Header wrap

A ceramic coating optimized for heat insulation can and will reduce radiant heat pretty moderately - but not all types of coatings provide this benefit, and quite a few coatings on the market don't.

It's actually possible to get the cylinder head combustion chambers ceramic coated to yield an improvement in thermal efficiency and power, but I digress.

Wraps...

...as stated, there are plenty of reasons that wraps are not always a smart idea. First, unlike ceramic coating which covers everything, wrap almost always insulates unevenly across the part, introducing a temperature gradient and therefore stress. In some cases these stresses can be significant enough to crack the headers, depending on how well they're made.

Additionally, they typically are far more effective at insulating, and in applications with high EGTs, can cause the header to get hot enough that the header experiences even more thermal strains.

However, liberal use of heat shielding and blankets should be effective af insulating the inlet manifold from exhaust heat in our applications - both of these still allow the header to dissipate heat to some degree.

In terms of power. Meh. On an NA engine, there's little to nothing to be gained. This is not the case on turbochargers, however as retaining as much energy as possible in the exhaust stream pre turbo improves performance.
 
"but was very brittle and would scratch off easily."

The Swain coating is very durable, if you want to remove it you need to use a grinder... It does not scratch easily, or flake off.... As far as power gains, I mainly coated because it was non crossflow and I was trying to keep the intake charge as cool as possible... I also made an aluminum heat shield between the header and intake/carbs and adhered a 1/4" thick ceramic insulating material to the underside of it... All together, It resulted in a 75° reduction at the carbs...
 
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Perhaps a little off topic, but regarding performance coatings. I'm a little hesitant to have things like piston crowns, valves, or internal combustion chambers coated. I haven't seen enough long-term results in these particular applications for its durability and any possibility of flaking off, chipping, burning, etc, which might cause other damage. I'm not saying these things can or will happen, I don't know. And that's my reason for being hesitant on it...I don't know if such problems are possible. I'm sure it is like we are saying about header coatings; there are various products, processes, and qualities existing so it might depend. I've even seen "DIY" products for self application on pistons, etc, and that really sounds iffy to me.
 
The intake and Header are Swain Tech Ceramic coated and the Heat Shield Is 1/8" Aluminum. The Silver shield are early pics for fitting. After, it was hard anodized black and it got layers on the bottom of Aerogel Insulation and then Heat Reflector on top of that.
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One beautiful engine bay!
I thought the heat shield was on the 128 though. 🫣
Oooopps Nope... Datsun 1200(1500cc though) It's really the same principle though. I will be doing one for the 2 litre, 4 carb Fiat in the not too distant future.😁
 
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I had some Alfa V6 headers (mild steel) I made for my GTV 6 ceramic coated. Not for looks but for heat reduction. However when I had them done I did not appreciate that they are coated on both inside and out. The insides were not polished as far as I know and they had a big vibrating tank filled with some dry product to do the outside - certainly showed up flaws in my welding !
 
The intake and Header are Swain Tech Ceramic coated and the Heat Shield Is 1/8" Aluminum. The Silver shield are early pics for fitting. After, it was hard anodized black and it got layers on the bottom of Aerogel Insulation and then Heat Reflector on top of that.View attachment 66928View attachment 66929View attachment 66930View attachment 66931
Looks like it goes in between the carb bases and the head. So I assume you used two sets of intake gaskets? And I assume no sealing problems?
 
Perhaps a little off topic, but regarding performance coatings. I'm a little hesitant to have things like piston crowns, valves, or internal combustion chambers coated. I haven't seen enough long-term results in these particular applications for its durability and any possibility of flaking off, chipping, burning, etc, which might cause other damage. I'm not saying these things can or will happen, I don't know. And that's my reason for being hesitant on it...I don't know if such problems are possible. I'm sure it is like we are saying about header coatings; there are various products, processes, and qualities existing so it might depend. I've even seen "DIY" products for self application on pistons, etc, and that really sounds iffy to me.


There is a possibility of a poorly made, or poorly applied coating coming off- typically you'd never, ever want to use that class of product internally.

However, ceramic coating internal engine parts is not too ambitious provided the products are well made and well applied. Done right, it's baked on to the prepped surface so well that flaking or falling off is a non-issue.

There are plenty of race engines out there utilizing this, as well as some high-end aftermarket applications. I should also add, it's regularly used on gas turbines, and can provide a longevity and durability benefit by keeping part temperatures lower, and preventing corrosion. I'm sure there are reports of longevity issues- but that's likely due to poor prep or product selection.
 
Since I have been spraying Cerekote, I ceramic coat everything. Even plastic and 3D prints. It is not only the heat and chemical resistance but the abrasion. Just about everything in my original motor bay is ceramic-ed. That being said I really like the look of a wrapped header, especially one that has been secured with SS wire in a fishnet pattern., I do it on Just about everything.

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Since I have been spraying Cerekote, I ceramic coat everything. Even plastic and 3D prints. It is not only the heat and chemical resistance but the abrasion. Just about everything in my original motor bay is ceramic-ed. That being said I really like the look of a wrapped header, especially one that has been secured with SS wire in a fishnet pattern., I do it on Just about everything.

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I agree. I just love the look! Makes it “look” like a race car. I’m reminded of the rear end of the rally lancia stratos cars! Also, can I say how nice your engine and engine bay look! Super sweet! I’ve been watching this build with some envy! 😁
 
I assume you use the air-cure product? I don't think many plastics would survive the oven for the heat-cured stuff.
I use both the air cure and the oven cure and yes you can heat cure plastic. If you look at some of the series like H they even give you oven cure times for plastic. I have sprayed prints in CF/nylon with oven cure and heat cycled them in the CF oven. Depending on the material you can treat to take 300F. Filaments are getting so good now. It also works great on things like coil packs, plastic intakes, valve covers etc. I will be trying to replicate cast aluminum intake runners for ITBs
 
There are a number of plastic parts I have been part of developing for products at work. They are injection molded plastic, usually in an ABS or nylon alloy. We need to fixture them properly so they don’t end up an unusual shape and when we mold the part we need to allow for an additional shrinkage factor as the part will shrink an additional amount when it goes the through the powder coat process. The shrinkage is not always linear so there have been some expensive mishaps.
 
Regarding header wraps, here is a new product that has a different take on it. It is made of a "volcano" material (basalt) like some others, but is woven into a tubular or sleeve shape. The sleeve is slipped over exhaust (or other high temp) pipes during manufacturing. There is a cord woven into the material that shrinks with the exhaust heat. This pulls the sleeve tight against the pipe and molds it securely to the contours. No idea how it performs in real application:

 
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