Header wrap

[JustMe]

Anyone has any experience with it?
How does it last and if it gets wet once in awhile , does it rust or is the heat enough to dry it?

Im getting headers for my car soon and thinking about lowering the temp under the hood and at the moment header wrap seems to be the most inexpencive ways of doing it but I want it to last also. If it wont last, then I have to coat it with something.

Any help appreciated.

 

[flat_black]

If you're getting headers, then yeah, that's a good idea for sure. =) Wrap 'em up. As far as rusting, they don't... Because they're not metal or anything. If you're speaking of the manifold underneath, they won't if you're getting a kit to wrap them... There's a spray silicon type stuff that you spray on them once they're wrapped. Here's a link to the spray:

http://www.optauto.com/webstore/pro...variation=&aitem=13&mitem=41&back=yes&dept=49

They also make 'aluminum' coloured spray. This prevents water from getting into the manifold, and extends the life of the header wrap. As a side not, don't expect the wrap to last forever. You'll need to do it again at some point, but it should last a good while. Not sure how long exacly. I hope that helps!

 

[Adam3482P]

I have header wrap on my downpipe seems to keep alot of heat out and work real well. If it gets wet it will just dry. I Think it will last for as long as you need.

 

[Dimitrios]

I'm not sure if the Mazda (any of them) are, but look into getting the header's ceramic coated, on the inside dia. and outside. Look into something like this:

http://www.hpcoatings.com/hipercoat.htm

The wrap is good, but only if you're up to replacing it every so often (it is great for engines/chassis that have the engine easily accessable - dragsters, etc.).

I would personally go that route; lasts a long time and won't peel off (despite claims of header wrap manufacturers).

 

[o.g.sk8er]

I installed Thermo-Tec header wrap this weekend. Before, when I opened the hood, there was a hugh gust of warm air. Now after the Thermo-Tec, I open the hood and notice the air is much cooler. My hood is also cooler to the touch. I can actually touch the header! Not very long though. lol Before if you touched the header, even for a second, you would burn the s#it out of yourself. Thermo-Tec claims more power, as well. Don't know about the more power part. If you install this wrap, don't panic when you see big puffs of smoke coming from under the hood. lol The first five minutes of driving will burn off the residue left on the wrap from factory. Scared the crap out of me at first, but it's o.k.

Patrick

 

[twistedrx7]

i have the thermal wrap on my rx7 (turbo mani, and exhaust housing and downpipe) all i have to say is wow what a difference in underhood heat and intake temp(the intake is about 3 inches away from the turbo setup)i would do this to every car i have turbo or N/A just for the sake of having cooler under hood temps. it has lasted over a year now but take note that the car might see about 1000-2000 miles a year on it so im not sure how long it will last a daily driver, but s*** its cheap so who cares if it dont last forever

the only reason i can see not to use it is if ur makin a show car cuz this s*** aint too pretty (2thumbs)

 

[Brian MP5T]

Re: Wraping

I uesd DEI 2" on a custom tubular style turbo header. Works great. I can almost rest my hand directly on the header when the car has run. It's even better if your are running a turbo as the turbo is spooled by the heat generated by the exaust flow. In my case due to the closeness to the radiator, I had no choice. Your concerned with it's durability and color changing, if it's stainless steel that you are wraping it should last a very long time with no color from rust ( ie. stainless ) there is an option silicon coating available, white silver black. It's a spray. Be warned, the wrap will void any waranty on your headers as it keeps all the heat in. 1600 deg plus is not uncommon. Enjoy The Cool Engine Compartement. Annother idea for everyone. If your ride is silly low, like slammed you may encounter a problem with cooling unless you have one of thoes giggy vented hoods. The air leaves down mostly. Header wrap could help a little with heat transfering to the block. Later/members/Brian MP5T/mazda mp5t - zoom zoom - (1).jpg

 

[Little Beavis]

o.g.sk8er and the others are dead on. . .I wrapped mine as well, smoked like hell at first but is pretty nice now, but not the best looking really (doesn't look bad though either), just not as fancy as a ceramic coating and I would say it works better than just a ceramic coating, but that's just me. I would recommend it.

I build boost faster than a lot of guys with the same kit, so I think it is working wonderful (I did a few other things too, but who knows).

 

[AlbinoMuntjac]

Be warned, the wrap will void any waranty on your headers as it keeps all the heat in. 1600 deg plus is not uncommon. Enjoy The Cool Engine Compartement.

In keeping all the heat in the header like your doing, your just shortening the life of it. Instead of the heat cycling through it (as it would if you left it unwrapped), the heat is now trapped and it will be that much more succeptable to thermal fatigue and eventually failure. Why not go with a coating like Jet-Hot www.jet-hot.com or HPC http://www.hpcoatings.com/hipercoat.htm??? Sure, it may cost a little bit more now, but you don't have to keep replacing it and comes with a warranty also (at least I know the Jet Hot does). Just a thought.

AlbinoMuntjac

Ron Tugnutt says,"My Monday sucked enough for it to spill over onto Tuesday."

 

[Brian MP5T]

Re: Header Wrap Stress

In keeping all the heat in the header like your doing, your just shortening the life of it. Instead of the heat cycling through it (as it would if you left it unwrapped), the heat is now trapped and it will be that much more succeptable to thermal fatigue and eventually failure. Why not go with a coating like Jet-Hot www.jet-hot.com or HPC http://www.hpcoatings.com/hipercoat.htm??? Sure, it may cost a little bit more now, but you don't have to keep replacing it and comes with a warranty also (at least I know the Jet Hot does). Just a thought.

