juaijao

Hi everyone, I recently ordered a set of RV6 HFPCs. I am contemplating getting them ceramic coated to help decrease temperature under the hood, but RV6 no longer offer this option. I got a quote at a local place for $220 to coat the set... which seems high and I'm not sure if it's worth the money.

I'm interested in your opinion on whether it is worth or not worth the investment and what is a reasonable cost to ceramic coat HFPCs. Thank you in advance for your thoughts.

KarKraze

Just sharing some thoughts and opinion, I have the Ceramic Coated RV6 HFPC on my car for about 4 years, they still look as good as the day I put them on.Unlike conventional engines our car "header" is really the Cats and I feel that this design results in a tremendous amount of heat build up.

Any thing that can be done to minimize the effect of heat will be good, heat soak in the 3.7 is very noticeable and will hurt performance. The Ceramic Coating is supposed to help in this area,it is also supposed to help preserve the part itself and surrounding parts from extreme thermal cycles,keep in mind that you are unable to reuse the stock heat shield on the HFPC .

Can I say that I have definitive proof that the Coating did all of these things? No, not really, but I felt the extra cost when it was an option was justifiable, at least to eliminate the possibility of sacrificing performance, which is the reason you go with HFPC in the first place.

juaijao

Thanks, Karkraze. I appreciate your insight and for you to take the time to provide a thoughtful response.

ctandc

While not a TL, the J35Z3 in my '11 6-6 has the PCD's and they are ceramic coated (bought them used). If you can afford it, do it. If it's a legit coating system, it will GREATLY reduce temps under the hood. Reducing heat under the hood is always a good thing.

HeartTLs

iTrader: (5)

Have PCD with ceramic coating, and I had HFPC without. As KarKraze stated the PCD's still look new...ish haha. The HFPC turned olive/purple. I'm sad to hear the Richie no longer offers ceramic coating as an option, it's a worthwhile investment and a service he provided at a very reasonable cost.

CruzanTLSH-AWD

HFPC and I got it coated.. just shop around for better pricing.

losiglow

iTrader: (1)

I highly recommend ceramic coating them. Performance reasons are one thing such as reduced under hood temps and air flow increase due to insulated heat in exhaust. However, more importantly is the potential damage to underhood components. The existing cats have heat shields for a reason. Catalytic converters operate at around 800-1400F. Components under the engine are obviously designed to withstand high temps, but without heat shields, those kind of super-high temps being right near a lot of other components is going to be a hazard. The surface temps of the cats with coating will be significantly less. Probably about the same as the heat shields of the stock cats I'd guess.

Hyphology

could I use exhaust heat wrap instead? Don't have any ceramic coating shops around where I live.

losiglow

iTrader: (1)

Couldn't say for sure. I looked into heat wrap for cats but it seemed there were mixed reviews on various forums. Some say it can cause rust, but that shouldn't be an issue with these HFPC's since they're stainless. Some say it could cause temps to get too high in the cat, causing damage to the catalytic converter media.

I'd do some more research online before you wrap them. I might also consult with a muffler shop. If you do wrap them, make sure to check with the manufacturer of the wrap to see if it can withstand the temps put out by cats. Catalytic converters run hotter than the other exhaust components.

losiglow

iTrader: (1)

I just checked with Richie and it looks like he says it's safe to wrap the HFPC's.

Hyphology

That's what I thought. Heard of the cats going bad if not coated or some sort of heat protectant.

losiglow

iTrader: (1)

I sort of heard the opposite - that if they're too well insulated that the substrate and metal degrades from too much insulated heat. The cats have to be able to emit a certain amount of heat. The trouble is, because of the stupid location of the cats in the TL, you're looking at the HFPC's potentially damaging other components in the engine bay due to emitting high heat since they don't have heat shields, or potentially damaging the cats due to too much insulation if you wrap them. Acura placed heat shields on the stock cats which serves both functions (not allowing too much heat to the immediate area but not insulating the cats either). However, this still results in the engine bay getting super hot due to the cats being placed in the engine bay. It's not as if the heat shields prevent heat from emitting from the stock cats. They just serve to protect the immediate area such as the radiator fans in the front and firewall in the back.

