chapstic951

Has anyone wrapped their stock headers in thermal wrap with the flanges on the exhaust? Has this caused any problems? My thought is that heat would be trapped between wrap and the gap caused by the flange. Am I over analyzing it?

daniel951

well i thought it would be fine but people have told me that headers crack when the heat is kept in. Not sure though

theedge

My buddy wrapped the headers on his MR2 Turbo. Somehow the wrap started burning. That smell ranks up with burning tires or garbage. Now it smells constantly, just a weird odor. Also looks like crap.

IMHO go with ceramic coating or the silvery heat blankets from Summit. Ill be doing ceramic or both.

chapstic951

Well, these are dissapointing responses....I may be cancelling my order. Anyone else out there had similar experiences?

hosrom_951

Okay..........i just got some 'extra' wrap the other day and plan on removing the headers to wrap them..........never heard those kind of responses before.......

Though my cross-over pipe is wrapped.......no problems there!!


IIRC The DEFI (sp?) wraps let off minor smoke during the first heat cycle ONLY! it is even written on the directions/instructions of the box.....

I have the thermo-cool wraps now and doesn't say anything about smoking. With regards to cracked headers, i know paul (944fanatic) wraped his headers months ago......hope he chimes in and lets us know what goes on (he's also pushing a lot of hp)

will951

Good question....

Didn't European Car wrap the downpipe of their 951? Obviously not the headers...but the concerns are the same right. I forgot who they had do it.....

theedge

Yeah they wrapped the downpipe, but that wouldnt get as hot as headers.

IMHO get the heat blankets, they sound like a good solution. Search for Tony G and ceramic and it should turn up in a thread.

hosrom_951

I never liked those heat blankets. I got them and installed them and........well i just didn't like them, they smoked (a little) at all times, gave out a burning smell........

Then i was such an idiot and read the directions and it mentioned NOT to install it onto exhaust parts........silly me i guess??

ross255

I have wrapped the headers on my car and no problems...it only smokes when you first start the car and let it heat up to 'set' the wrap, then no burning or smoke after that.

gonna do the cross over pipe when i next get chance

zerMATT951

I talked to David Lindsey about this because I was contemplating the same thing since my headers are sitting on my workbench right now. There are also a few tell-tale cracks around the flanges that need to be repaired befire I reinstall them.

Here's my recollection of what David recommended, and what they have done in the past:
1. Remove factory heat shielding
2. Weld flanges on the *outside*
3. Grind down inside welds, smooth them out a bit
4. Have the entire header assy heat coated

Don't hold me (or David) to this, but this is what I recall the pricing to be: remove shielding, $50; weld/grind flanges, $50; heat coating, $100. So, the whold schmear would be around $200.

I even thought about doing all that, THEN wrapping heat wrap around them. That would nearly eliminate heat from that side of the engine... wouldn't it? :-)

FAST44

I have used Thermo-Tec Wrap. It had been on my crossover up to the hot side of the Turbo. I also wraped both sides of the turbo/ blanket. It had been on my car fo overr 13 years. Never had a problem. I did not do the stock headers. When I get my headers from Turbo Tim I will wrap them. The under hood temps were greatly reduced which keeps all the underhood rubber/plastic in good shape. The intake manifold in MUCH cooler to the touch. I would get the black wrap which has carbon graphite in it. It is supposed to be more sturdy and will look better over time. As stated in a previous post it does need some cure cycles to cure. I think it insulates better than most coatings.

Alpine951

Wrapped my headers last year with the Thermo tec stuff. You have to remove the heatshielding. I will do the crossover and put a blanket over the turbine housing.

evil 944t

Its not a 951, But I have the Black header wrap on my Ducati headers, near ankle and under seat and my Butt is happy now!

chapstic951

Yeah, I meant to ask him. Paul, I don't recall, did you wrap stock headers or were they aftermarket too? Have you been able to turn it over yet? I still want a ride to give me something to aspire towards.

NZ951

Its called DEI wrap and is made by the guys that do cry type work as well. I have my down pipes and crossover done and ceramic coated turbo and headers. Wrapping the headers did not seem a good option given how close together each piece is on my car.