AlbinoMuntjac

Thanks, I personaly am not concerned because I had a machinest make my manifold out of 1 7/8" Mandrel bent 304 stainless. It is as strong as I have ever seen. It comes out and all four bend towards the driver side where they merge in a two high two low collector. The turbo sits where the stock air box was with the intake side facing the stock battery location. The down pipe bends 90 down past the air conditioner condenser and out the back sans cat. 2 3/4" to a Apex-i N1. If it breaks due to stress I'll get it fixed or replaced by the person who built it. It's a summer toy after all. I'll check out the link however.

 

[FrigginGLI]

Could this stuff work on the aluminum pipe for the air intakes so it would cool the temp down?

 

[Brian MP5T]

Re: Intakes

Could this stuff work on the aluminum pipe for the air intakes so it would cool the temp down?

Yeah, sure I guess. The stuff looks like hell. There is a specific thing for keeping things cool. This is designed to keep things hot contained. Later

 

[AlbinoMuntjac]

Re: Re: Header Wrap Stress

[B

Thanks, I personaly am not concerned because I had a machinest make my manifold out of 1 7/8" Mandrel bent 304 stainless. It is as strong as I have ever seen. It comes out and all four bend towards the driver side where they merge in a two high two low collector. The turbo sits where the stock air box was with the intake side facing the stock battery location. The down pipe bends 90 down past the air conditioner condenser and out the back sans cat. 2 3/4" to a Apex-i N1. If it breaks due to stress I'll get it fixed or replaced by the person who built it. It's a summer toy after all. I'll check out the link however. [/B]

That's cool. I was viewing it through my needs, which is a daily driver car. I just bought the 4-2-1 from AWR and it too is stainless. I just don't want my header turning to a baked potato with the wrap and me driving it everyday. That, and I HATE how stainless looks after about a month or so in an application like that: all blue and discolored and stuff. By the way, what did you use for a exhaust manifold gasket when you replaced the stock manifold with the header?? I like doing stuff right, meaning no reusing gaskets, but I can't seem to find one out there for the P5?? Thanks alot.

AlbinoMuntjac

Ron Tugnutt says,"Wow, I think I have let my lunch get cold whilst playing on the computer."

 

[Brian MP5T]

Re: Re: Re: Header Wrap Stress

[B

That's cool. I was viewing it through my needs, which is a daily driver car. I just bought the 4-2-1 from AWR and it too is stainless. I just don't want my header turning to a baked potato with the wrap and me driving it everyday. That, and I HATE how stainless looks after about a month or so in an application like that: all blue and discolored and stuff. By the way, what did you use for a exhaust manifold gasket when you replaced the stock manifold with the header?? I like doing stuff right, meaning no reusing gaskets, but I can't seem to find one out there for the P5?? Thanks alot.

AlbinoMuntjac

Ron Tugnutt says,"Wow, I think I have let my lunch get cold whilst playing on the computer."

The OEM gasket is like three pieces of copper or some other soft metal. I just ordered a new one from mazda. Given the backpressure that can be created by a turbine, I didn't want to take any chances. The stock one fit like a glove and hasn't caused any problems. I did also opt not to reuse the bolts. Later

Here is a pic of the manifold in the construction stage

 

[AlbinoMuntjac]

Thanks for the heads up on the gasket. Yeah, wasn't planning on reusing the bolts either. That's one nice looking header you got there. The machinist putting it together apparently does some really quality work. Thanks again.

AlbinoMuntjac

Ron Tugnutt says,"Still haven't eaten lunch....It's that much colder now."

 

[Brian MP5T]

Re: Header

Thanks for the heads up on the gasket. Yeah, wasn't planning on reusing the bolts either. That's one nice looking header you got there. The machinist putting it together apparently does some really quality work. Thanks again.

AlbinoMuntjac

Ron Tugnutt says,"Still haven't eaten lunch....It's that much colder now."

The Header is great, he took a really long time to build it...like a month. But it was worth the time. When you start to install a turbo on a car custom like I did, you really can't move the car until everything is done (as you know). He has let me work on the car during the evenings until usually 9:00 or even 11:00 while he did either other jobs or worked on my car too. He used to work on race cars and performance but when he got a family he started working on farming equipment. Anyone in Ontario needing manufactured parts from scratch let me know I'll pass you his number. Later

 

[Dimitrios]

Re: Re: Header Wrap Stress

In keeping all the heat in the header like your doing, your just shortening the life of it. Instead of the heat cycling through it (as it would if you left it unwrapped), the heat is now trapped and it will be that much more succeptable to thermal fatigue and eventually failure. Why not go with a coating like Jet-Hot www.jet-hot.com or HPC http://www.hpcoatings.com/hipercoat.htm??? Sure, it may cost a little bit more now, but you don't have to keep replacing it and comes with a warranty also (at least I know the Jet Hot does). Just a thought.

Exactly, get it ceramic coated and forget about the wrap.....well worth it in the end.

 

[Brian MP5T]

Re: Re: Re: Header Wrap Stress

Exactly, get it ceramic coated and forget about the wrap.....well worth it in the end.

Ceramic Looks Pretty, Holds the heat and Does not rust. It Rocks, just wasn't what I wanted. later

 

[haig]

Don't want to hijack thread, but a simlpe question for Brian MP5T...

Are those mirror tints on your car? Isn't that illegal in Ontario?

 

[Brian MP5T]

Re: The Mirror

Don't want to hijack thread, but a simlpe question for Brian MP5T...

Are those mirror tints on your car? Isn't that illegal in Ontario?

Yes, It's an industrial tint meant for buildings. It looks really great because it's individual and unless you are looking directly at a 90 deg, you can see in somewhat. In the evening you can't even tell it is tinted. Later