Do u wrap your aftermarket header

[nichiolas]

I have got HKS EL manifold, Beatrush overpipe and ready to install them over the weekend. Currently deciding if I should wrap them before the install or leave them as is. Searched on the web and found various opinions on this topic.
Car is N/A at the moment but might go down to the supercharge route in a not too long distant future..
Another concern is I have put on a set of aftermarket engine mount and it seems by chance, the heat from the exhaust manifold may melt down the bushings. So, having the header wrap may reduce the risk of this.
Thoughts?
Cheers

[BRZHarley]

Nickoilis

It's not required but I do it to keep the heat in the header....

Cheers

Ed

[Mim]

If you are worried then wrap it. Simple!

Also comes down to the design of the header and how efficient it is at extracting gasses. Most of the installs I've read would either wrap or ceramic coat, even if just for the peace of mind.

[AJPG]

Originally Posted by nichiolas

I have got HKS EL manifold, Beatrush overpipe and ready to install them over the weekend. Currently deciding if I should wrap them before the install or leave them as is. Searched on the web and found various opinions on this topic.
Car is N/A at the moment but might go down to the supercharge route in a not too long distant future..
Another concern is I have put on a set of aftermarket engine mount and it seems by chance, the heat from the exhaust manifold may melt down the bushings. So, having the header wrap may reduce the risk of this.
Thoughts?
Cheers

Hi,

Running borla EL header and exhaust (no catalitic) + vortech sc... Wrap would decrease header life, ceramic is nice. Btw no melting on my engine bay so far.

[golfyankee2121]

OP, I have had my catless Rev Works header on for about 8 months now and haven't noticed really any change as far as additional heat. I daily drive my car, with some spirited driving here and there, so I didn't think wrapping/coating was needed. I think a lot of the decision has to do with how you drive the car. If you track or autocross, it may be worth it because you'd be running the car harder for longer, and seeing much higher temps than you would get from daily driving, or even from spirited driving. I remember seeing a thread on here somewhere when I was researching this topic, and I'm sure there a multiple comparisons elsewhere, but someone did a comparison of a trackday/autocross session of various temps with a coated header vs. an un-coated one, and the coated header temps were significantly lower.

I'm not really sure if forced induction makes a big difference in heat in the engine bay, as I have never owned a FI car before, but I'm sure someone else can chime in on that.

-J.B.

[dexter_5000]

ceramic coating is the best option imo.

[D_Thissen]

Ceramic coated

[kmbkk]

I wrapped mine when I installed it. I plan to have it ceramic coated once I have some downtime on it.

[nichiolas]

Thanks guys
I go to track days occasionally so will prefer either ceramic coating it heat wrap.
Think I will go with ceramic coating at this stage since it seems it does not come with the downside of heat wrap and has not too bad heat handling capability...
Cheers

[s30series]

I ceramic coated my Ptuning header, and then wrapped it in DEI Ti wrap.

[Gear_One_Performance]

We always wrap them with the DEI Titanium wrap, good stuff and much easier to use than the standard wrap.

[rice_classic]

Wrapping/coating. 6 of one, half a dozen of the other.

I wrapped the header on my race car (CRX) and helped quite a bit. Dropped the oil temps by 20f and allowed the radiator to work more effectively. The D-B-H honda engines have the header that extends forward close the radiator then goes under the engine right up against the oil pan. Stock header had shielding, aftermarket do not.

Chose to wrap because it has the same outcome as coating, it was cheaper and I could do it myself inexpensively. Coating would cost more than the header is worth.

If I got an aftermarket header for the FRS I would probably wrap it too, for the same reasons.. It's effective and I'm "cost-conscious". The under-car shielding on our cars does a very good job on keeping away water and makes good sense to reduce underhood temps. Heat reduces life of rubber/plastic/electronic bits.

FYI for those doing any header wrapping.. Don't get the SS cable ties with the kit or from DEI. They WAY over charge for those. Get the SS cable ties from Harbor Freight. Way cheaper.

[DAEMANO]

Wrapped my aftermarket UEL,then silicone sprayed it with DEI silicone spray. Finally coated just the back half of the oil pan (the side facing the header) with DEI Reflect-A-Gold sheet. Gotta keep the heat in the header and away/outside of the oil.

From what I've read (someplace), wrapping a header provides a significant advantage over coating (in terms of heat retention), but coating a header ensures no hot/cold spots from a poor/uneven wrap job which can cause metal/weld fatigue and even failure. Also coating protects against the kind of water damage that can occur if your wrapped header gets wet. This is what the DEI silicone spray helps to protect against. That is unless you submerge your wrapped header driving through an extremely flooded street.