Exhuast Heat Wrap
Dec 21, 2005, 12:38 PM
#17
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Originally Posted by KevinD
cityhugo: you don't need to thermal wrap the entire exhaust. really, you only need to wrap the header and thats it. the goal is to keep the heat in the headers so that you have high temps and pressures going into the turbine of the turbo. wrapping the downpipe will only keep some of the heat out of the engine compartment, but serves no other purpose. wrapping from the downpipe back would be worthless.
dustin03: yes you should heat wrap AND/or thermal coat the after market header. in fact, i think it would be silly to buy one and not do it. keeping the heat in is the goal and both methods help.
i should have made a writeup on how to heat wrap headers when we did our race car. it's not that difficult, but the key to making it look nice is to soak the wrap in water and get it moist, then start wrapping. use a piece of safety wire to hold one end in place, and then start wrapping down. soaking it will let it stretch while you apply it so that when it drys, it pulls tight to the header giving a much nicer clean look.
dustin03: yes you should heat wrap AND/or thermal coat the after market header. in fact, i think it would be silly to buy one and not do it. keeping the heat in is the goal and both methods help.
i should have made a writeup on how to heat wrap headers when we did our race car. it's not that difficult, but the key to making it look nice is to soak the wrap in water and get it moist, then start wrapping. use a piece of safety wire to hold one end in place, and then start wrapping down. soaking it will let it stretch while you apply it so that when it drys, it pulls tight to the header giving a much nicer clean look.
good points
it reminds me of when I watched a documentary of the F1 McLaren. They lined the entire engine bay with gold for the purpose of thermal reflection. Keeping the heat in the header and exhaust pipes was the main purpose. Heating up the pipes would also make them expand a little bit and would help increase flow through the exhaust.
Dec 21, 2005, 12:42 PM
#18
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Originally Posted by dustin03
I think I am going to thremal paint the header not wrap
A real thermal coating, like http://www.hpcoatings.com is the best of both worlds.
Dec 21, 2005, 01:47 PM
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I think wrapping the whole TBE would be excessive but since you'd be trapping more heat through out the exhaust wouldn't that decrease the backpressure because the exhaust would be hotter and would want to escape faster?
Dec 21, 2005, 04:26 PM
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Doesn't wrapping the header put a lot of heat stress on it, especially cheaper headers like the Megan Racing? More likely to cause cracking?
Wrapping the whole exhaust does offer one other benefit, noise cancellation. Those stainless steel pipes can really resonate.
Wrapping the whole exhaust does offer one other benefit, noise cancellation. Those stainless steel pipes can really resonate.
Good one.
Dec 21, 2005, 05:00 PM
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i wrapped my dc sports DP/cat delete combo, got the thermotec product from www.jscspeed.com, and then used the heat sealant on it as well. you will use more than you think, i ordered 50 ft, thinking i would only use about 25, but i used all of it. looked nice though.
Dec 21, 2005, 06:11 PM
#27
you really only need to do the manifold and downpipe. mabye the O2 housing and cat or test pipe if you wanted to go crazy. but our not gonna gain enough in doing the whole exhaust to notice it. unless you have like $1000 you dont know what to do with then go for it but its a waste of $ to do the cat back.
Dec 21, 2005, 06:43 PM
#28
wrapping the whole tbe seems good idea ~ less noise....less heat....more power.... better looking (if u are good at wrapping with black thermo paint on it)......
i did wrap it up to test pipe,,,,but i will do it all eventurally....
it is all good~ and it doesnt cost much..... dont use exhaust tie...hate that stuff...just use strong fine steel ...
i did wrap it up to test pipe,,,,but i will do it all eventurally....
it is all good~ and it doesnt cost much..... dont use exhaust tie...hate that stuff...just use strong fine steel ...
Dec 21, 2005, 10:26 PM
#29
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you will not see more power by wrapping anything back of the turbo. MAYBE, and thats a big MAYBE, the downpipe heat that radiates off in the engine compartment may cause some heat soak issues, but if you have a proper functioning cooling system and the intercooler is not blocked by anything, even that will be pointless.
the point about using the wrap to allow more heat to get into the cat was a good one. getting the cat to temp is a big emmisions thing, but isn't going to help your power any. take the cat out....
the point about using the wrap to allow more heat to get into the cat was a good one. getting the cat to temp is a big emmisions thing, but isn't going to help your power any. take the cat out....
