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Question about heat wrapping headers?

41K views 54 replies 38 participants last post by  XxGRYMMxX 
#1 ·
Anyone got a guide on how to heat wrap headers? I know how I should go about the wrap the concern is how to wrap the 4 pipes? Do I just overlap and cut and overlap and cut?
 
#34 ·
#36 ·
Hey, first off, why does everyone wrap the exhause from front to back? it seems like all bugs and dirt will get trapped in the seems that way?
And, anyone know if they sell a clear exhaust wrap spray? i got the blackish grey wrap at the store by me, and the only spray they sell is black. It would be cool to keep the greyish look with a spray that is clear to match the rest of the bike. Do they make this? I only see aluminum color, white or black. thanks
 
#37 ·
VHT sells an array of exhaust paint, autozoo carries them or you can order online. As for the rain issue, I drove my wrapped pipes ~300 miles in the rain, the only effect I noticed was that they got washed :)

Just let it idle and dry the pipes when you get where you're going.
 
#38 ·
Wrapped headers are really bad for a couple reasons. Namely: heat cycling, trapping moisture, spontanious combustion if oil gets on them, unable to see condition of headers.

The ceramic paint is better, especially if you do inside and out. If you like the wrapped look and arn't worried about the fire then wrap over the ceramic coating.
 
#39 ·
Gas tanks are bad for a.couple reasons.. they contain 4 or so gallons of highly explosive liquid. In the even of an accident it could combust. Or leak fire pee on you.

They rust out. And may leak.fire pee on your pipes. .... speaking of that. Damned oil coolers too. Fittings leak. Bungs crack welds and leak. Thwn bam oil hits your hot unwrapped pipe.

Your on fire.

If your worried about fire. Stay out of cars trucks planes tanks motorcycles and lawn mowers. They will all kill you dead.




Heres some header wrap facts.




Its a woven material so yes it can hold moisture. But can it retain moisture whilst wrapped around a 1200* tube? Thats a big no. If you get caught in the rain bfd. 5-10 mins of running without new water applied will dry the shit right out.

Oil. Yep. Oils bad. It starts fires. Whats ot do when it hits a near cherry red raw stainless header pipe holy sheepshit fireballs.

Wrapping is a great thing. BUT you have to treat it well. I.e. DONT LET IT GET OIL SOAKED!. Just as you dont want oil on your bare headers.

Rust is also a direct reaction from misuse or being lazy or both. Idiocy is the problem not the wrap.



I fucking hate it when people do that...

Moral is

DONT BE A FUCKING LAZY TOOL. TREAT YOUR BIKE LIKE YOU GIVE A SHIT ABOUT IT. and its amazing what WONT happen.
Btw i rock header wrap all winter on my big triple arctic cat. And i have very nice pipes under the wrap. Cause they are cared for and treated with respect.






My pipes constantly eat snow and get wet. But they DONOT stay wet long. Its pretty awsome actually.
 
#40 ·
Should I use a Header Wrap?*
NO! ABSOLUTELY NOT. There is nothing that will damage a header faster than the use of a header wrap, other than attacking it with a hammer or shot gun.* As advertised, these wraps do keep the majority of exhaust gas temperatures within the header.* The result is the wraps will prohibit the header tubing from cooling properly.* If you reduce the ability for headers to dissipate adequate heat properly, the result will* be premature failure of the metal.** Depending upon the application use and temperatures involved, the life can be reduced to only a few hours.* We consider exhaust wraps to be the header manufacturer's best friend.*

If engine compartment temperatures are an issue, the best solution is to use insulation materials on the sheet metal.* One alternative in some applications is to build a box around the headers and actually duct outside air into the box.* In some applications ceramic coatings have been known to help (see notes on coatings above).* Insulating any components that may be sensitive to heat, such as wiring, fuel & oil lines, etc., are a better option.

IMPORTANT: Use of header wraps will void any warranty.
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From: http://www.stahlheaders.com/faq.htm

They make headers, they're not selling ceramic coating, but they do say its ok. Header wrap voids the warrenty.

http://www.centuryperformance.com/exhaust-header-heat-wraps-do-not-use.html

Another article, a bit more technical and indepth.

I personally don't care if you wrap your headers in banana peels and glue on skittles, but a sticky in the newb section should hold some information about the pros and cons.

On a side note, I notice your headers go up above your engine, rather than down around it like a motorcycle's. Thus, when you change your oil and filter there is slim chance of it leaking all over the cloth header wraps. On the other hand, it's very easy for a motorcycle to dump oil on a header during an oil change; so how do you wipe oil out of cloth as opposed to wiping it off bare metal? Unless you think it's a good idea to change your oil with cherry red pipes (of course, wouldn't the bike have to be running to keep bare metal cherry red)? Sure, it's great to sound cavalier about a fire erupting between your legs, especially when it's something you don't have to worry about.
 
