Just got my motor back from engine builder and thought it might be a good idea to wrap the headers while I've got it all apart. I bought a kit from DEI that includes the silicone spray that goes on before wrapping and after to seal the wrap. Then I start reading how wrapping the headers will cause the pipes to rust or crack. I've seen dozens of pictures on this site where people wrapped the headers, so I'm a little confused why so many people still do it if it rust and cracks the headers.

The headers are mild steel that were ceramic coated and still look okay. Crossover, downpipe and exhaust system have all been redone over the past 9 years in stainless and I wasn't planning to wrap any of the stainless parts. These mild steel headers have been on the car since 2005 and the only issues I've ever had was melting stuff under the hood that got too close. I've insulated everything and don't really have that problem now, and the main reason I want to wrap the pipes is to reduce under hood heat in hopes that it will run a little cooler in the summer. BTW, this car doesn't go out of the garage unless the weather is clear and dry and only gets driven about 1000 miles a year.

Looking for input from people who have wrapped headers and what their experiences were, good or bad.

Thanks, David

 

I use the vht flame proof and cook it on per the instructions on back of the can. It works a lot better than the dei silicone spray which I use to coat the header wrap because it doesn't have to be cooked on. Grill paint flakes off. I also double warp all the pipes and the cross-over now is routed around the back of the motor. The heat in the engine bay is now near non existent. As for rusting out I'm not worried about it, I'll just rebuild it when that happens. My down pipe/exhaust was 5+ years old and it was still good when I took it off this past time.

 

I have a set of headers that I did in 1991 and they are still usable . I usually dip the DEI ( I like the black wrap) in water before wrapping my headers so that it will stretch and be more pliable when I wrap them. After installing the wrap I fire the engine up and dry the wrap , it will tighten up just like leather does and stay where you put it . After they finish drying I remove the headers and paint them with VHT or Grill paint, they look good and hold up well. Mike

 

High temp coated and wrapped.


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Nice job, looks great !

 

Anyone else wrap their hot side ?

David

 

Mine is like Jeremy's.. just not as pretty

 

I wrapped my stainless exhaust and used the Dei spray more not to have the wrapp soaked with oil if anything happens.
Becouse of my midmount turbo under the truck the pipes could get soaked with oil leaking from some places.

 

Wrapped and no problems, hides my shitty welds

 

The wraps defiantely decrease the ehat but thetal becomes brittle with age

 

I high heat painted and wrapped then sealed with the dei silicone spray. Just to help keep the under hood heat down. Seems to work pretty well. I am thinking about redoing my hot and cold side and making mine a front / center mount setup winter so it'll have to come out anyway.

 

High temp header paint and the lava wrap like Jeremy has. Works great

 

I use heat coatings and wrap though not at the same time. I probably will at some point though. I coated my turbine housing, downpipe, and intake pipe in a thermal barrier. I coated my intake, intercooler pipes, compressor housing, and intercooler in a thermal dispersant that pulls heat out of the pipe/intake/intercooler. It costs me almost $1200 for it all but 1) It looks really nice and 2) on a 300hp car it gained 30hp. There isn't ANY heat in the engine bay anymore. Phenomenal. I like the idea of putting wrap on the exhaust with the coating and will likely do it at some point as well as putting a blanket over my turbine housing. Blankets/wrap will cause problems over time but I think it's worth it. It obviously holds a tremendous amount of heat in the metal and the engine. The couple things I do to make sure everything is taken care of is circulate some oil and coolant after engine shut down so some of the heat is removed from critical places.

 

I using DE I titanium wrap and so far it's working out pretty good. I didn't need to pre soak or coat with any spray, and it went on super easy. Personally I will never use anything but the titanium wrap it is really worth the extra expense.

 

The coating is only ment for the wrapp not to soak with oil if there might be a leak somewhere, or water during rain or colecting moisture during cool down wich might speed up the rust proces.