Ricambi headers installed, opinion with pics

I have said fabspeed headers with ceramic coating and header blankets is a good option for the 355..costly but safe to run

 

Mine are wrapped in carbon tape right to the outlet of the exhaust
Got to keep baby warm

 

Doesn't header tape halve the life of the headers?

 

You were just supposed to read page 31.

What it all comes down to is if you have a heat source at a temperature, T1, radiating heat to a cooler object which is at temperature T2, then if the radiated heat transferred (BTUs/second) is Q with no radiation shields, the heat transferred with shields between the source and the cooler object is a factor of 1/(1+N) less, where N is the number of shields. So, 1 shield would result in 1/2 the heat transferred by radiation. Of course, if less heat is transferred the cooler object will not get as hot, so T2 would necessarily be cooler than with no shields and the source would necessarily be hotter since it would radiate less heat. It gets complicated from there, but you should get the idea. And you will note that Ferrari also places additional shields around the alternator, AC compressor, etc.

Hot air in the engine bay is largely due to convective heat transfer, another issue.

 

Agree with others those welds are pretty dire, not being funny but I reckon I could get my kids to do better. Something looking like that wouldn't be going anywhere near my car....shocking.

 

They aren't the prettiest things I've seen but from what I can tell they should be fine.

The welds on the primary tubes and tubes to flanges could be a bit more tidy but I don't see anything there that would suggest a failure point. Any pics inside to see if they were backpurged?

The chopped up/mig welded shields could have been cleaner but again, this isn't going to effect their function.

 

I'm in SoCal, only moisture they get is when I wash the car.
Been running a similar setup to keep exhaust gasses hot until they go out the exhaust since the 70's.
My current headers had 8 thermocouples 2 narrowband and 2 wideband sensors
Engine not even close to stock

I run cars close to stock as possible or serious mods. In between splitting hairs is where folks mess up and cause problems trying to get the best of both worlds.

If the headers are made of a high quality SS you should have no issues. Now try to find high quality SS and if you can without paying $$$ is next to impossible

Ex 304 J bend $50 on ebay, highest quality 304 J bend $150. I have yet to see a set of headers except maybe for Ernies made of
quality materials

 

I'm a newbie welder and I could do far better than that. For the clamshells, you should be able to do overlapping stitch welds and grind them down so they look fairly smooth. It doesn't look like they did themselves any favors by the way they cut them apart either. These were cheaply, poorly and carelessly mig welded. A pro should have tig welded them so they looked seamless, but even a good job with a mig would be presentable.

Also why not refinish the outside of the clamshell? At least bead blast it or something. Sorry but that looks like a very half baked job.

If you lived closer I'd volunteer to fix them for you. The good news is that's only metal and it can be fixed. If it were me I'd either send them back, or bring them to a local welder/fabricator and have them redo the clamshells correctly and remove the corrosion. I can only imagine that they are just as corroded on the inside too or moreso.

 

What you have is typical. Are these from QV London, through Ricambi? If so, make absolutely sure they installed insulation under the metal heat shields. I sent mine back for warranty repair and they did not install insulation. upon return. The drivers side started rattling and I had to have it pulled apart at the dealer and insulation installed, then welded back up.

 

When I was researching I read that Ricambi switched to a different supplier that didn't have the same issues as QV with failures and insulation.

 

Ricambi doesn't use QV London anymore.
they use JP exhaust now for the rebuild service.

I'm sure the new tubing is top quality
but indeed the welding on shells is not too pleasing to the eye.

 

remember the cut part is facing down out of sightwhich in a silly way may aid in vapor / heat dissipation

 

If they are JP Exhaust, then these should be just fine as they use insulation. I wouldn't worry about how the welds look....that is so hidden down there...not a big deal to me.

 

These are done by JP Exhausts in England. The 'gap' in the heatshield reinstallation is a result of the cutting wheel thickness used during removal. Imagine a cutting wheel that is perhaps 3mm thick.... when it is used to open the clamshells, that 3mm worth of material is simply gone/lost/vaporized.

 

I have had JP rebuild both my headers are they are the business. Thought I recognised the manifolds from the first photos.

 

Unsheilded headers will radiate more heat to the surounding areas in the engine compartment. Those refurbished factory manifolds from Ricambi are a good idea .... even if the cosmetics are not perfect ......

+1 ...... when it comes down to doing the actual work .... there is a tad more to it than what is visible ...

I currently run coated fabspeed headers .... it was a quick solution at that time ..... and I agree blankets are an improvement. However, I am finally getting close to replacing them with a custom set ...

+1 ..... as long as the welds are sound with no burrs on the inside .... they are a great option and am happy they are available.

 

Or you can do what I am doing to a set right now that would double the cost for sure.
Breaking the spotwelds and peeling it back slowly. 1 day @ shop labor rate = $$$$ then the headers need rebuilding and putting them back on then rolling the folds hoping not to warp it too bad.

Please don't ask this is for a special client I will not do another


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+355 ..... very time consuming indeed .... this type of effort is not often appreciated ...

 

It's rewarding and calms me down LOL

 

calms you down?? ...... I 'll take some of that extra energy you have ..... I've been a bit sleepy lately ....

 

The manifolds might not be pretty to look at but they would still be my second choice. I think running a shielded header is still the way to go. How well are the inner tubes coated to begin with? How well is the coating holding up inside the tubes over time? I have never heard of either of the techs mention this as a good option. Again, everybody takes different risks with their car.

 

You don't want it. My wife say she can feel the room vibrating from me at times LOL

Try vitamin D the liquid one in olive oil is great.

 

so what is your first choice?

 

The set that I had custom made using 321 s/s keeping the 4-2-1 design with shields. If Zack couldn't be persuaded to reattach the shields, I would look for another welder that would attach the shields onto Zack's headers or would purchase Fabspeed's header blankets.

 

Coating inside the manifold tubes in theory is a great idea, as it increases exhaust velocity by keeping exhausted air hot ... and thus expanded ....... but how well the coatings hold up inside, I guess would depend on the type of coating and/or process.

Thank you for the tip .... I will look into it .....