i did a search on 355 headers and most were old post. i think my headers have cycled out and its time for a replacement. i have looked at the fabspeed headers. gorgeous looking. my concern is engine bay heat and alternator. i know the headers come with a small heat shield for the alternator. have others found this shield to be enough to spare the alternator from getting too hot? also, considering a full ceramic coating of the headers. has anyone ceramic coated the headers and what was your conclusion regarding engine bay heat? my question is: does anyone have experience with fabspeed headers and was it positive when it comes to heat in the engine bay etc? thx in advance PS: getting ready for another major. it sounds like that labor cost has gone way up. have other owners experienced this. i was told labor is around $225 per hour and up.
The Fabspeed are 4-1 tubing so you will not get as nice sound pitch as the others like Nouvalari or Tubi, i'm running with Nouvalari and volcano wrap from DEI, it works great.
I think running unshielded headers is crazy. Engine bay is hot enough as-is with the entire exhaust system, including cats, running through it. Ceramic coating is ineffective. You need heat blankets or header wrap on the exposed pipes.
The factory shielded them for a reason. It's cookin hot around there. And a lot of things that don't like it hot or don't last long with it hot are in very close proximity.
If doing fab speed, I'd add the optional header blankets. However, like a lot of others on the forums, I went with Tubi and they've been great.
They are the closest thing to the originals but in a more robust execution. They are expensive for what they are but there aren't a lot of options. By the time you blanket up the others you may as well just roll over and get the Tubi.. at least that was the conclusion I came to.
Yes they are. I have ran mine for about 4-5 years . Still look as good as new after 5k miles on them. Edit. Here's a link to when I fitted them.. https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/threads/superformance-headers.594428/
Anyone got a price for Nouvalari? Any cheaper than Tubi? Sent from my iPhone using FerrariChat.com mobile app
Just go with Tubi for headers. You can cook wiring and other items in the engine bay without the insulation. I would go to eurospares.co.uk for the best price on them. If there are any issues you have someone to contact with good customer support. Vivid Racing is where I bought mine and a few weeks after I got a bill from FedEx for customs fees it was a pain in the ass to get that sorted out. This is not a car you cheap out on.
Mild steel transmits 4 times as much heat as 304 stainless which transmits 30% more heat than 321:: so choice of steel changes how much heat is transmitted even before shielding/blankets.
If coating, I would use the swain tech coating, it's much more effective at reducing heat than ceramic. They can coat internally to prevent the heat from getting into the header tube in the first place, provided you start with virgin headers.
I wouldn't bother ceramic-coating stock headers but Tubi headers instead, taking off the wraps and put them back on after the treatment. Swain coating is better but a touch on the pricey side.
Just FYI: I have a set of brand new fabspeed headers and heat shields (5.2) that I don't need anymore... If you are interested please drop me a message. Thanks!
Have you had any heat sink issues? Did you run any wrap on them? If running test pipes, is wrapping/ insulation need reduced? Sent from my iPhone using FerrariChat.com mobile app
Not at all. No problems. No wrap. Yes straight pipes. As stated 4-5 years ago, any vulnerable areas have heat material in that area. Took the engine out for a belt change in January of this year. Absolutely no problems with any part of the engine bay including wiring.
I’m guessing the cats have more to do with excess heat than the manifolds, including the manifolds cracking. capristo’s old race exhaust was designed to mitigate this phenomenon by removing the Y pipe and singular bypass. They attributed a lot of the excess heat to downstream exhaust design compromises that wound up creating a volatile environment by the manifolds Sent from my iPhone using FerrariChat.com mobile app
Thank you for providing a binary solution to this thread. It was naive of me to think that maybe we didn’t all need to spend $9k on a bundle of pipes. I now realize I should get rid of my car and take my lashings, thank you for showing me the way Sent from my iPhone using FerrariChat.com mobile app
