wrapping a header

[pro5utah]

Got a question for yall...I have got the wagner shorty and i love it but I have noticed that my engine bay is now way way hot....in fact i am starting to notice marks on the hood liner (above the header) from the heat.
now I know that the best way to remedy this is to have it jet hot coated but there are 2 problems...
1. i don't have the cash to do it
2. i don't have the manifold to switch back on while i would send the header to jet hot to be coated.
so basically i am trying to come up with an idea on how to lower temps in my engine bay... well that brings us to the whole idea of warpping the header with heat wrap (DEI or Moroso) to keep the heat in.. From what I have read it seems to work but i have read a couple things saying that this will ultimately cause the header to fail due to the amount of heat that will build up due to the fact that the air cannot circulate around the material and cool it at all...i have the stainless steel header so i know it will be better with heat but is this argument against wrapping a header vaild? any help would be appreciated.
thanks-

 

[Installshield 2]

Yeah you did some good research...generally, an SS header is more than up to the task of dealing with being wrapped...so long as the welds are of good quality, and the SS used was of good quality...

The argument you mentioned in general applies to mild steel headers (which are usually coated with either a chroming agent, Nickel, etc...to "look" like SS, and protect from corrosion)...Mild steel is not strong enough to wishstand the extreme heat cycling, especially when wrapped...So most declare that wrapping a mild steel header should be avoided for the most part...

Anyway...The wagner short seems to be a pretty well hand-made piece...I would wrap if you are worried about the heat, you definately do not want a blistered hood from it...If it would happen to fail, I would bet it would have failed anyway within a few weeks...So as long as you can see no problems with any weld points (no large broken blisters, or weak points etc...)...you will be perfectly fine...

 

[twilightprotege]

why not take the free option and remove all of the weather rubber strips from the front and rear of the hood? if you still have a problem, then look at other options

 

[FunkyBuddha]

why not take the free option and remove all of the weather rubber strips from the front and rear of the hood? if you still have a problem, then look at other options

this is what I did with my stock hood. I removed the weather stripping nearest the windshield and it helped actually. the engine bay still gets hot..but there's more air flow and less stagnant hot air. Now that I have a carbon hood..there's no weather stripping at all and I moved my intake up near the headlight

 

[manofmacg3]

That is odd. I have the wagner header too and haven't had any problems like that, yet. I also have the downpipe and mid with high flow cats too, which may be helping to disapate the extra heat.
Guess i'd better start keeping an eye on mine.

 

[rednecks_r_us]

Jet hot usually only takes a week to coat your header. But being in Utah you have to figure in shipping. I dropped my header off at jet hot in Phoenix, AZ on a Monday and picked it up on the following Monday.

My underhood temps are so cool with the jet hot coating. I have less heat than I did stock. The jet hot ceramic coating is applied both inside and outside of the tubing.

Well if you can't be with out the car for a week to two weeks to get it jet hot coated then maybe you could find a way to reuse your old heat shield or even fabricate a new heat shield.

 

[pro5utah]

thanks for the info install....i figured it would be limited in problems to mild steel headers....i really want to get it coated but it just wont happen...
manofmac...i talked to wagner and they said that they had never had anyone with this problem before...go figure why. he asked if i was running lean as this would raise EGTs but i am nearly bone stock as you can tell by my sig. he said there have never been any complaints so i wouldn't worry too much...i guess i just have bad luck...

 

[peepsalot]

This might sound crazy, but what do you guys think about jet-hot'ing and wrapping a header/manifold? It could theoretically increase efficiency more, right?

 

[twilightprotege]

in theory yes, when you're after that last drop.

personally i dont like wrapping. looks crap too.

 

[pro5utah]

in theory yes, when you're after that last drop.

personally i dont like wrapping. looks crap too.

ahh yes it does...but which is worse? a purpled ugly burned in form of stainless or a wrapped header?

 

[twilightprotege]

i far prefer the burned stainless

 

[Dimitrios]

i far prefer the burned stainless

Ditto...

 

[MP3Architect]

how much does it cost to jet coat it?

 

[FunkyBuddha]

Get it ceramic coated. Jet Hot isn't the only option out there. I ceramic coated my Ractive header and my engine bay cools down faster and stays cooler.

 

[xelderx]

Here is the wrap on my header. It doesn't look bad if you take your time with it.

 

[MP3Architect]

Get it ceramic coated. Jet Hot isn't the only option out there. I ceramic coated my Ractive header and my engine bay cools down faster and stays cooler.

how much?

 

[FunkyBuddha]

I paid 150CDN to have it coated inside out. Been using the header for over 6 months now and the finish is still pretty good on it.

 

[scorch70]

how much?

I think I paid ~180 plus shipping to have mine jet-hot coated. Cant say if it is worth it or not, but the engine bay does seem to be cooler after running hard.

 

[rednecks_r_us]

how much does it cost to jet coat it?

I forget what I paid for it. Send them an email and request a quote. I didn't have shipping on mine because I dropped it off and picked it up at the factory.

Jet hot also cools off the engine compartment quickly too. If you are unsure on jet hot, start watching professional drag cars and you'll see quite a few jet hot coated cars out there.

But summit and jeggs sell some nice looking header wraps too.

Reguardless if you get the jet hot or a generic coating it is still better than the wrap. The ceramic coating coats both the inside & out side of the header where the wrap is only on the outside.

 

[J dragon]

this is what I did with my stock hood. I removed the weather stripping nearest the windshield and it helped actually

Can we have a how-to please?