has anyone ceramic coated and bagged their headers for double heat protection?
Not yet, but I will be doing it. The two methods of heat protection serve different purposes. A ceramic coating helps keep heat in the exhaust so that is expelled out, while the Heat Blankets protect the components around the exhaust from getting too hot.
I had my headers and high flow cats ceramic coated and then wrapped them with header wrap. Those blankets are far too pricey for what they do.
I am considering this option as well, but was informed by a sales person that the wrap doesn't do that much compared to the blankets. So I am curious, did you happen to take before and after temperature readings?
I did not, but it stays considerably cooler than the stock setup. Again, $2k+ for a blanket which only covers the headers is too much for what it does. Also, I have a hard time believing that the wrap isn't as good as the blankets, especially considering the wrap covers all of the headers and cats.
Would you put your hand on the manifolds if they were ceramic coated- i sure as hell would not . The surface temp of the blankets are going to be a lot less so they are doing a far better job.
My maintenance guy says the blanket smells bad when it gets hot and the people that have them put it on tend to come back to have it taken back off.
Only smells bad for about a week, after that it is business as usual. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I have. If you are going to get any exhaust piece ceramic coated, go with Zircotec (look into them), anything else is really substandard. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
How are these different purposes? If the ceramic coating "keeps heat in the exhaust so that it's expelled out" of the exhaust pipes, why doesn't this also protect components in the engine compartment? Either the heat radiates from the exhaust system to the surrounding environment or it doesn't.
If you think ceramic coating is going to keep enough heat inside the exhaust to protect everything around it in the engine bay, then I dare you to touch a hot ceramic coated header. It will still burn you. That's because ceramic coating doesn't trap 100% of the heat into the exhaust. That is why the blankets are helpful in addition to ceramic coating.
Inconel heat shields the best. I've had blankets and are much better than coating but inconel even better. It allows much less radiate heat and stays cleaner. My only complaint with blankets is they can get very dirty and stained with time.
Not exactly. Blankets will not help keep heat in the exhaust. They will only help keep heat away from surrounding components. Heat Blankets alone will not decrease engine bay temperatures.
Typical ceramic coating application process will raise many doubts about how effective the coating is in heat reduction. The coating is sprayed on the parts then baked to cure. When the coating is sprayed on, it has the consistency of ink. Very low viscosity. When out of the oven, the final coating is only a few microns thickness. IMO, this coating is only for cosmetic purposes. It is very heat resistant, I.e., the color will not change that much due to high heat. But I doubt that the coating will reduce heat radiation or retain heat inside the pipes very much. When compared to the exhaust systems on racing cars, those systems utilize a much thicker coating and the application process is more expensive. Do a Google search for Swain ceramic coating to see what real ceramic coated exhaust system look like. Besides the cosmetics, the ceramic coating should be fairly effective in mitigating corrosion of the exhaust system pipes/tubing. Although with most headers made from high quality stainless steel, that is moot. I put on Fabspeed headers and wrapped them. The surface temperature measurement taken with IR thermometer indicated that the temp was approximately the same as the stock header surface temp. I expect that blankets would be even lower surface temp. Steve
Okay, trying to follow you. So, if blankets "help keep heat away from surrounding components," why will they "not decrease engine bay temperatures"? If they prevent heat from radiating to the surrounding environment, this means that they would also decrease engine bay temperatures, right? The reason for my probing is I'm considering doing something to avoid cooking my engine bay carbon fiber, which has turned milky on the passenger side of the car. I'm wondering if a ceramic coating alone would be enough to prevent this, or whether I instead or additionally need blankets. My preference would be to buy aftermarket ceramic manifolds alone, if that would work. I'm less concerned about performance improvement, which I assume would not be substantial with either modification. Also, part of the motivation for replacing the stock manifolds is I have a small leak that you can hear on cold starts (goes away after a few seconds, but I assume will worsen over time).
Although I am not the one you directed your question to ... let me add my two cents worth ... The typical ceramic coating will do little if anything to reduce heat. These relatively low cost coatings are primarily cosmetic. The coating is very heat resistant, better than spray-on heat resistant paint. But, IMO, they are not thick enough and do not have the physical properties to reduce heat radiation. Most service companies that do cosmetic ceramic coatings claim that there is heat reduction, but I have never seen definitive testing to substantiate their claims. At best, with only a few microns thickness in the coating, I would not expect to see no more than a 5% reduction in surface temperature. But, that is purely speculation on my part. Within the industry, ceramic coatings are applied for many purposes: Reduce wear Reduce corrosion Improve heat transfer properties Provide a thermal barrier Improve electrical properties or provide electrical isolation The coatings can be ceramic based, carbide coatings, polymer coatings, etc. The selection of materials will depend on the application. For example, one can coat pistons and valves with ceramic to improve heat resistance or wear characteristics. There are coatings made to actually increase heat emissions. For example, brake calipers. For exhaust applications, one generally wants to provide a thermal barrier to "keep" heat in the system and reduce the external thermal radiation. The coating needs to be thick enough to provide the thermal properties you are seeking. A thin cosmetic coating is not going to provide that. I invite you review Swain Tech's website (no affiliation) ... http://swaintech.com/race-coatings/race-coating-descriptions/white-lightning-exhaust-coatings/ Race cars with ceramic coated headers and exhaust pipes, typically utilize a thicker application of the coating. These type of coatings do not typically have a lot of color options and they do not have the cosmetic appeal as they are not satin smooth. In the military, ceramic coatings of engine parts with high heat properties will utilize coatings as well. And, as in racing car exhaust systems, these coatings are not put on for their cosmetic appeal. They are thicker, not satin smooth and typically are white or light grey in color. The exception are jet engine turbine blades. I have noticed that some racing cars are now using metal encapsulated thermal barriers as these barriers are form fitted to the components and easier to apply than thick coatings. My opinion ... the lowest cost option for effective heat reduction in the engine bay is to wrap your headers. Higher cost, but I believe more effective is the use of blankets. I would look at thick ceramic coatings (e.g., Swain Tech) and give some serious thought to "metal encapsulated insulation" or "metal foil insulation". But, this is not a DIY project. There are several companies that will do this for you but you have to send in the parts. Image Unavailable, Please Login Regards, Steve
