Refuse to Die
Verdad Gallardo
the benefits you get from stainless, is basically not having to worry about them falling apart or rusting on you pretty much for the entire duration or however long that car is around....
the disadvantage is that you will have quite a bit more heat under the hood, which leads to higher IAT's and even some wear and tear on some parts... plug wires will wear out sooner from being baked at a higher temperature than they were designed for by being so close to the heat source with no shielding.
this is where coated headers come in...
slight power benefits by retaining the heat inside the header(not talking about much... usually 5HP ish) and the benefits of reduced heat under the hood because of the coating on the Headers.
if you are careful on install and dont scratch the coating up, you can get a long life out of them, again, probably longer than you will own the car... especially if you buy ones with a high end coating.
the disadvantage is that you will have quite a bit more heat under the hood, which leads to higher IAT's and even some wear and tear on some parts... plug wires will wear out sooner from being baked at a higher temperature than they were designed for by being so close to the heat source with no shielding.
this is where coated headers come in...
slight power benefits by retaining the heat inside the header(not talking about much... usually 5HP ish) and the benefits of reduced heat under the hood because of the coating on the Headers.
if you are careful on install and dont scratch the coating up, you can get a long life out of them, again, probably longer than you will own the car... especially if you buy ones with a high end coating.
If you don't drive it in the winter, then get a basic steel header with a nice coating on it (inside and out). That should work just fine and last a while.
And the extra heat and wear/tear due to uncoated stainless headers is not as dramatic as you would think. Your car is not going to melt due to a few extra degrees in the bay.
And the extra heat and wear/tear due to uncoated stainless headers is not as dramatic as you would think. Your car is not going to melt due to a few extra degrees in the bay.
If you don't drive it in the winter, then get a basic steel header with a nice coating on it (inside and out). That should work just fine and last a while.
And the extra heat and wear/tear due to uncoated stainless headers is not as dramatic as you would think. Your car is not going to melt due to a few extra degrees in the bay.
And the extra heat and wear/tear due to uncoated stainless headers is not as dramatic as you would think. Your car is not going to melt due to a few extra degrees in the bay.
I never said it would melt... Just causes extra wear and tear...
Even when broken in correctly the coating won't last forever. If you have $$ you can get the stainless ones coated, or wrap them, they're not going to rust. I learned my lesson, I will only purchase stainless headers. I have Hooker Super Comps coated and they turned to **** on year 2. Car never is driven in the rain and has never seen a winter ever, but it does sit ouside in the summer months. I plan on running mine till they have holes through them, then it is 1 7/8" stainless Hookers so I won't have to cut my exhaust up again. I plan on keeping my car till i'm dead so they should last me. I pruchased mine when I first got the car and didn't know any better, now I understand to spend the $$ once on a quality product then spend it twice to replace parts. Go stainless.
Remember, if the headers aren't prepped good before the coating, coating won't do much for long.
Remember, if the headers aren't prepped good before the coating, coating won't do much for long.
dont ever wrap a stainless header....
you will destroy it very quickly...
the extra heat will cause its chemical makeup to change, and it will become thin, weak, and brittle very quickly...
you will destroy it very quickly...
the extra heat will cause its chemical makeup to change, and it will become thin, weak, and brittle very quickly...
Seems there haven't been any problems with the thick gauge primary stainless headers that I have seen. There are a few pics and people floating around that will swear by it. I cannot remember what type of stainless though, Personally I would get them coated. Yes stainless does get brittle when subjected to a lot of heat. I do admit that I rarely, and I mean very rarely see anyone wrap stainless. A topic to be researched further, have always read mixed opinions. As for coating, JetHot look amazing on my bros car and have always had great reviews.
Last edited by BlackDuk98; Jan 4, 2013 at 03:09 PM.
had a coated steel header first. Coating didn't last and the welds started to let go. Switch to Kooks, nice header but the under hood temps were something you could feel when you lifted the hood, eventually had them coated at a reputable shop and they have been fine since.
Its a topic to never end really lol people have all different kinds of experiences with coated vs not coated steinless steel headers. Some are good some are bad. I have always preffered pure steinless steel headers 1 7/8s that is. It also depends on the application you will be using them in, I know couple of guys that run 1 3/4s for nitrous, others 1 7/8s for nitrous also.
