Jay Wellwood

Thermal wrap or ceramic coating of exhaust headers, crossover pipe, downpipe and hot side of turbo and using installed/insulate heat shields.

What else is there? Anything?

Thermal wrap vs. ceramic coating - seems that ceramic coating is less fuss and muss, but more $$$.

Primary ceramic coating options are Zircotec or Jet-Hot.

Anyone care to share your experience with this issue and your results?

Tom M'Guinn

Both Crazy Eddie and I Jet-Hot coated our headers and they look great, especially when new. Can't say honestly that I'd do it again, however, as their process seems to warp the flange fit-up (and their blast media tends to get trapped under the shields). If I were to do it again, I'd make up a thick (thick) metal jig to bolt the headers to and have it coated with the jig in place to help prevent warping. I'm assume the headers get much hotter on the car than when they bake on the coating, but without being anchored to anything they twist up more. 2 or 3mm is all it takes to make installing and removing them a pain.

I personally don't like the wrap idea just because it seems to add more combustible material right where you need it least...

Hood vents are probably more effective at reducing under hood temps than any coating/wrap...

Rob 3

I haven't done it to the 951 but I used Swain coating for my Formula Ford headers and was pleased with the results.

Techno Duck

I dislike thermal wrap because it absorbs oil and can be a potential source for a flame. Especially on our cars where many parts of the exhaust are in areas prone to drips. I used Swaintech on the headers for my LS swapped car and i think it was well worth the money, if i remember right both headers were done for less than $350. It significantly reduces the radiant heat. Coating the headers, crossover and downpipe will be helpful i think. I plan on doing the same to the exhaust components on my 911.

http://swaintech.com/race-coatings/r...aust-coatings/

Dash01

Perhaps you could put a thermal curtain to segregate the turbo and/or the exhaust manifold from the rest of the engine bay, and vent each separately to the slip stream. Front wheel wells are a natural low pressure area, so maybe vent the hot areas there. Cool air comes in the nose, past the hot hardware, then out via the fender wells. Flows higher pressure areas to lower pressure areas, naturally. The rest of the engine bay avoids heat soaking, stays cooler.

Alternatively, evacuate the hot areas via hood vents. NOT NACA ducts turned around backwards, but conformal vents which shed the hot air as parallel to the slipstream as possible. This per NACA research on fighter planes at the end of WW2. (A lot of that stuff was forgotten in the rush to the jet age, but I have a copy from their archives. The exit airflow is just as important, if not more important, than inlet airflow.

blade7

Install bonnet vents.

Tom M'Guinn

I have swain coated exhaust ports in the 2.7 head. I have no independent way of verifying that it's doing any good, but the motor hasn't blown up, so that's good. Swain believers swear by it compared to Jet-Hot and the like. Assuming they bake it on, it would probably have the same warping effect as Jet-Hot and (and, um, ahem..it doesn't look as good )

mwc951

+1 for Jet-Hot.
Cosmetics & functionality unchanged after many years & miles.

Jay Wellwood

Thanks for the responses guys.

Looks like coating will be in my near future.

btw - those headers look really sharp! Pic from initial install, or ???

mwc951

Yes Jay.
K27/6 install, Vitesse MAF & Chipboard, LR Stage II head work & LR Stage II IC back in 2006.
Jet-Hoted the headers with 1300 & the cross over and turbo downpipe with 2000.
I'm happy with Jet-Hot, but as Tom said...MANY Swain loyalists on the forum.
If I had it to do again, I'd cut the head shields off and coat the bare headers.

George D

There are some new coatings available. I used a ceramic emitter on the intercooler - intake and boost tubes, and a ceramic heat protectant on the intake. My headers are ceramic coated, and I use a turbo blanket on the hot side of the turbo. The oil dip stick used to get so hot you couldn't pull it without a rag, now it's not necessary.

These guys: http://www.metzcon.com/affordable/ know what they are doing, and is fairly inexpensive. You'll be surprised at their pricing, and they were referred by a reliable source. Couldn't be happier with their work.

G

Cloud9...68

I used Swain coating for my exhaust manifold, exhaust ports, valve faces, combustion chambers, and piston tops. I also added louvers to my hood, and I have a heat shield that covers the exhaust manifold I bought from a company that I don't think makes them anymore. I didn't take before-and-after temparature measurements, but subjectively, my under-hood temps seems quite reasonable.

azbanks

Turbo heat shield test.

azbanks

They are the company I use for all my powder coating. Yeah, their prices and their work is good. $240 to powder coat all four of my 996 turbo wheels.

Crazy Eddie

+ 1 everything Tom said ....
You will not get a better look, but it seems there can be an issue with warping ??
Also these headers are old and they are fragile especially that 2-3 one, and it can crack,... ask me how I know