Header wrap. Good or bad?

[RandallNeighbour]

My mechanic cautioned me against adding aftermarket headers because they got a lot hotter than factory equipment and were prone to melt hoses and wires nearby.

There is one airconditioning hose that runs precariously close to the driver's side header, even though it has been tied back and away from it the best it can be moved. The mechanic who installed the headers put some silver tape on it, just like the kind I used to seal up my airconditioning blower in my attic... the insulation value doesn't look good enough to me, so I need to wrap it or wrap the headers to keep it from melting.

Anyone had experience with wrapping headers and have an opinion about it one way or another?

[CJ_Boxster]

I have experience using head wrap, I once owned a 1967 Mustang gt, i beefed up the engine with a edelbrock performer rpm cam, intake, headers and carb. At first, i didnt use header wrap and there were lots of heat coming from the headers and i could really feel the heat in the passenger comparment. I wrapped the header with header wrap and the heat was now non-exsistent, even in the engine bay, there was little to no heat...Header wrap looks sorta ugly but damn it works.

Originally Posted by RandallNeighbour

My mechanic cautioned me against adding aftermarket headers because they got a lot hotter than factory equipment and were prone to melt hoses and wires nearby.

There is one airconditioning hose that runs precariously close to the driver's side header, even though it has been tied back and away from it the best it can be moved. The mechanic who installed the headers put some silver tape on it, just like the kind I used to seal up my airconditioning blower in my attic... the insulation value doesn't look good enough to me, so I need to wrap it or wrap the headers to keep it from melting.

Anyone had experience with wrapping headers and have an opinion about it one way or another?

Randall, what changed? Didn't you just change the Porsche headers with Che's headers? Maybe you should just apply a high quality heat tape to the "more exposed" areas & stuff, and then just monitor it for a while.

[MNBoxster]

Hi,

There are two issues with Header Wrap, one not great, the other really not so great.

If you wrap the headers, any moisture, acids, and the like can get absorbed and do a job on the header (not such an issue with SS).

The really not so great issue is that you are just forcing all that heat downstream (it has to go somewhere) and often leads to premature O² Sensor and/or Catalytic Converter failure as the internal ceramic matrix gets superheated and then collapses.

I had this issue when I coated the header on my Esprit with a Thermal Ceramic. The skin temperature dropped by an amazing 175°F, but the Cat collapsed in a month. I replaced the Cat and ground the ceramic from about a 6" length just before the Cat to dissipate some of the heat, and this seems to have solved the issue. Hope this helps...

Happy Motoring!... Jim'99

[RandallNeighbour]

What's heat tape and where can I find it? Autozone?

Originally Posted by RandallNeighbour

What's heat tape and where can I find it? Autozone?

Hi Randall, check-out this link:

http://www.aremco.com/a10.html

[thomschoon]

Originally Posted by RandallNeighbour

What's heat tape and where can I find it? Autozone?

Shop around a bit as you will need probaly 50 feet to really wrap them and nothing is worse then running short. I have gotten it from Summit and Jegs at great prices and you can get black or natural. Like others have said it does cause more heat downstream but it made a significant difference when I have used it.

Good luck

Thom