Exhaust Header Wrapping

[geezer]

Nothing to report here yet Mitchell, I haven't run the engine yet since having the header and intake manifold ceramic coated. For me this was not an inexpensive cosmetic only thing either. The header is almost 40 years old and I am interested in preserving it as well as hopefully benefiting from the results of the ceramic coating. I had the header coated inside & out and the intake outside only. I will follow through with my findings and post them here eventually.

[zKars]

I believe there is one aspect of this topic that has not been covered. I have had a ceramic coated header for a number of years, but its not the heat that's been bothering me. Its the noise!!

In my quest to quiet the car (more specifically the engine bay) but not the performance, I finally decided to try header wrap. Well wouldn't you know, it helps considerably, a reduction of at least 50% was instantly apparent. Not as good as a cast iron manifold, but getting close. Now the glorius noise of the triples is no longer drowned out. The properly restrained yet loud and clear notes of joy are mostly heard by those following me in my dust and I get just the backdrop of glorious stroker induced rumble seeping into my overall experience in the cabin.

Clearly having a properly coated or painted header is highly recommended before the wrap to reduce on-going corrosion issues.

About the only problems I've had after about 18 months with it is with making the mistake of wrapping too far under the car. When I rub high spots or bump strips etc the wrap gets ripped. I've even abandoned the classic and outdated 3 bolt header flange for a band clamp style connection that does not remove ground clearance and eases the system removal.

Just my experience, yours may vary. Happy Motoring!

[Jehannum]

I have the headers on my '67 GTO wrapped, and have for years with no ill effects. I also wrapped the header on my '71 a few weeks ago. The key is in prep. I knocked all the rust down with emery cloth, and coated the header with the duplicolor ceramic paint, and then wrapped everything.

The final step after securing the wrap everywhere is to soak it down in silicone spray. The stuff I used came with the kit (DEI, ordered from summit).

I'm not going for any serious performance enhancements (call me a ricer, if you will), just for the heat control, as it's pretty warm around here in the summer.

Plus, it looks pretty cool.

[beandip]

I have no further info to add. I haven't repainted my headers and it has been 7+ years and still look the same as when I last posted.

If you want an opinion ..... The header wrap looks like crap in my estimation. It has been used on Motor Cycles for years also and they looked bad too. Why detail a engine and engine bay and then wrap ''rags'' all over the headers?

Gary