Just curious..I had my 1 3/4's on the Z for approx. 6 months now.....Recently, I am starting to see specles of rust all over them...WHAT GIVES? These are supposed to be stainless steel....they were that nice satin grey color for a while....now they are starting to look like S H I T !!!

Anyone else????

 

They are gonna get like that no matter what, they just take a while compared to others and won't be as much. Thats what coating is for, its best to do that before they go on the engine.

 

Yep, mine are doing the same thing...not bad...but just little rust speckels. I'm going to blast them and get them coated again. This coat really sucked compared to the job another company did on my old 1 5/8" headers. See ya.

 

www.jet-hot.com

88, is that the company that did it right?? I always hear lots of good stuff about them. What was the other that didn't??

 

I'm not sure who does SLP's coatings...but I'm not impressed. The company I like is http://www.hpc-inc.net/ HPC Coatings... Later

 

I used steel wool pads on mine..... works pretty good.

 

the grade of stainless steel for the exaust and the catback is rust resistant, not rust proof. I think they use the better grade of stainless steel for the pipes exiting the muffer to stay less rusted if rusted at all.

 

what the? are you SERIOUSLY getting rust on STAINLESS steel? that aint
cool! i bought these damn things cause I thought stainless, ment, no rust.
I would of bought some cheap hookers (no pun intended) if I knew this!
do you drive your car in all kinds of weather? i baby mine, but i will be PISSED
if mine get any red rust spots!

 

well, in that case you better do something b4 you put yours on man....i dont drive her in the rain....maybe once or twice b/c I got caught in it...honestly, If I would have known...i would have got me some hookers too!!! then again....these are the only 1 3/4 shorties out there....and my car is haulin butt!! SO, what the heck...so long as its fast...i dont give a damn!

I am putting about 1 car on SEVERAL EQUALLY MODDED LT1's motor for motor....they have headers and other bolt ons...so do I...i think these SLP's gave me a whhhooooooooooole lot of power

 

That's why SLP sells coated headers, caust stainless steel will rust.

 

"Stainless steel" is a general term and does not refer to just one steel alloy. There are a lot of different types and tradeoffs in quality. As an example the best corrosion resistant stainless steels don't make particularly good knife blades.

The best stainless steels are non-magnetic, I haven't had the pleasure of checking SLP's header with a magnet, but could one of you who has them do this for us?

An example of the differences between SSs would be 304 and 316 (an L after either one means low carbon-essential for welding). 304 will surface rust where 316 generally won't in a marine environment. Unfortunately headers throw high temperature in to the equation.

With motorcycle headers in stainless I have seen some that don't rust, but they will surely discolor (as will Titanium).

So, the headers may not be the best stainless, and better stainless would surely help, but if you want good long term appearance you are going to have to have them coated.

 

Stainless Steel if Ferritic!!!
I.E. it is comprised of primarily iron based metal alloy.

HOW THE HELL IS IT NON-MAGNETIC!

Any Ferrous metal is Magnetic unless you have the unobtainium version of these headers!

 

All of SLPs stainless will rust unless you felt like spending $$$$$ on a set of pure medical grade stainless.
Steel will rust faster and deeper than stainless. SLP might get SOME surface rust but the same steel header would be wasted down to nothing before the stainless lost any of it's strength.
Stainless isn't for looks, it's for application. Think of it as insurance that you'll never have any problems with rusting. Like it was said above, steel wool and the SURFACE rust will wipe right off. I don't care what my headers look like so long as they don't rust like my floor pans .

 

if anyone wants me to dig up my Materials Science book, shoot me an email. It will say what is in every type of stainess steel

 

I am IN Material Science right now and have the book sitting in front of me doing homework. Dito the above post - My book has all the w/o and v/o ' s of all Stainless Alloys along with their properties. Only 5 more weeks till Summer!

 

[B][I]Stainless Steel if Ferritic!!!
I.E. it is comprised of primarily iron based metal alloy.

HOW THE HELL IS IT NON-MAGNETIC!

Any Ferrous metal is Magnetic unless you have the unobtainium version of these headers[B][I]

Quality stainless steels such as 316 and better are non-magnetic. If you don't believe me, do some research on stainless steels or get out your magnet. Stainless steel sinks for the most part are low grade and magnetic. Better stainless steels such as used on GOOD marine stainless hardware are non-magnetic. Just because is has iron in it doesn't mean it is magnetic.

