SharksBreath

iTrader: (33)

titanium exhaust wrap.

who uses it and why? got any pics? any links to purchase particular brands? advice on installation?

Biggi_e

iTrader: (1)

doesnt it just cool the temps down for the exhaust? im not sure what the improvements would be though.

lol less bottom out scratching?

FCVadi

iTrader: (3)

You can use it on your pre-cats to lessen the heat in the engine bay.. also if I understand exhaust gases correctly if the exhaust stays warm throughout the exit from the engine it flows faster.. when the exhaust gas cools down it will possibly bottleneck the fumes.. not harmful but decrease performance... basically you want to do whatever you can to get it out of the pipes as quickly as possible... this is just my educated guess which others will chime in soon enough on

SharksBreath

iTrader: (33)

hmm...interesting.

would this be beneficial to the entire exhaust system? precats, jpipe, catback?

94eg!

Does the exact opposite. Header wrap is meant to keep the heat inside the exhaust which keeps the gasses moving faster, and keeps under-hood temps lower. It does create problems though. Wraps tend to trap moisture inside against the pipe which definitely increases corrosion and reduces the life of the pipe being wrapped.



Nowadays most people simply use a more expensive material like 321 Stainless or even straight titanium to get the same heat-trapping effect without the corrosion problem.

If you are interested in using less expensive materials, then ceramic coatings are really the way to go.

FCVadi

iTrader: (3)

ceramic caoting the same as powder coating?

and wow, didnt think abut the moisture issue.. was thinking of wrapping my pre-cats but dont want to mess with the corrosion

FCVadi

iTrader: (3)

simple answer is yes, anything you can do to keep the fumes flowing the better.. and fumes flow faster when warmer.. however the gains from wrapping everything would be minimal than just wrapping/heat trapping a few areas.. if that makes sense

SharksBreath

iTrader: (33)

wow 94eg!...that is crazy.

yeah i just want to use the best/safest method possible. ceramic coating is expensive...would prefer not to do that.

hopefully some people who have actually done this can chime in.

94eg!

No. It's a proprietary spray on & cure process. Typically the coating is applied both inside & out. A mild-steel pipe that's coated usually costs less than an unfinished 321 Stainless pipe. You would have to pay a place to do it. If you google "ceramic coating" you'll get a whole bunch of places. I have no idea who does a good job, and anybody interested in this will need to do their research on the places they're thinking about choosing.

Jet-Hot is one of most reputable places I've "heard" of used by the likes of SMSP and most real custom header manufacturers. Here is their description of the process:

http://www.jet-hot.com/company/jet-hot-process-gallery/

A non coated 321 stainless pipe will still be lighter though with equal performance, and it's oh-so beautiful bronze once it's been heat cycled a few times:

Biggi_e

iTrader: (1)

damn never knew it could cause corrosion like that. so if one of us used this wrap, how much would you need to to have a sufficient wrap?

Xiomaro

iTrader: (5)

I use it. Turbo charged setup needs it to keep the engine bay temps at ... bay

Heat soak, if the whole engine compartment gets too hot the performance suffers immensely

SharksBreath

iTrader: (33)

^so wrapping all of the exhaust components would be a good idea? precats, jpipe, and full catback?

how do we avoid this moisture issue?

and how much wrap would you need to get the job done? anybody have any links to purchase?

thanks!

94eg!

No....Once your past the final merge of the exhaust system (j-pipe), heat becomes inconsequential. The pipe diameter and flow restrictions are important part here.

SharksBreath

iTrader: (33)

^thanks. so just precats and jpipe? or maybe only jpipe?

would you still recommend using this stuff, or does the moisture "what if" scare you away? any idea how much i'd need to order?

KN_TL where are you!? i know you use this stuff.

FCVadi

iTrader: (3)

KN_TL ahs a turbo so that is prob why he uses it
be curious if any N/A folks use it

94eg!

I don't see ANY all-motor Honda race-cars using this stuff any more. Probably not for 10 years now. I don't see turbo ones either.

I don't have any interest in using the stuff.

Royik1157

hmm i never really thought of this but after reading this it makes me want to do it.. just wrap the precats and jpipe and leave the catback stock. like 94eg said, after the jpipe it doesnt matter. and would you use just plain header wrap? or do you have to use something really expensive to prevent the moisture getting trapped in?

SharksBreath

iTrader: (33)

^amazon sells different lenghts. just type in 'titanium exhuast wrap'.

i only made this thread bc i saw this stuff for sale while i was shopping for my AFR gauge. it was in 'related items' category.

i'm still on the fence with this one...hopefully more people can chime in and help sway my decision one way or another.

swoosh

iTrader: (5)

hey Aaron...i am planning on wrapping my exhaust....

PROS:
tone of the exhaust deepens, the wrap keep the heat in the pipe and hence make the exhaust pulses move faster, lower engine bay temps, hence better overall performance (dont expect 32HP gain, just a tad bit quicker throttle response)...

CONS:
corrosion, oil leaking onto the wrap may lead in fire, some welders are against wraps as it messes up the welding

INSTALL:
wet the exhaust wrap (no need to wet the titanium one)....you wet it so that when it heats up, it "hugs" onto the exhaust better
wrap with a 1/4" overlap....do not over do this....if you overlap more than 1/2" this will trap a lot of heat inside

WHAT ALL TO WRAP:
kinda disagree with 94eg! on the only before merge part....

the exhaust gasses are very hot when @ PCD and jpipe and hence move quickly, to make the exhaust exit quicker, i recommend wrapping from jpipe on (including jpipe) to half way down the catback....

