Header Wrap on FFR 4 into 4 headers

[Gumball]

I'm taking a bit of a risk with this as it's often said that header wrap will cause headers to rust quickly. Given the standard Jet Hot coating that comes on the 4 into 4 headers, though, I'm hoping that the risk is slight. Because I want my engine bay to have a vintage look and my side-pipes will be painted flat black with BBQ paint, I didn't want to have the shiny silver headers being a focal point. I also thought that it'd look sort of odd with the silver pipes transitioning into black pipes at the flange. So, the choices were to have black ceramic added over the silver or add header wrap. I really like the old-school look of header wrap, so here they are.

I never put this stuff on before. If you do this, remember that you have to soak it in water first, then pull it very tight while wrapping. The result is something akin to a plaster cast when it dries. To get a good wrap, I did the first three pipes (from the front) with 36" pieces starting at the head flange (which only wrapped about 6" - 8" of pipe down from the head flange) then I used one long piece starting at the side-pipe flange and wrapped all four, then three, then two, then went to head flange on the last (rear most) pipe. I used just under one roll of wrap on each header, as well as 8 stainless pull ties per header (two each on the first three pipes, then one at the side-pipe flange and one on the last pipe at the header flange. Because the side-pipe flange is not covered by the wrap, I give it a quick scuff and spray of the BBQ paint before doing the wrap.

Word of warning. Before I soaked any of the wrap, I test fitted one piece on a pipe dry. This stuff is pretty nasty in that it's fiberglass based, so dry it makes quite a mess. Make sure you wear a mask/respirator, goggles, and gloves.

Photos available - PM me.

[riptide motorsport]

beautifullll!!!!!!!!

[Mesa Mike]

I did the same thing and have had about 4 years of no problems with the wrap. Nice job.

[Fifty-Two]

Because I want my engine bay to have a vintage look and my side-pipes will be painted flat black with BBQ paint, I didn't want to have the shiny silver headers being a focal point. I also thought that it'd look sort of odd with the silver pipes transitioning into black pipes at the flange. So, the choices were to have black ceramic added over the silver or add header wrap. I really like the old-school look of header wrap, so here they are.


Much agreed. I was thinking of doing the exact same thing. Kudos on a beautiful job - it looks killer!

- John

[NICK C]

Looks nice. I think you are correct that the Jetcoat should limit the rust problem. And lets face it, you probably won't do a great deal of rain driving. I like the look and will also have black side pipes but hadn't thought of BBQ paint. Have you used it before on exhaust and had good luck with it. You've got me thinking of that as an alternative to a more expensive black jet coating. With what I would save on cost I could redo the pipes quite easily every year if needed. Nick C

[Olli]

You did a beautiful job with the wrap!

For a lower cost alternative for black side pipes here are 2 more options. Caterpiller makes a really nice black exhaust paint that comes in a spray can. It is a satin black vs the flat bbq black. I don't have the part # handy. You would have to go to the CAT site and search under parts. House of Kolor also makes a really, really nice satin black high heat paint. It however, only comes in quarts and most be sprayed using a paint gun. I have used both before and they look great. Satin cleans up better than the flat paint.

Olli

[jlfernan]

Looks cool!:)

http://img193.imageshack.us/img193/2561/jorgec.jpg (http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/private.php?do=newpm&u=111)

[WIS89]

Chris-

I would argue that there are a great many cast-makers that are totally jealous of your mad skills!! What a terrific job!

BBQ paint... huh, never thought of that, but should have no issues with the temp. Really super job overall! Well done Sir!

Regards,

Steve

[Gumball]

Well, I did a little more research on this and came across something related to thermal erosion and corrosive gases. Some of the reading was way over my pea-brain level from a scientific perspective, but the short answer is that it's not just a trapped moisture issue, but those other factors combined with trapped moisture that can lead to early fatigue and failure of the headers. The short answer is that the wrap can, in some cases, keep too much heat in the metal, which is why the wrap instructions mention keeping the overlap to no more than 1/4". In my case, I exceeded that in some spots and in others I actually have two layers - the first being the initial wrap of the tube, followed by an overwrap that was intended to ensure full coverage of the tubes.

I'm going to do a bit more research, but this may be an example of a weekend's worth of work coming to no good end - I may actually remove this stuff and go with the ceramic coating in black afterall. Crap.

[Pierre B]

The solution to this concern might simply involve ventilation of the space under the wrap and between the pipes. That's actually easy to achieve if, when the wrap is started down by the exhaust pipe flanges, you leave a 3/8-inch air gap down there by starting the wrap clear of the flange by that amount. That will let relatively cool air in, and convection will carry it up the recesses between the slanted pipes, then out the top. When the car is rolling down the road, air in those passages will move a bit faster due to the pressure differences. But when the car is stopped and the engine is cooling down, convection cooling of the pipes will work every time and likely carry off any moisture that would otherwise have been trapped.
This of course won't really work where the single wrapped pipes leave the four-pipe cluster and contact the header flange at the engine, but this is such a simple idea it might be worth a try.

[Gumball]

Well, I took the easy way out - the headers and sidepipes went to the local ceramic coater today for a satin black finish. No wrap for me afterall. As I wrote in the original post, though, it was an either-or choice, so I think the black ceramic will look pretty cool, too. Also, the sidepipes will be much more durable with that over the BBQ paint I was planning on using.