#43 ·
On a side note, I notice your headers go up above your engine, rather than down around it like a motorcycle's. Thus, when you change your oil and filter there is slim chance of it leaking all over the cloth header wraps. On the other hand, it's very easy for a motorcycle to dump oil on a header during an oil change; so how do you wipe oil out of cloth as opposed to wiping it off bare metal? Unless you think it's a good idea to change your oil with cherry red pipes (of course, wouldn't the bike have to be running to keep bare metal cherry red)? Sure, it's great to sound cavalier about a fire erupting between your legs, especially when it's something you don't have to worry about.
No oilchanges. Shes oil injected. And who on earth would change oil around hot pipes.. really? Theres only 1 time when oil would meet a hot headpipe. Thats a mech failure..... who doesnt fashion a bitchin aluminum foil oil drainoff doohickey to keep them from having to even worry about wiping a pipe down..

Secondly im the kind of guy that thinks its ok even prudent to remove a sexc polished or wrapped header ( where applicable... . Some bikes just arent realistic to consider) in order to keep it as good as it;s gunna be for as long as possible. .


Back to the oilchange bit... all you could think of is oilchange with hot pipes... :facepalm: ... like i was saying. Component failure is about all that will introduce oil to cherry head pipe. And at that moment it dont matter if its raw. Coated. Or wrapped.... shits on fire y0. ..

So. If your the owner of wrapped stuff. Use your bean when changin your oil ... thats all it takes.

And i will stand with you about oilsoaked wrap. It is dangerous. If ya oiled it good its absolutely time for a re wrap...


It IS easy to sound cavalier sure. But fire is a very large and real concern with a sled.. in many more ways... and i rock 10.2 gal of fuel between my legs .

And sorry that other post read so dickie. But way to many people base opinion bs they read online. All blind blame. Ya know what i mean. Ya gotta open and see the whole picture. Careless owner? Haphazard mechanic? Cheap shitty headers mild or s.s. ? Etc. Etc. Etc. All things make for a bad situation .. and not one you or i could base an opinion from.
 
#41 ·
Thats one of the cleanest jobs on a set of pipes that I've ever seen Rob.
 
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#42 ·
Out of all that... the 1 thing that rings out to me is the length of time it takes to cool a wrapped pipe. And perhaps some.of my positive experience with this is because they live in 20 and below degrees. Speeding up the cool down to be as good as a.bare header cooling on a summer day. Or just a bit faster.

Can we also take into account material quality. We all know 90% of mildsteel headers for car applications are pure shit. And prolly half or more of the aftermarket stainless is shit too.

I do concede that ive heard many a horror story about "wraprot" ... and pipes on my sled ARE shit mild steel. But in nice condition. :) ..so with all that in mind i make damn sure to treat those babies with kid gloves. And so far its done me well. I keep higher pipe temps which allows me to clutch a few hundred rpm higher.. and on a sled that means more mph as a result.. the other benefit is the incoming air isnt cooling one pipe or another throwing the tune up off.

I will say when.i spend good money on bitchin pipes theres only one consideration. Swain tech. Then a wrap job to mask the pipe.brand and the heavy $ spent at ST. :).


And ty steve... i appreciate that.. it took awhile to get compound curved cones wrapped with any kind niceness.
 
#44 ·
I agree. The whole reason I said oil change is (to me) that'd be the easiest way for a noob to get oil on the pipes. Bikes not running, some oil spills, guy's careless/doesn't know better/doesn't think about it and later when he goes for a ride....
I wasn't trying to knock wrapped pipes, just trying to get all the info out there. It's easy for someone new to bikes who likes the look to come on and see 4 pages of "wrapped pipes rock" and "xxx performance gains" just to do their pipes up without knowing what could happen.

Oh yeah, I have no clue about snowmobiles. I prefer warmer weather where snow is something that falls for an hour maybe once or twice a year and last for maybe an hour.
 
#48 ·
Pardon me for being a tosser and not reading through all this but I'm like a fish when it comes to my attention span.

I have an arrow 2 stroke expansion chamber on my NSR, will there be any benefit other than the badass racer look.. To wrapping it? I want to wrap it up to the rear slip on as that's carbon and looks tasty. taaaa.
 
#49 ·
Did mine in my kitchen:










Got black stainless zip ties on them instead of hose clamps now though.

All this "wrap will rot your pipes" talk has got me worried. I'm not sure if what I have are the stock pipes. Not put the bike together yet BTW.

As I live in a fairly dry climate and the bike won't be used every day, are my headers at that much of a risk?
 
#50 ·
^I really wouldn't worry about it. If the bike is dry you should be fine, if it gets wet and you park it you'll run into issues. The key is park it dry, and keep it dry.

Headers will rust regardless of exhaust wrap, but they will rust a lot faster with wet exhaust wrap. Our engines get very warm, warm enough to dry exhaust wrap in a timely fashion. I definitely recommend titanium wrap over fiberglass, but if you get stuck in the rain or ride in the rain regularly just run the bike for a few minutes in the garage until the wrap is dry. If you really want you could have the bike in the garage running, and use a leaf blower on your bike to blow off all the water. Really simple if you have a garage/leaf blower or shop vac that sucks and blows!
 
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