has anyone used this? I am thinking about getting it but wanted to make sure it's worth 45 dollars a header. In case you don't know what I'im talking about, go to Checker or here

 

the Exhaust board for "header wrap". Not only no, but hell no, dont use it, its bad stuff. Get your headers ceramic coated instead. That is worth it. The header wrap will trap heat and moisture inside the wrap and rot out your headers from the inside.

 

use to run header wrap on my old edelbrock shorty set up for 4yrs....no problems whatsoever not to mention the drastic reduction in underhood temperatures! when i took off the headers to switch over to long tubes, only thing was fiberglass residue from the wrap material, NO rust....guess they still looked damned good if i still got $160 out of them after 4yrs of use. The long tubes are gonna get the same treatment

 

I've never used it on a car header, but I have used it on a motorcycle and an atv header. It does stay cooler and I didn't notice any trouble with it causing rust. Lots of Harley guys run it, I doubt it would be very popular with them if it rusted out their pipes really fast... Ceramic coating would be better for a street car and the wrap is going to be better suited to a race car. Just my .02 cents

 

depends what you want it for.

Since you posted in "cooling" im assuming you want them to keep your underhood temps down.

In that case, dont bother. If you have overheating probs, save your money for an alum rad, or a dual fans setup.

 

I used it for years on headers with no problems and still use it near the starter on my diesel truck. But the performance parts places are gouging you on prices- at least they used to. Check the place below and compare. Just check the size you are looking at now. I would use the .125 thick. Use stainless tie-wire to tie it off. Please post back on your price comparison, been a long time since I compared and bought. I would look deeper into it but I am currently watching my trees move and waiting on Ike to get here.

Go here http://www.mcmaster.com/

type in "fiberglass fabric" in the search box.

"Fiberglass Fabric Get excellent rot resistance and good chemical and mildew resistance with this woven material. Max. temp. is 1000° F"

 

I already have an aluminum radiator and dual fan setup

I have bought the Wrap off Ebay I believe I got 2 50' rolls and 10 stanless steel ties for 70 dollars

 

I have a pair of shorty headers (one roll is more then enough for a pair of shorties btw) when i went to do a head job (the old header wrap was on about a year) i rewraped them there was no rust inside as far as i can see or out, and for 50 bucks they keep the under hood temp way down and not to mention uping your plug wires life. i agree with who posted ceramic coating is better but for 50 bucks you cant go wrong... imo

 

Just to keep in mind - the low underhood temp is good for the cooler air posible in the air intake. We all know this.

But most people overlook the added benefit of hotter air flows better. So your exhaust will flow faster if you keep the heat in. Wrap as far back as you can if you have extra.

 

I saw recently that www.eastwood.com is selling ceramic coating for headers...

Don't know anything much more about it than that...

Raf

 

its good stuff i have it on my edelbrocks. i dont see any performance gains from it but it does lower the heat in the engine bay, not to mention im less likely to burn myself when putting on sparkplug boots. it wont trap moisture and rot your headers.

 

Rust is not the problem, as far as I can see- these things get so hot that moisture should not be an issue. The problem I have seen in my research is the way the wraps trap the heat and raise the temperature of the HEADER MATERIAL.

One study found that the wrap produced such a rise in the temperature of the material that actual metal ions were being exhausted to the extent that the header material was losing mass! No wonder header manufacturers void warranties if you use the wrap!

Spend the bucks for the coating instead- you save your warranty, get a similar drop in temperature and they look better!!

 

So you lose 800 Billion molecules out of the trillions? who's gonna notice? Loss of material is not a major player. Certainly not in the normal life of the header anyway. From my direct experience.

The reason the manufacturers most likely void the warranty is if you wrap it improperly you will get hot and cold spots on the header causing cracks. Not always - but sometimes. A high quality header is more likely to hold up, too.

The majority of my money goes to the wife, kids, house, taxes, etc. Gotta cut corners somewhere... Ceramic is the way to go, though, if you have the money.

 

but thats the point. the theory is that if the headers stay hotter most of the time, then exhaust gases will flow better then if the header was cold