I had the HFPC's I purchased from RV6 power coated, which was an option back then. They seemed to work fine. No problems over a period of about 2 years. However, powder coating is pretty pricey. I think moderating the wrap on the HFPC's will serve to be just as effective but at a lower price. I think the key is moderation with the wrap. With a lighter wrap, there shouldn't be too much heat insulation in the cat but still a good reduction of engine temps and potential damage to nearby components since the wrap will reduces the overall heat the cat emits, not just shielding it from other components. Richie seemed pretty confident that it won't affect the HFPC's and they come with a pretty good warranty if a problem arises. I'm going to try wrapping a bit thicker (no more than 1/4 inch from what I've seen recommended) on the non-welded areas, then attempting to skip the welds altogether, or place only one layer (1/16 inch) on the welds. I'll be taking an IR reading of the existing stock cats heat shields, then of the wrapped HFPC's to see a comparison. I'll post it once I have the data.

Hyphology

Wow. Thanks for the insight, yeah get extremely hot as is, that's why I was trying to find a solution(or at least something that helps with the heat) for when I get the HFs. I will definitely see what you come up with.

cbryce

KarKraze

Some people feel that wrapping is a good idea and others don't, trapping heat within the HFPC may cause the welding to crack and I have read that moisture can also cause premature corrosion.

If you look closely at the stock Heat Shield you will notice that they do not entirely insulate the Cats, it allows heat to escape but still protects other components in the immediate area. Are you opposed to the Ceramic Coating ? from my research it really seems to the the best alternative.

Did you have the car Tuned on the first set of HFPC ? Reason I ask is that the car runs rich without Tuning and all the raw gas being dumped in the Cats will cause them to deteriorate earlier.

cbryce

losiglow

iTrader: (1)

I wrapped mine and so far so good after two years. The bank 2 O2 sensor occasionally throws a P0420 code (low catalyst efficiency) but I believe it's due to potential damage caused by very high oil consumption from cylinder 5 which was self inflicted on my part. Long story. Things are good now but that cat put up with about 1qt. of oil every 300 miles or so over the course of about 10,000 miles so I'm just thankful it didn't completely bite the dust.

Mine are wrapped with only one layer but there is a fair bit of overlap.

losiglow

iTrader: (1)

Correcting my post above. I was getting the P0430 code which for bank 2. P0420 is for bank 1.

Jrc6MT

losiglow

iTrader: (1)

That's a good deal. Good luck on the install

MrHeeltoe

iTrader: (1)

Here's the $0.02 from Heeltoe...

Ceramic coating these parts makes them look nice for sure. We do not believe that a reduction in hood temperature that they speculatively offer as much of a benefit. Basically, we don't feel like there's that much of a meaningful difference to warrant spending the extra money. But they definitely add to the look of the part and so many of those yes or going to love that aspect.

We believe that if you want to insulate the exhaust parts you really would be best to wrap them. However we would strongly suggest not wrapping high flow pretty cats because they're already pretty sensitive to high temperatures. The converter cores in those weren't really meant to be placed so close to the engine. It's not impossible for them to overheat and breakdown. Wrapping them is just going to increase the probability of it.

Key to longevity of your RV6 HFPCs is a properly tuned fuel map. Hit up Heeltoe for a KTuner!

losiglow

iTrader: (1)

Can't disagree with that. It's hard to tell what effect KTuner has had on the cats but it's sure helped unlock the potential of all the bolt-ons on my 4G. And as we all know, a rich fuel trim is going to kill the cats pretty quick.

MrHeeltoe

iTrader: (1)

An aftermarket in take or other intake mods can dork with the AFR causing lean running that raises cylinder temps which increases exhaust temps and torches the cats. This is FAR MORE DAMAGING than a few degrees reduction underhood from ceramic coating. (rich mixture is cooler actually, but rich running can coat the converters in HCs and cause them to light-of and super-heat and melt them...bottom line, the AFR is the key to keeping cat healthy and your ass effectively pressed into the seat).

Save coating money, buy a Ktuner or a Flashpro and get your car runnin' right 'n' tight!

Acura TL Builder

I got the ceramic coating on my RV6 HFPCs. They do run cooler with the coating. I recommend it, even in mild weather climates.

$150 for coating was reasonable.