To Coat or not to Coat........
Thread Starter
TECH Regular
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 434
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From: Lubbock
To Coat or not to Coat........ Are ceramic coated headers REALLY worth it? From what I gather they are for looks, lower engine compartment temperatures and supposedly higher/smoother exhaust velocities. But are they worth the extra $$$?
Re: To Coat or not to Coat........ I want to add to the questions and find out if the coating lowers the temperature under the hood significantly enough for more power out of supercharger or highly tuned NA motor.
Re: To Coat or not to Coat........ I'm cheap and didn't get my Hooker LT's coated. Tested the temps on the headers one day (95 deg outside) and they were over 500 degrees. Since I have a sealed ram air setup I don't think the underhood temps are really too important. Nothing under the hood has melted or anything even though I'm sure it is hotter under there now. Having a hot engine compartment just isn't as big of a deal since my car is drawing in only cool outside air. I'm happy I saved the few hundred dollars.
TECH Junkie
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 3,987
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From: Melbourne, FL
Re: To Coat or not to Coat........ The coating is really nice. I don't know if I buy all the hoopla about lower temps and all, but a good quality coating will ensure a much longer life for the headers, as well as the better appearance.
When my car caught on fire, one of the headers was coated in burning engine oil and looked really bad. It cleaned up rather nicely and now looks almost as good as new with little effort.
It's worth the extra $$$ to me.
When my car caught on fire, one of the headers was coated in burning engine oil and looked really bad. It cleaned up rather nicely and now looks almost as good as new with little effort.
It's worth the extra $$$ to me.
TECH Fanatic
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 1,979
Likes: 3
From: Upstate NY
Re: To Coat or not to Coat........ Ceramic coating like Jet Hot, etc. on carbon steel (non-stainless steel) headers extends the life many times.
.050 or .065 or even .083 inch thick tubing used in headers corrodes, rusts, etc. very quickly from the inside when subjected to the temps and moisture of combustion. Remember one of the products of combustion is water. There is a reason OEM "headers" or tubular exhaust manifolds are stainless steel...and it's not to make them look pretty.
IF the coating does hold in the heat, that probably helps keep up the flow velocity in the primary pipes which might help exhaust tuning/scavenging. I think that might be worth more than the lower underhood temps.
IMO, nothing looks much worse than a rusty, cruddy set of headers on a pretty engine. I also don't want to replace them regularly due to rust out.
.050 or .065 or even .083 inch thick tubing used in headers corrodes, rusts, etc. very quickly from the inside when subjected to the temps and moisture of combustion. Remember one of the products of combustion is water. There is a reason OEM "headers" or tubular exhaust manifolds are stainless steel...and it's not to make them look pretty.
IF the coating does hold in the heat, that probably helps keep up the flow velocity in the primary pipes which might help exhaust tuning/scavenging. I think that might be worth more than the lower underhood temps.
IMO, nothing looks much worse than a rusty, cruddy set of headers on a pretty engine. I also don't want to replace them regularly due to rust out.
Thread Starter
TECH Regular
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 434
Likes: 0
From: Lubbock
Re: To Coat or not to Coat........ "I'm happy I saved the few hundred dollars."
-FAST LS1
"It's worth the extra $$$ to me."
-GeorgeC
WOW... I thought this was gonna be an easy decision! Anyone else care to add their $.02???
-FAST LS1
"It's worth the extra $$$ to me."
-GeorgeC
WOW... I thought this was gonna be an easy decision! Anyone else care to add their $.02???
TECH Veteran
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 4,117
Likes: 0
From: Ft. Lauderdale, FL, USA
Re: To Coat or not to Coat........ If better exhaust flow and lower engine bay temps are important to you, its worth it. My 1 7/8" Grot LT's are being made this week. Nick Agostino and Mike Norris both said the coating should definitly be done. Its cheap.
And more heat in the bay does effect performance, tiny bit, but it does. Heat soaking hurts everything.
And more heat in the bay does effect performance, tiny bit, but it does. Heat soaking hurts everything.
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Re: To Coat or not to Coat........ Some people are going to tell you it's a must. I wanted the best bang for the buck, and didn't really care about looks. I don't think I'll have this car for another 20 years so I'm not worried about the headers rusting out either. I had uncoated Headman LT's on my big block chevelle for 3 years and they only had thin surface rust <img border="0" title="" alt="[Roll Eyes]" src="images/icons/rolleyes.gif" />
Mainly comes down to if you want pretty headers and have the extra money to coat them and not feel like you wasted money. Theoretically the coated headers should outperform the uncoated, but the difference is so small it's not even measurable <img border="0" title="" alt="[Confused]" src="images/icons/confused.gif" />
Mainly comes down to if you want pretty headers and have the extra money to coat them and not feel like you wasted money. Theoretically the coated headers should outperform the uncoated, but the difference is so small it's not even measurable <img border="0" title="" alt="[Confused]" src="images/icons/confused.gif" />
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