Headers - "Titanium Wrap" or Header Blankets

Here you go for sharing.

I installed Agency Power Headers & Kline Innovation exhaust on my F430 Spider a year ago now.
Header Blankets were expensive so I decided to go with "Titanium Wrap".

A year later I discovered the titanium wrap are starting to deteriorate already. Crap, that was a waste of time so time to upgrade to header blankets.

Thanks to member Eric55. He discovered another seller of header blankets for our F430 for a much reasonable price. And according to him, its been a year now since he installed his and its still going strong so I decided to install one.

Looks great, easy install, works great.

Below are some photos. Attached is a complete DIY write up to make it an easier install for others.

Hope this helps some of you.

Dan
Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

For easier installation pre-install the springs and bend the metal tabs down to prevent the springs from coming off.

Install the header blankets from the top.
Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Dan, it looks like your header wrap was getting baked and "crispy", causing it to "crumble", would that be an accurate description? What brand of wrap did you use?
Blankets look sharp, good luck with them!

 

Image Unavailable, Please Login I had Capristo and Fabspeed blankets. They worked well but the white Capristo got dirty real fast and the Fabspeed were ok but ended up going with Inconel which work really well. I can put may hand and inch away after a hard run. Works better than blankets and used by many racers and on turbos.

 

Hi Dave,

Yes, that is a better description. It became crispy and once you touch it it starts to crumble.

And very good point too that its possible its the brand that I used.

I used this one & I cant recommend it to anyone:

https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B011B99B0I/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_EERCCb9FS5CSM

Dan

 

Thanks for sharing great info.

Can you share with us who made your Inconel heat shield and how's the price compared to Fabspeed?

Dan

 

I tried that one and ended up taking it back off because it wouldn't wrap correctly (kept bunching up and folding) . I ended up going with DEI and it wrapped a lot better. My problem is I have a black car and you can see the fibers all over the back so I know it must be coming apart in some way. I do like that inconel wrap.

 

I had them made but TurboSource in Minnesota. They were around $1600 for both headers. Worked better than blankets.
Radiant heat is minimal, looks better, better fit, easier to keep clean. Look at a race car and you will see inconel heat shields everywhere for a reason.

 

Hi Charlie,

Thanks for sharing info.
That is also one of the issues I had with the Titanium wrap. The fibers starts coming off and its now all over the engine bay..........made my engine bay dirty.
Hate it.

I had to clean my engine bay again using the scrubbing bubbles method and now my engine bay is super clean again.
No more titanium wrap for me.

Dan

 

Got it.

We'll see how long this header blankets last and if they dont last very long I will switch to Inconel Heat Shields.

Thanks again for the info.

Dan

 

So the Inconel...... I assume you need to remove the headers to wrap it?

 

Those NHP header blankets look a lot like the Fabspeed ones. What are the differences? I see the holes for headers that have O2 sensors in the same position as the OEM MKII manifolds, but am wondering if you can get them without? Do they install pretty much the same as the Fabspeed ones with similar hardware? I ask these questions because I am interested in getting a set. Thanks.

 

How much did you pay WhatTheHeck header blankets ?

 

Yes

 

Conundrum..... I wrapped mine with the DEI wrap..... then sprayed them with the DEI black silicone spray. I think your solution is better though.

However...... I have not installed them yet. Where do you buy the stuff? How hard is it to wrap it?

 

Phil from Fabspeed here.
Blankets are the way to go.
If you are going to coat I would suggest wrapping as well. Coating is great but it gets so hot the coating will end up cracking. Once the coating cracks it becomes vulnerable and heat really starts to escape.

 

How is your wrap holding up? I plan on doing DEI with the silicone spray

 

So far so good, but I haven’t done that many miles..... about 1000 miles.

I did cook the headers between each coat. Note, my first coat was the black spray, but then I found out they have a silver spray, so I used that for the next 3 coats. You should do at least 3 coats, but I did 4. The first coat heat cycle is very smoky (because of the wrap, not the spray). However the good thing is that when I drove the car after doing all the heat cycles on the wrap, it smoked very little for 5 minutes, then it was done.

 

Hey RANDY,
Header blankets are another way you can insulate the headers. This video below explains it in depth.

Corvette C8 (2020+) | Fabspeed Sport Cats and Cat Bypass | Product Comparison and Rundown
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Just want to provide a quick update on this to share info and my experience with others.

I installed Capristo Header Blankets on my F430 (now sold).
Capristo makes excellent header blankets and it drastically reduced engine bay heat emitted by the aftermarket headers.
1,000% happy with it and worth every penny.

Even my mechanic said Those are very well made and it really made a big difference in containing heat.

 

Very interested in those cat blankets... I had planned to wrap if I have left over wrap.

 

The manifold blankets should last for years provided you do not get any manifold leaks, leaks will blow holes in them. We used to have lagging on steam pipes for years but a leak would make short work of the insulation, some used to be asbestos in the old days, nice stuff to work with !!!!!

 

Well ... just an update on the DEI titanium wrap with the high temp silicone coating. I have done around 2000 miles (not kilometres) and it is looking like new still. The darkness you see in the picture is from a shadow.

Things will remain the same until next summer, because the car is scheduled to go into storage next week.
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

I am running dei titanium beat wrap as well. Sprayed it with their black silicone spray.

Factory cats as well do they are getting more heat I would assume. So far so good.

 

I think the NHP Maxspeed blankets are indeed exactly the same as the "other" US suppliers just half the price at $995