header wrap or coating question

[card16969]

ok on our old drag car we wrapped our headers but that was an extreme performance application, I was wondering if anyone had any experience with doing it on our bikes and if it actually had any bennefit. Im going to coat the mid pipes with high temp paint so while ive got everything apart i am thinking about wrapping or coating the header. I know cooling down the engine compartment will cool down the air box and the coolant which should not only give higher performance but also makes things last longer but im wondering if any of these things actually work on the busa with a stock motor with mods... I found the eastwood hi tempinternal exhaust coating but read that it likes to flake off. Im not looking for i think it would work im looking for people who have actually had experience with it good or bad. Thanks

 

[sixpack577]

My friend wrapped the header on his 06 GSXR1000.
There was noticeably less heat coming through the fairings.
It was a trade off though, as the muffler and midpipe were hotter.
The heat has to go somewhere.

 

[card16969]

My friend wrapped the header on his 06 GSXR1000.
There was noticeably less heat coming through the fairings.
It was a trade off though, as the muffler and midpipe were hotter.
The heat has to go somewhere.

yeah thats why i was looking into the internal coatings and ceramics because it passes the heat out the exhaust instead of staying in the pipes.. i figured cooling down the inside of the fairings so it doesnt effect the coolant and air intake temps.... have a feeling im going to ceramic coat the inside of the headers after blasting them since our bikes tend to run hot

 

[sixpack577]

yeah thats why i was looking into the internal coatings and ceramics because it passes the heat out the exhaust instead of staying in the pipes.. i figured cooling down the inside of the fairings so it doesnt effect the coolant and air intake temps.... have a feeling im going to ceramic coat the inside of the headers after blasting them since our bikes tend to run hot

I have read of cars supposedly gaining 3 to 5whp from having ceramic coated headers.
But a car engine is usually surrounded by alot more material than a bike engine. Usually metal that also obviously gets alot hotter than plastic side panels.
The bike engines usually are exposed to more air to keep them cooler also.
I can see it as beneficial, but how much who knows.
If you do ceramic coat them check your temperature before and after at idle after a ride.
Use a temperature gun, see if you can run a few degrees cooler.
I've considered it myself, I actually called 4 jethot coating locations within 3 hours of me last year to check pricing.
It seems the economy had closed them all down.
Be the guinea pig and let us know what you find. Surely it would be beneficial for a serious drag racer, as I would think even a couple degrees cooler would count somewhere.

 

[cheferman65]

Like it was said, the heat has to go somewhere...I would think it would start cooking your exhaust packing and eventually the canister...

Great question!

 

[card16969]

I have read of cars supposedly gaining 3 to 5whp from having ceramic coated headers.
But a car engine is usually surrounded by alot more material than a bike engine. Usually metal that also obviously gets alot hotter than plastic side panels.
The bike engines usually are exposed to more air to keep them cooler also.
I can see it as beneficial, but how much who knows.
If you do ceramic coat them check your temperature before and after at idle after a ride.
Use a temperature gun, see if you can run a few degrees cooler.
I've considered it myself, I actually called 4 jethot coating locations within 3 hours of me last year to check pricing.
It seems the economy had closed them all down.
Be the guinea pig and let us know what you find. Surely it would be beneficial for a serious drag racer, as I would think even a couple degrees cooler would count somewhere.

yeah most car headers until you get into high end ones are only externally ceramic coated but ive seen alot of turbo cars use internal ceramic coating on the exhaust to move the heat away from the turbo faster to cool down intake temps.. my question is how much does it effect the cans like chef said.. ive got carbon fiber cans so they dont have metal around them to keep the packing heated up enough to damage it... and im spending an assload of money on the bike right now so i cant afford to waste money on something that doesnt matter... im not really that worried about the hp im more thinking about the removing the heat from the motor to make things last longer

 

[cheferman65]

yeah most car headers until you get into high end ones are only externally ceramic coated but ive seen alot of turbo cars use internal ceramic coating on the exhaust to move the heat away from the turbo faster to cool down intake temps.. my question is how much does it effect the cans like chef said.. ive got carbon fiber cans so they dont have metal around them to keep the packing heated up enough to damage it... and im spending an assload of money on the bike right now so i cant afford to waste money on something that doesnt matter... im not really that worried about the hp im more thinking about the removing the heat from the motor to make things last longer

My 2005 gsxr-1K had a full ti header with a CF TRC canister and it lived and thrived here in florida until I sold it with 32k miles on it. No header wrap or coating, no heat issues. Yes it got hot but never experienced overheating issues. I did replace the packing @18K miles.

I think the wrap/coating is a waste unless your into long haul endurance racing where you are running it at or close to max for extended periods. If I remember correctly Jethot was not cheap, like $2-300 for a mc header

Jet-Hot Ceramic Coatings

Good luck with your findings and decision.

 

[Jonny Hotnuts]

A common misconception about turbos is that they are spooled by the exhaust gas 'flow' (well, they are some....but not much) but primarily due to the thermal dynamics of the hot gasses. The reason you get performance increases with header raps and or ceramic coatings is because they dissipate less thermal energy and its transferred to the turbine.

(*note that turbos wont spool with zero load (N or clutch in, no matter the rpm), and this is why.....this is also why some drag peeps have ways of pumping fuel into the exhaust to spool turbos before they launch)....


So YES, raps and other methods to retain heat in the header before the turbo build HP and spool faster (likely nominal) ....plus keep engine bay temps down.


~JH

 

[Commuta_Busa]

.. and im spending an assload of money on the bike right now so i cant afford to waste money on something that doesnt matter... im not really that worried about the hp im more thinking about the removing the heat from the motor to make things last longer

Don't waste the money then. These bikes will last forever and not suffer from heat issues that are exhaust related.

 

[card16969]

Don't waste the money then. These bikes will last forever and not suffer from heat issues that are exhaust related.

yeah i gave up on it forever ago lol, just blasting and repainting the headers so they dont rust

 

[Busashot]

SwainTech is the only true ceramic coating to go with. Pricey though but works really really good. If you do any coating, you should do all of it including the midpipe and in some cases the canister as well.

 

[card16969]

SwainTech is the only true ceramic coating to go with. Pricey though but works really really good. If you do any coating, you should do all of it including the midpipe and in some cases the canister as well.

yeah i decided to just paint everything minus the carbon fiber with high heat black paint

 

[Renegaderrjr]

Card are you going to diy? Or have it done else where? JW because I was having the same considerations with my pipe.