i just ordered some strup headers for my z and figured it would be
wise to heat wrap the new ones and possibly heat wrap my fast intentions
high flow cats while there. there is a lot of heat under my hood on track
days and i'm sure it can only be a benefit. i have more heat in my floorboards
since installing the hfcs because they have no heat shields compared to
oems. i read that the heat wrap is resistant up to 2000 degrees so i should
be fine... but i would like to hear what the rest of you guys think

 

yes....heat wrap works AWESOME!

 

did you notice a big temp difference- i was wondering if it would help
with heat soak-as i sit in the staging lanes at the drap strip it heats up
a lot so i have to push it up until it is my turn otherwise my times go up
usually a 1/10 or 2

 

Yeah, either header wrap or header coating will reduce underhood temps and promote higher exhaust velocities...

 

Be careful, as uneven insulation can lead to hot spots which fatigues the material.

You want a nice uniform coverage of the insulation, and I believe the wrap manufacturers recommend no more than 1/4" overlap on the wrapping.

 

+1...u could always do ceramic coatings also....

 

yep... ceramic coatings will be very uniform but are also more expensive.

the choice is yours...

 

ceramic coating is pretty pricey most of the time, but a good option, they could be colored whatever you want this way too...

 

my buddy ceramic coated his headers gloss black on his Turbo'd GMC Syclone, the temperature difference was very noticeable.

 

swain tech is a good coating they use it for the space shuttle not pricey. www.swaintech.com

 

swain tech seems to just be a company that does ceramic and other types of coating... unless he is located in New York, like the business, seems pointless.

 

JetHot is another good coating... About $290+ shipping for a set of VQ headers. 7 business day turnaround.

 

Yea, it works so well that it cannot dissapate the heat when it needs to, thus promoting fatigue and likely causing them to break. Most header companies will void their warranty if you wrap them, but not if you use coatings. Wonder why?

A lot of old skool nascar teams used to wrap their headers, but they changed them out every race, and not only that, but they now use coatings. Wonder why?

Sure, go ahead and argue that heat wrap is awesome and effective, but it's not worth the risk imo. Coatings like jet-hot are much more effective, without the associated risks, just a bit more money.

I'd rather have my headers bare, then wrapped. My .002

Taken from 350z.tech.wiki

"I have heard this question tossed around a few sports car enthusiast websites and decided to do a bit of research on the issue. This deals with the use of heat wrap around the headers vs. having them coated.

Facts: - Heat wrap is used to keep the heat inside of the header and improve scavenging of exhaust gasses. This helps to keep the heat inside of the header and allow for an even, high rate of exhaust gasses.

- Manufacturers of headers will not warranty their products (to include factory warranty) if the header itself is wrapped.

- Header wrap will damage the header beyond repair, no matter what material it is made of.

- When running a lean mixture, you "may" see minimal, if any gains at all. If you are running rich, you will not gain anything at all.

- And most importantly, if you do not mind replacing your headers and gaskets on a regular basis, and love the look of headers wrapped with tape (ugh), then this mod is for you.

http://www.*********.com/zwiki/Heade...Header_coating

*********= 350ztech (with a "-" in the middle b/w 350z and tech)--this site blocks out that phrase.

Background on header/exhaust wrap. The use of header wrap started on the race circuit, mostly NASCAR, to improve on power gains. After time they figured that changing the headers and that after each race was not cost productive for such a minimal gain, the practice was done away with. Now, they use chemically treated or eclectrical applied treated headers. These include Jethot, Airborn, and others.

Just imagine for the average street car owner/enthusiast, having to replace a set of $700 to $1200 headers each week. You would not have any money to do any other modifications that would be of more benefit.

Proper use of heat wrap would be to use this for protecting fuel and oil lines. Most cars have adequate firewalls to protect the driver from the engine heat so using that as an excuse for wrapping is incorrect.

Headers need to be surrounded by cool air to function properly. When you use wrap you basically are trapping the heat in, and temeratures can almost reach the melting point. You have seen videos of cars on a dyno. Notice how hot the headers get? I saw one where they glowed bright red. Imagine that wrapped up, what would happen to them. I read that some designers and engineers say that the material used for the headers are designed to withstand those high temperatures. This may be true. But when the header is not allowed to cool properly this leads to nothing but failure of the part. It is simple thermal isolation. The headers get the heat source from the engine. The heat on the outside of the header is basically trapped between the wrap and the header, causing a layer of extremem heat to have no where to go except back into the header material itself. Over time, this is amplified and can fatigue the header. Another thing to realize that is over time, header oxidize, losing some material in the process. This leads to lighter and weaker headers. When wrapped this basically speeds up the process.

What works. On a test track circuit with 10 laps using Jet Hot coated and uncoated headers, the Jet Coat headers actually lowered the temperature measured 1" from the header by over 450 degrees.

Jet Coat and other companies use a process which actually becomes part of the material of the header. Example. the header is allowed to cool normally because there is no thermal barrier trapping the heat in (header wrap) but the coating acts like the thermal wrap in that it helps to reduce the amount of heat into the engine bay. Wierd huh? Not really. Plus the corrosion of the headers are reduced, and because the heat is not stressing the metal they last longer. This process is permanent, meaning that it actually becomes part of the header itself.

In Closing, I have explained that manufacturers will not warranty headers if they have been wrapped. Just because a product performs the way it is advertised, it doesn't make it the right thing to do. This is the case with heat wrap. You would be best off protecting the fuel and oil lines with it instead. If you want a true thermal barrier that allows for normal cooling plus protection from heat, have your headers treated inside and out for the best quality protection. Just remember that this is a permanent process, and once done it cannot be undone. And be sure that having the headers coated should be the last thing you do to them, ater ensuring adequate it and any small modifications are done to them. This will save you money in the long run."

Bot don't listen to steve350z on the 350zwiki site or me, after all, according to some admin I'm a "Know it all"

 

here we go again m'am. Your statement is absolutely correct...BUT Difference is one (header wrap) will promote the fatigue of the header material while one will not (coating)...

But disagree with me all you want.

 

51,500 miles and no problems just as they come out of the box. Does this adversely effect performance?:

https://my350z.com/forum/drag/233840-top-25-1-4-mile-times-for-tt-st-supercharger-nitrous-bolt-ons-stock.html

You tell me?

 

I'd rather be a "know it all" than a dumb*ss and I'm actually neither.

It sucks that I add to this forum and as a result an admin thinks its funny to go into my profile and change my settings and call me a know it all.

Not only that, but the staff does not seem to mind or think it is a big deal. Well, it is a big to deal. It show a lack of maturity and isd isrespectful. I didn't contribute to this site and pay for a premier membership to be called names and have my default profile changed by an admin. That's not right. I would actually like my default name changed back to register user. But this has not happened. I would also like to know who it was that edited my profile and I believe that person should not do what he/she did.

Mod's/Admin's, please pm me about this. I don't want to cause a stink, but if if my account is going to be compromised by a renegade admin that thinks its funny to call me a name, then I'd appreciate a partial refund for my premier account and a direct apology.

 

Consider yourself one of the lucky few--you are in the minority my friend,

 

Thread derailed...

OP's question answered,

thread locked.