Hey people. I'm getting new headers. I've always been under the impression that ceramic/powder coated headers always last longer than black finished haders. But a new thing came on the market since i bought my last header... Stainless steel. Which is a better bet? Ceramic/powder coated or Stainless steel?

thanks

 

Stainless isn't that new. SLP only offered stainless headers, and Doug Thorley has used it at least since the 80's.

But, it's not a "ceramic vs. stainless" argument. Both offer corrosion resistance (the proper term is "corrosion resistant steel" or "CRES", not "stainless", but old habits die hard). Ceramic has the added benefit of low thermal conductivity, while CRES has better strength at high temperature than mild steel (even ceramic coated mild steel).

Since the ceramic coating reduces the flow of heat, both the inside and outside surfaces of a header should be coated. If you only coat the outside, the steel will get hot from the exhaust gases and the heat won't have anywhere to go.

Retaining the heat in the exhaust gases rather than cooling it with the exhaust tubing (the tubing gets hot because the heat is leaving the exhaust gases) is a good thing performance wise.