 

Hey JMatlock. What kind of wheels are those. They look bad ***.

 

Apparently some forms of stainless are non-magnetic, but you likely won't find them in automotive applications. See http://pw1.netcom.com/~dwelding/stainless.htm for more information.

 

They are ROH ZS's --16inch w/ 245 50R16 tires (stock size). They have huge caliper clearance - exotics like to use them. They can be had up to 17X9.5s. Thanks for the compliment... I think they look really nice in person.

 

That is why I got TES headers. Uncoated. Rust is rust. It's a fact of life. Deal w/it or pay through you schnoz to keep it at bay. Carbon makes steel rust but carbon also gives a steel aloy it's harness.
I'm not sure why headers would need a high carbon content but it's either important for durability or a "bottom line" price issue.
BTW the difference between "rust proof" and "rust resistant", is that "rust proof" means it will win the battle against rust! "Rust resistant" means; it just puts up a d*mn good fight!
Read my TES vs. SLP update.

 

Just A Thot,

Not to get into a 'materials science' shouting match but,... for all those experiencing rust on their SLP's I'd say give it the fingernail test. Scratch it a bit with a nail and see if a bit comes off. I've talked one person who thought he had rust on his SLP's and it turned out to be the fact that stainless turns a gold colour when heated to high temperature.

 

I had hoped that someone in this discussion who has a set of SLP headers would have put a magnet to them by now. That would seriously narrow the possible kinds of stainless alloy that they could be using.

88IROC, you have a good point - as I mentioned earlier even the best stainless is going to discolor under exhaust temp conditions.

 

Beast,

Boy are you in luck. I just got a new set of SLP 1.75's for the #2 IROC. Grabbed a 1x2" fridge magnet(sorry, it's all I have). The pipes had a small amount of attraction. Enough to hold the magnet at 90° to the ground, but not enough to hold the magnet in an upsidedown position. Surprisingly, the flanges had quite a bit of attraction(probably due to their flat face). Once the magnet was 'stuck' to the flange, you could shake the header assy and the magnet stayed put.

Just for kicks, I decided to test a Borla SS muffler that's waiting to go on my truck. Absolutely no attraction. Nada. Zilch.

 

so, you think SLP is making its "stainless steel" products with some B grade
crappy steel? man! not like they DONT have the money to make a high-
quality product, not like their EXPENSIVE or anything....
i know that they are awesome performance wise, but I want the quality also,
something that will last for years and years with a nice finish.

 

No finish is going to stay looking new indefinitely. Even ceramic coatings eventually flake-off.

Personally, I don't care what my headers look like as long as they perform their function. Even before I did the 'magnet test' I was happy with the way the SLP's performed, and that opinion won't change because they're made of a lesser-grade stainless than my muffler. The headers on my other IROC have a couple of coats of heat barrier on the inside and a coat of heat barrier and a flat black coating on the outside. Nothing much too look at, but then again I try not to drive with the hood up. So how's anyone else to know what they look like?

I don't know why the Borla muffler seems to be a higher grade of SS but, because this is one area that other folks can see, it's nice to know that it'll stay looking good for a while.

 

I don't know why you guys are engaging in such pointless speculation.

SLP says the header tubes are made out of 409 stainless steel and the flanges are made from 304 stainless steel. Therefore the flanges should resist rust better than the tubing.

Look up those alloys on the web. It's not like SLP is trying to hide anything from you.

 

Okay, second try, the first try gotten eaten when I tried to post it.

409 alloy for the header tubes would explain the magnet sticking, but if the flanges are 304, the magnet shouldn't have stuck. Note the magnet didn't stick to the Borla he tried.
Borlas web page says they use 304 except on their flanges which apparently aren't stainless.

The point for originally posting on this topic was to point out (as several others have) that the term "stainless steel" refers to a pretty wide range of alloys, and that the person expecting to have a good appearance from a "stainlees steel" product is likely to be surprised if he has not researched which alloy he is getting. Also to point out that the magnet is a good tool for separating the good from the not so good.

I'm not knocking SLP's choice of alloys, they may well have good reasons for the choice they made. Ease and quality of welds with a material as thin as the tubing might be one, high temp characteristics might be another. Also, they might have tried better corrosion resistant alloys and found the appearance wasn't worth it compared to the coatings. They MIGHT tell you if you ask.