Ricambi headers installed, opinion with pics

Oz, that is what I was concerned with also. How well or how long will it last?
If it starts flaking off could it clog the cats, or end up back in the cylinders. I didn't want to take the chance.

 

That's some talent you got there.

 

Talent my big fat butt, from all the cocaine I did in the 80's leaving my body

 

How about coating just the outside? White Lightening from Swaintech is very reputable. A certain thickness needs to be applied to maintain durability and effectiveness.

The whole coating of the inside idea is up for debate. Some say coating a header on the outsude without coating the inside is ineffective. I don't know if that is true or not. It's also very difficult to coat the inside of a complicated header properly.

 

I'm not so sure I would be concerned about the coating inside of the headers....in my case....after 6 years there is no evidence of the coating de-laminating and the intake of my cats are unclogged and clean of any debris. Of course the original inner coating in the header is now coated in carbon from the exhaust. I've thermally scanned my header routinely and the header pipe temps have never increased since they were new.

 

I have a 321 Stainless Steel header in my exige (4 cylinder NA). I am running without any coating or shields. From DRS Lotus' extensive racing experience with these headers and customer feedback, they felt it wasn't necessary. I know... Different setup, different power, but they felt 321 SS was effective enough in reducing radiant heat even compared to OEM with shields.

 

+1 ...... limited access to prepare and roughen the inside of manifold tubing will affect how well a coating will adhere .... most mandrel tubes have some residual lubricant from the bending process, which may be difficult to remove to an acceptable level ..... so a coating that has a good track record of adhering well on the outside of manifolds, may not have the same success on the inside ..... but if there is a process or brand available that works on the inside .... I would like some info on it ...

 

if you thermally scan your header pipes you will know if the coating is failing.

 

But if your really concerned either fabricate a full metal heat shield (I did) or install one of the available header blankets that capristo or fabspeed sell.

 

Good point ...... I guess one would need an uncoated reference point ..... assuming the internal coating creates a measurable temp difference, when measured from the outside ....

 

So you fabbed a metallic sheild for your manifolds? .......... now I want to see some pics or a thread link ....

 

I am not sure about that. If the coating on the outside of the header is still intact, the inside coating could be deteriorating but not show any difference until enough of the coating is missing before outside temps increase. No one has ever posted any boroscoped pictures of headers after being ceramic coated prior to installation and then rechecked during their engine out service. This would give you a better idea how well the coating is actually holding up.

 

I hear ya.....this is not perfect.....but if the thermal temps are the same year after year the coating in some form must still be there. In my case,its been 6 years and the temps have not changed.
Even with a boroscope though (have one) all you can see inside the headers is black....consistent black coating though .

 

During my project I considered ceramic coating the headers. Chris and I discussed this and he was concerned that coating the outside could compromise the integrity of the header by trapping the heat in the metal. He thought it would be best to coat the inside and the outside for header survival. Now we are talking about just the headers surviving, not taking into account cylinders or other components that could be compromised if the coating does not hold up or stick well. It is all about risk.

Tubi has been the gold standard for F355 headers. They use 2mm thick 304s/s and has a heat shield similar to the OEM product not ceramic coated.