Headers

[lightner75]

Hello all,
I need help...I recently purchased some used headers for an awesome price..They are ceramic coated but,does have some pretty good scratches in them..I was going to have them powder coated but was told that would not hold up to the heat..Is this true and if so what could be some other oppositions that i could do? Any suggestions would be appreciated..
thanks...

[ADIO SS]

Originally Posted by lightner75

Hello all,
I need help...I recently purchased some used headers for an awesome price..They are ceramic coated but,does have some pretty good scratches in them..I was going to have them powder coated but was told that would not hold up to the heat..Is this true and if so what could be some other oppositions that i could do? Any suggestions would be appreciated..
thanks...

Powder coating and store bought 'rattle can' header paint burns off... If you like the ceramic coating, and if they are ceramic coated, you will need to get them stripped and re coated i.e Jet Hot coating is a company that does this - not cheap!.

Now, if they are steel headers they will eventually begin to rust and even the ceramic coating will flake off. If stainless steel, they will look pretty longer, but I hear and have no visual proof, that they too will flake over time.

I purchased ARH headers, still in the box and wrestle with what do I want. Pretty and reduced temperature or leave them alone. I have got more opinions to just install them, let them turn the 'brownish' color and move on.

By the way, the other part of this is if they do flake, as the insides are also normally coated, they can collect and clog the 'kittens'.

Lastly, the high temp cermaic coating also lowers the engine bay temp - very effective I hear.

Hence, now you know why my own decision is difficult to make.

[JUISSD]

Originally Posted by ADIO SS

Hence, now you know why my own decision is difficult to make.

Coat them, you won't regret it.

OP, don't powder coat them, they won't hold up. If the scratches bother you have them recoated with a ceramic coating.

[caverman]

Post some pics of the scratches.

If they are already ceramic coated you might be able to use some green sctoch brite to kind of sand them down a little and then polish them. Depending on the scratches they may not complety come out be will probably get you close.

Otherwise re-coat them.....probably cost you around $300 give or take a little.

http://www.camaro5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=105219

[Sack Rat 2SS]

I have ceramic coated headers on my Trailblazer SS for four years now and no flaking. It is a daily driver as well. IMHO worth the money.

[danhr]

coatings are worthless unless it's a car that suffers from IAT problems... which these do not unless you put some sort of forced induction under the hood

[Brianskeet]

Originally Posted by danhr

coatings are worthless unless it's a car that suffers from IAT problems... which these do not unless you put some sort of forced induction under the hood

I have gone back and forth over this decision myself. If you have the inside scoop on this I would love to know more. Where did you get the info from.

[danhr]

only gain is that you can touch your headers 15 mins after your turn your car off.

No real performance gains unless you have a setup that is plagued with high IAT's.

I have had jet hot coatings and factory coatings from hooker and edelbrock..... they have flaked off.

Money is better spent elsewhere imo, because I have yet to see anyone post any gains besides them rambling on marketing gimmicks.

[brantley847]

No one ever said there were performance gains with ceramic coating...

Many people say it helps reduce engine bay heat, I have no proof of this. However, when I can touch mine 10 minutes after shutting my vehicle off, I would imagine it remains slightly cooler in bay as well.

[danhr]

people like to run the phrase (not in this thread but it's a popular excuse)

"coated headers keep the engine bay cooler, so it has to give lower IAT's, which makes more power, because you are getting colder air"

[BlaSSt Off]

danhr is right... Its mainly for bragging rights and if you want it to stay looking good. All the claims of cooler temps and all that are just for marketing. If you want the best advice, ask the ones that have actually done the mods like danhr, SuperchargedSS, Speedster, ect..., and not the ones trying to sell you a product.

[caverman]

I had mine coated for cosmetic looks only. Not for any performance reasons.....but that's me.

[danhr]

Originally Posted by caverman

I had mine coated for cosmetic looks only. Not for any performance reasons.....but that's me.

The best reason to do any mod.

[Sack Rat 2SS]

Besides cooler engine bay temps you reduce the radiant heat from the driver side header onto the engine oil cooler and on passenger side away from the starter and wires even though this side has a heat shield from the factory. Just another 2 cents worth.