Header Ceramic Coating? Worth it?

[jrhone]

I was watching wheeler dealers and they had a set of headers ceramic coated. The claim was the temps under the hood could be reduced by 20% and that alone could result in a 6% hp increase. My headers are shabby looking and I was going to paint them but for $150 it sounds like ceramic coating would be the better option. Snake oil or true advantages?  Thoughts? 

[adawil2002]

Not sure of the HP gain claim, yet the temp will be a little lower and the pipes won't get the 'rainbow' heat discoloration. The E9 guys ceramic coat anything they can.

[AceAndrew]

You wont have hp gains worth measuring, but the heat insulation is worth it.  

 

Data point: I did a stock vs. uncoated shorty vs coated shorty test on my 2002 four or five years ago.  Negligible difference between stock and uncoated, but the ceramic coated version actually caused a very noticeable drop.  I don't remember the exact number but it was somewhere between %10-%20.  For the ultimate effect, you'd want to do the swain-coating but the finish does not keep nice for long.  

 

Even on the new fancy race cars here we will ceramic coat exhaust sections that route near bodywork or rubber.

Edited December 9, 2016 by AceAndrew

[kbmb02]

More info: I've got a vendor who applies a thermal barrier to the inside of the header along with the ceramic coating on the outside. If interested (John), contact me. -KB

[KenH]

I watched the same show and was wondering about their performance claims.  

 

Thanks for the explanations.  Nice car when they got done with it.

[cwlo]

Watched it too. Claimed  6-7% hp increase seemed a bit over the top.  Geez, if it was that good, and for only $125!  Anyway, seems like the temp reduction is worthwhile.  I am turboing an M42 with an updated kit from Jake, and am having the closer components coated.  Hopefully will keep it cool enough so the bodywork doesn't get affected. 

 

Chris

[John_in_VA]

They got a steal-deal on the headers - maybe it was an advertising deal.  I had my M30 cast iron exhaust manifolds treated by Jet-Hot & it was >$200 10 years ago.  https://www.jet-hot.com/our-coatings/

[zinz]

Ray "Scope Creep" Koke suggested I cera-coat my header while Ihad the '71 torn apart for 5 speed swap.  I like it.  ...or was it his suggestion to lighten the flywheel?  no matter, both great suggestions which I heeded.  

 

Mine came back from the coater shrink-wrapped and they suggested getting the header mostly installed before unwrapping it.  Seems the coating can be scuffed/scratched easily; it probably doesn't hurt it much, but it will look like crap after banging it around trying to fit it up through the front suspension bits... 

 

I'll likely do it to the H&B header going on the CS 

 

Ed

[Conserv]

2 hours ago, John_in_VA said:

They got a steal-deal on the headers - maybe it was an advertising deal.  I had my M30 cast iron exhaust manifolds treated by Jet-Hot & it was >$200 10 years ago.  https://www.jet-hot.com/our-coatings/

 

+1

 

I agree, the big shops are getting $300 and more to prep and ceramic coat a header.

 

Regards,

 

Steve

 

[avoirdupois]

5 hours ago, jrhone said:

I was watching wheeler dealers and they had a set of headers ceramic coated. The claim was the temps under the hood could be reduced by 20% and that alone could result in a 6% hp increase. My headers are shabby looking and I was going to paint them but for $150 it sounds like ceramic coating would be the better option. Snake oil or true advantages?  Thoughts? 

 

 

Not having viewed the program, I can't speak to the performance and temperature claims.  However, an alternative to coating would be header wrap.  And it will reduce underhood temperatures, but how much might depend upon the installation.  Aside from cosmetics, the downside of wraps might be moisture retention and promoting corrosion.  However, this can be deterred by painting the exhaust and not habitually washing the engine.

 

 

[John_in_VA]

9 minutes ago, avoirdupois said:

Aside from cosmetics, the downside of wraps might be moisture retention and promoting corrosion.  However, this can be deterred by painting the exhaust and not habitually washing the engine. 

 

Such a nice way of saying your header will rot!  

[avoirdupois]

There are also potential drawbacks to coated headers.  As others have suggested, they are not necessarily impervious to the elements or rough handling and durability may or may not be related to cost.

 

I inherited an older set of pipes for an M30 engine.  They came in two sections.  The rear section of three pipes remained a pristine flat gray.  The other forward set developed spider webbed cracking laden with rust and discoloration where the coating seemed to have delaminated from the substrate.  Not sure if the differences were related to poor coating materials, poor application (too thick), rough handling or possibly a combination of all.  I suspect the coating did not expand and contract at the same rate as the base metal, but it was a long time ago.  To be clear, the coating was probably applied 10 years earlier, so there may be marked advancements in materials since then.  Any doubts regarding the structural integrity of the header pipes and the coating may prove short lived.

[jrhone]

I called a place down here called Embee. They seem to be the place a lot of hot rod guys in OC go to. They quoted me $150 in the color I wish. Anywhere from various shades of flat or gloss grey of silver to gold. He suggested Gold. Then laughed. I asked about performance claims and he said he didn't think there would be much if any but under hood temps would be reduced based on the airflow of the engine. Some cars see more benefits than others. He did say that the pipes internally retain more heat and that helps with exhaust flow and burning of excess gasses in the exhaust.  Turnaround is 1-3 days depending on their workload at the time. 

[JackF]

When I first got the Turbo back from Korman, the header had been ceramic coated. It took only about 25 hours of operation to burn it off. In checking with the applicator, when told what the application was, he said no way it would last. I then sent the header out to KECO Coatings  in Indianapolis. They do a lot of Indy cars and that coating held up perfectly. I think 10yrs ago it was about $250. Dark gray in color. 

[ray_]

4 hours ago, zinz said:

Ray "Scope Creep" Koke suggested I cera-coat my header while Ihad the '71 torn apart for 5 speed swap.  I like it.  ...or was it his suggestion to lighten the flywheel?  no matter, both great suggestions which I heeded.  

 

Mine came back from the coater shrink-wrapped and they suggested getting the header mostly installed before unwrapping it.  Seems the coating can be scuffed/scratched easily; it probably doesn't hurt it much, but it will look like crap after banging it around trying to fit it up through the front suspension bits... 

 

I'll likely do it to the H&B header going on the CS 

 

Ed

 

 

Heheh. I just looked. Mine was done by Air Born coatings in 2007, for $155...

 

http://www.jetcoat.com/

 

Still looks okay.

 

(yes I plan to pull and re-seal the front covers shortly, thanks for not mentioning my oily frame rail ;-) )