coated headers
 

why should you get stainless steel headers verses coated ones? I understand rusting... but won't the factory headers rust over time as well and they would work fine.

Appearance, and coating can help keep temps down a bit.

I personally just run stainless kooks and don't coat them. They look fantastic still after three years, I like the look of the natural stainless and it won't rust.

SS shouldn't rust but it will discolor from heat cycles. Coating them makes them stay shiney considerably longer. For the most part, it's a cosmetic mod. It also holds a little more of the heat in, but the amount is debateable. The factory manifolds are cast iron, so they'll rust. They are also VERY thick, which means a little rust is no issue. The only other header material type is mild steel which will rust and rust through over time.

Aftermarker headers are a lot thinner the the factory manifolds and if they are mild steel they can rust through. Having mild steel ceramic coated will help them last longer but stainless steel is king. Some like getting stainless steel ceramic coated too some call it over kill. It sure looks pretty but unless you're hot lapping at the track all the time in the summer heat you wn't have any performance advantage.

Can anyone else chime in who has been running stainless steel headers for a long period of time? There's no true advantage of coating them other then keeping under hood temps down, correct? Besides the obvious cosmetic advantages of course. I'm just looking to make sure there are no issues from having them uncoated since my car is a daily driver and I would like to get stainless steel headers for the car this spring. Thanks for the help in advance.