The SS headers are always more expensive, but I was under the impression that ceramic coated had better thermal qualities in that they retain more heat in the exhaust gas. This would not only maintain exhaust gas energy, but also help keep the heat from melting the rest of the engine bay. Is there any reason to get SS over ceramic coated?

 

i don't know. I think I read on this somewhere that the SS would be more resistant to rust, altho in dry parts of the country that may not really be a big issue. Since noone who really knows has posted....you got me.

 

actually stainless steel is more prone to rust and discoloration. ceramics wont rust or discolor as easily. also, the ceramics will help to keep the engine bay temperature cooler. kind of works on the same principle of wrapping your headers with headers tape. ceramics do cost more though and if done improperly, may flake off.

i remember ceramics have other benefits too, but it has been a while since i have been heavy into the 5.0 mustang scene. kind of foggy on the specifics.

edit: oh yeah, it keeps the heat in, which increases the speed at which the gasses are expelled, which will increase the scavenging effect of the exhaust gasses from the cylinders. slowly coming back to me now.

 

Ceramics are cheaper than ss headers. They are cheaper because they are made of mild steel. The ceramic coating is the only thing that will keep them from rusting. Ceramic headers will not last forever( maybe 3 to five years), this is a very hard install that you don't want to repeat. There shouldn't be any difference in performance. The ceramic headers wiil keep your engine bay a little cooler, but this will not add up to any measurable HP. Our cooling system is good enough to maintain a good cool temp of around 180, and will run at that no matter what headers you have.

 

I dont know where you got this info from, but stainless rusts at a much much slower rate than mild steel. Stainless will sometimes show signs of surface rust if it came in contact with some mild steel (eg. hammer), but will not itself rust until its chromium oxide layer, which makes it stainless, wears off. This obviously happens much later than a ceramic coating. The ceramic itself wont rust, but when the ceramic coating flakes off, you will get immediate rust if you are in a highly acidic area. In disagreement, Stainless is stronger and much more resistant to rust than a ceramic coated mild steel part. Also, ceramic coated mild steel headers are not more expensive than SS and the ceramic coating eventually will flake off due to heat.

 

Yeah, what I said!

 

I guess we posted at the same time.

Jinx.

 

maybe the quality of import ceramic headers are not as good as some mustang ceramic headers, i dont know. my knowledge is based on my mustang experience. i am not saying i am definately right. it is just what i have been taught and have come to believe over the years.

well, until i find the time to look for more concrete evidence, here is something i just found, it is a short blurb of what the jba headers website had to say:

http://www.jbaheaders.com/details/headerfinishes.jpg

 

this is from the car craft website talking about the scavenging effect:

"By retaining heat within headers, the coating is also said to increase exhaust-gas velocity because hot gasses expand and travel faster. By smoothing the internal header bore surfaces, turbulence is reduced. The net result is more effective cylinder scavenging, which yet again offers a potential power increase"

this is from same article talking about reducing temperatures under the hood from ceramic coatings:

" In both cases, the coated headers cut the painted set’s surface temperatures by over 50 percent. In a real car, this would significantly reduce both coolant and underhood temperatures. In the dyno-cell, we could actually touch the coated headers with our bare hands within 5-7 minutes after engine shut-down!"

i dont want to look up anymore. if you dont believe me, that is fine. just trying to help out....as i am sure you are. anyways, take care guys. truce.

edit: oh, i know this article didnt mention stainless steel, but tired of looking anymore.

 

If you want the extra benefit and have a place like I do around my house. Get stainless steel headers rather than the ceramic coated mild steel ones. Then go to a shop and have the stainless steel coated with a ceramic thingy. That way you have the benefit of having good, strong, rust-resistant metal, and have the cooling benefits of ceramic coating. That will run a bit more than the stainless steel ones, but will provide optimum performance and durability.

 

Question

How much longer will the Ceramic headers last if you rap them in the heat tape? Shouldn't that help out alot in keeping the coating from flaking off. Its what i am planning on doing with my set before i install them.

Laterz
Aceman

 

Not sure about this but, it will help the ceramic coating on the outside from flaking off, but it won't help with the insides of the piping which is mild steel, from rusting away...so basically the outside will look clean, but the inside will rot away....it sounds worse than it is....i mean that would take years, but thats what would happen....right???

 

why would you do this...that is what the ceramic coating is there for....to reduce the heat...i think you would shorten the life even more so by doing this....even it you had stainless this would shorten the lifespan of the headers...it is better to have them coated as mentioned earlier before the install. my only concern then would be fitment do to the extra thickness of the headers

 

Thats why i asked the question. I dont know if it is a benefit or not to wrap the ceramic headers. Anyone else have any input on this?

laterz
Aceman

 

seems redundant. i dont think it will help. I don't think it will hurt either...maybe just waste some of your time.

 

I bought DC Sports CC and send them out to Air Born (similay to Jet-Hot) to apply Aluminum/Ceramic coating ($160).

This would bring the total cost to be about the same as SS header but I think that Air Born coating will deal with the heat / rust better.

 

Listen you can put any coating you want on there, you can put a thick candy shell around it, but its still milk chocolate on the inside...the best alternative is to not be cheap and to pay the extra cash for the stainless exhaust and then have the stainless ceramic-coated, or jet hot coated or whatever...that way even if the coating ever comes off, you still have strong metal underneath, you just don't have the heat benefits...otherwise all u have is crappy mild-steel on the inside and when the coating wears off, it starts rotting.

 

I talk to my friend at Stillen and he said they both perform the same.
He also said that alot of people get the ss because of how it looks.
Its a matter of preference nobody is going to see them anyway.
Speedracer I would go with the ceramic ones like I plan to buy next month.

Z-ya later

 

The coating is done inside and outside of the pipe.
From what I understand, the material property of mild steel reacting to very high heat is better than stainless steel.
The bad think about mild steel is becuse it rusts easier than SS.
That's when the ceramic coating come in.

 

so are you telling me that companies all over the world go through the trouble of arranging two separate lines of production and arrange two different metal suppliers and at the end of one of the lines of production they coat one of the products, but in the end, they are both exactly the same? but for some weird reason the companies decide to charge different prices for them? I dont know who ur friend at stillen is....i hope its not the guy who sweeps the shop at the end of the day....