what do you think about heat wrap on headers?
Thread Starter
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 2,803
Likes: 1
From: Seminole County, Florida
what do you think about heat wrap on headers? what do you think about heat wrap on longtube headers. im talking about that cloth looking tape wrap that people use on turbo kits to protect the engine bay from heat. i think it would help carry the heat through the exhaust and keep the engine bay cooler, protect the life of the steering and other **** thats close to the exhaust.
please dont comment on how it would look i dont give a ****, i honestly think it would look cool
please dont comment on how it would look i dont give a ****, i honestly think it would look cool
Thread Starter
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 2,803
Likes: 1
From: Seminole County, Florida
Originally Posted by LETHL_SS
You can do it if you want but its generally not a good idea. The wrapping traps moisture and corrodes the headers at a quicker rate.
Thread Starter
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 2,803
Likes: 1
From: Seminole County, Florida
Originally Posted by Full-Force
looks like crap, oh forgot, sorry
start over, voids warranty on headers, cost money, and i doubt will make a noticable difference, just one loosers opinion anyway
start over, voids warranty on headers, cost money, and i doubt will make a noticable difference, just one loosers opinion anyway
yeah i didnt think about header warranties, (im niave i didnt realize that they come with warranties)
The wrap does make it considerably cooler under the hood. I put some on the Hooker headers I had in my '70 C10. Before the wrap, it was pretty damn hot under there. After, the air under the hood felt just as cool as the air outside the truck. But they cause rapid corrosion, and if you get any oil on the wrap, you have a fire on your hands. Trust me on that one. Not sure how it'd work on coated headers, I assume it'd be longer before they started to rust.
Well; I've had my headers rapped for over two years now with no problems at all ,The reason for rapping was after i put the long tubs on ,it put the o2's way down stream and the motor run like ****, when i hook my laptop up and seen the motor was running very very extremely rich, The headers was cooling down to soon ,before the o2's could make it reading and making the car run rich -25 LTFT after rapping the headers the LTFT's went back to -3 LTFT's and staid there. remember (LEAN is HOT and RICH is COOL) so rapping the long tubs sent heat farther downstream and only rapped 2/3 of the way down the tubs. And how can the fiber rap hold moister when there around 700*to 900*deg. The rap that i have is DEI it has a rison in it that melt and glues it to gether and is hard as a rock cant see how water can even get in there.
Trending Topics
TECH Addict
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 2,003
Likes: 0
From: Live Oak, FL - in the woods where the creatures lurk.
Some very good points made here.
-If- the wrap is good enough to exclude
moisture, what would be the downside
(excluding looks-I'm in the WGAF category).
Then the heat being transmitted to the
collectors would be greater, no?
Wouldn't that help the exhaust scavenging
process along, adding more velocity?
Also , wouldn't the O2 sensors -and A/F ratio-
benefit from a quicker warm up time?
...enquiring minds want to know.
-If- the wrap is good enough to exclude
moisture, what would be the downside
(excluding looks-I'm in the WGAF category).
Then the heat being transmitted to the
collectors would be greater, no?
Wouldn't that help the exhaust scavenging
process along, adding more velocity?
Also , wouldn't the O2 sensors -and A/F ratio-
benefit from a quicker warm up time?
...enquiring minds want to know.
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
TECH Apprentice
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 310
Likes: 0
From: Texas
Originally Posted by MadBill
Moisture is an issue in some cases, but another big problem is that the insulation causes the pipe to run much hotter, and a mild steel system can't take the temperature for long.
Last edited by SSmoky01; Jan 7, 2006 at 08:53 PM. Reason: spelling
The header wrap functions the same as a ceramic coat, keeping heat in the exhaust and the velocity up. The ceramic coat protects the steering and anything else you would want to keep cool under the hood, without the negative effects on the header pipes if they are coated inside and out.
Yes, it has been proven to crystalize or fatigue the steel. I have personally seen a set of headers that had not only crackes but dime size holes in the bend erea just before the collectors on both sides from the wrap.
there were several articles on this problem in different mags right after the wrap became popular.
there were several articles on this problem in different mags right after the wrap became popular.
My header look perfect and has no cracks in the or leaks , as for the mild steel cracking about the only way i would crack would be a drastic change in temp. Most header that crack has rusted out from the inside from moisture in the exhaust and the wall get to thin to support the stress, Mild steel is a soft metal that expand & retracts under heat real well now stainless steel can crack and cast iron manifold will crack under extreme heat.I work in a metal fab shop for over 25 years and work with all thickness of metals and tubing and grades of steel and do a lot of stress relief on welds cast iron is the worst and then stainless and the least is A36 mild steel , Most headers that crack a low grade tubing that has a seam ,the tub will split in the weld that runs horizontal with the tubing ,The better grade tubing like seamless tubing is the best but will rust out from the in side.
Teching In
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 19
Likes: 0
i run the wrap around the entire exhaust system on my buggy. besides the moisture condition (which has been touched upon) it drastically reduces temps. in between events i can get in there and touch the headers (accidentally bumping them) while changing something or tuning without any complaint. as for the oil, i had a situation where oil got on the exhaust (and all over me) from a rollover due to a heat-fatigued breather that had lost its seal. oil got everywhere. it just burned off the wrap the same as when oil drips on a bare tube - just smells funnier. makes me think there was something screwy with the wrap a previous poster talked about causing a fire.
jeremy
jeremy
Originally Posted by j-dubya
makes me think there was something screwy with the wrap a previous poster talked about causing a fire.
jeremy
jeremy
Teching In
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 19
Likes: 0
Originally Posted by LS69TA
Nothing "screwy" with the Thermo-Tec header wrap I was using. I had a tranny line that got loose and covered the pass. side lower portion of the header. It would catch fire every time the motor got hot. I ended up taking the header off and removing the wrap after a couple of fires.
hmmm...i dont know. i use the thermo-tec stuff too. just about every fluid has come in contact with my wrap, and it has all just burned off. i have always wondered and was concerned with it creating a fire, but the first time it got a lot of oil on it and just burned off. still puzzles me now with your experience.
I had wrapped my headers on my daily driver 75 lemans, after about two years I had several dime sized holes rusted through. It was the DEI wrap but it didn't have any resin in it. That wrap sent lots of dust into my lungs and eyes when working around it. When I changed the oil, oil dripped all over the wrap and it would smoke for awhile. I wouldn't recommend using wrap unless it will never see rain. Some spots the wrap tore and shreded during installation and over time it looked really bad. It made the install a little harder too because of the increased size. I took my time and wrapped it real tight, used many clamps, but I felt it was a waste of time and money.
Buy stainless.
Buy stainless.