EDIT: I have my PCD's ceramic coated inside out for better flow....

SharksBreath

iTrader: (33)

^so just wrap the jpipe and half way down the exhaust? how much length will i need?

also, do i need anything to hold this stuff in place?

swoosh

iTrader: (5)

^^^ well if you do not have any ceramic coating on the PCD's you can start from there....wont hurt anything....

anything after the exhaust splits (all the way in the back) is waste IMO....for example no matter how much you wrap the tips (just saying) there will never be enough heat to heat up the pulses and hence increase their velocity...

to hold them in place you will need SS locking ties as shown here:


pic taken from summitracing:
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/DEI-010202/?rtype=10

SharksBreath

iTrader: (33)

^any idea how much length, anil? would this be good?

swoosh

iTrader: (5)

^^^ I doubt 25" will cover much....

if you are not in too much of a hurry, my exhaust wrap should be coming in, over the next few days....will wrap it and tell you exactly how much you would need.....

PS: just off the top of my head assumption....you will need atleast 50"....i checked on Amazon and the prices for 25" and 50" are exactly double....so just order 2 of the 25" and sell one off it its too much.....but either way, your call

SharksBreath

iTrader: (33)

^sounds good man. let me know how much you use and PLEASE take pics

swoosh

iTrader: (5)

sure thing bud....

con5tant

iTrader: (4)

Is it ok to just wrap the flex pipe? One of my RV6 V3 flex pipes appears to have a little bit of damage

swoosh

iTrader: (5)

Yes....you can wrap the flex pipe....

here is what I have done:

con5tant

iTrader: (4)

Is there any reason why i should NOT wrap the flex pipe? Even if it's not damaged

swoosh

iTrader: (5)

^^^ its your call...you can wrap it or leave it as is....

i choose to wrap it

con5tant

iTrader: (4)

oh, ok cool.

How are those SS ties? I've heard a lot of bad reviews on them. Some say they aren't tight at all. I tried looking for some SS clamps but can't seem to find any that are big enough(12")/able to withstand the heat

swoosh

iTrader: (5)

I got the SS ties but ended up using the SS bands from Home Depot

con5tant

iTrader: (4)

So i can pretty much buy any SS clamps that fit? Most clamps i found can only withstand around 500 degrees but since the clamp is going over the wrap that should be ok right?

swoosh

iTrader: (5)

this is what i realized with the wraps...

i had wrapped my primaries couple weeks back....recently when i hit up a shop to fix my exhaust tips, he raised the car on the lift and i was able to touch the primaries but not the downpipe

the primaries should have been hotter but because of the wrap the heat had not traveled outside....catching my drift...???

but yeah its been 2 weeks since i have wrapped my downpipe....i will be raising her back up tomorrow and will update you with how the SS clamps are holding up

jpm3071

LOLOLOL I saw a guy at the race track wrap his entire exhaust system from header to muffler and after a few laps I saw his tail pipes turn red. The next lap I saw his bumper set on fire.

swoosh

iTrader: (5)

thats crazy....i think he wrapped toooo much....the tails should never become RED HOT !!! infact the wrap catches the heat inside....

after a long drive, my mufflers are kinda hot to touch but my primaries are warm....as the wrap holds the heat inside which help the pulses to move out quicker....

I hate cars

I've used Jet Hot on all of my mild steel exhaust parts since the '90s. The ceramic coating does not come close to the insulating properties of a wrap. I used the ceramic coating on headers because you can't wrap them and my up pipe and downpipe for corrosion resistance with the wrap over them.

You will never see a single hp out of a wrap or coating. Some say keeping the heat in the pipes on a turbo car can help spool but unless you're radiating a ton of heat from a ton of surface area it makes no measurable difference.

You want to be careful the closer to the heads you get. You can shorten the life of the exhaust not only from corrosion but from the additional heat in the pipes. Be very careful about wrapping the cats. You might get away with it or you might not.

Use this stuff to knock down underhood temps. Anything else is just throwing your money away.

swoosh

iTrader: (5)

Matt....another real real reason to wrap is tone down or remove the "tin can" sound of the exhaust.....

other than that i agree word for word....i have my PCD's coated ceramic black inside out to help them flow better and keep the underhood temps low....also i have wrapped almost 2/3 of my exhaust....anything more than 1/2 is a waste of money but i didnt wanna waste the roll LOL....

anything else do you think we need to keep an eye out for ?

kingkong_dav

Baller! that is 1000dollar worth of wrap.

swoosh

iTrader: (5)

I hate cars

The coating doesn't really help with flow. It keeps the heat in which keeps the gasses expanded which increases velocity by increasing backpressure so there's no free lunch. Under certain conditions, this can be a good thing but it's definitely not a one size fits all kind of thing. It's nothing to worry about because it just doesn't affect anything enough to make a difference in power. Our cars don't have traditional headers, most of the changes in scavenging is going to be done in the head and by the J-pipe.

One thing to think about, exhaust size requirements go down as you get to the rear of the car because the gasses are cooling and contracting. You're able to fit the same mass through the same sized pipe easier when it's condensed and cool.

A wrap could possibly make a difference in sound if you're using some really thin wall stuff but it's not normal.