Ceramic coated or not?
Discussion
davegreg said:
Is it worth the extra outlay getting ceramic coated headers and cats (700 quid difference), or waste of cash? Advantages? Cheers in advance. 
If mild steel and appearance is important, then probably.If stainless steel, probably not
If you want the ceramic look..then probably. If not, nope.
As for how much they really reduce or retain heat....I wouldnt want to be touching them when they're hot ! lol
From any real world performance related point of view, the cost would be very hard to justify.
stevieturbo said:
davegreg said:
Is it worth the extra outlay getting ceramic coated headers and cats (700 quid difference), or waste of cash? Advantages? Cheers in advance.
If mild steel and appearance is important, then probably.If stainless steel, probably not
If you want the ceramic look..then probably. If not, nope.
As for how much they really reduce or retain heat....I wouldnt want to be touching them when they're hot ! lol
From any real world performance related point of view, the cost would be very hard to justify.
Only the cost has stopped me doing this so I've always used wrap instead. I don't go over board just wrap the primaries next to the engine and leave the first inch or so exposed.
I did mine 3 years a go and they are still looking very tidy and they've been on and off the engine several times.
I did mine 3 years a go and they are still looking very tidy and they've been on and off the engine several times.
davegreg said:
stevieturbo said:
davegreg said:
Is it worth the extra outlay getting ceramic coated headers and cats (700 quid difference), or waste of cash? Advantages? Cheers in advance.
If mild steel and appearance is important, then probably.If stainless steel, probably not
If you want the ceramic look..then probably. If not, nope.
As for how much they really reduce or retain heat....I wouldnt want to be touching them when they're hot ! lol
From any real world performance related point of view, the cost would be very hard to justify.
If you look at the zircotec video on its web site, you see an exhaust glowing red without their coating. Unfortunately there are not any comparative temps shown to back up the sales blurb so I suppose what you see is what you get???
MyM8V8 said:
If you are NA or have CAI this is probably reasonable, but if you are PD FI, I can tell you that keeping underbonnet temps to a minimum is critical and anything you can do to reduce this counts. Personally I would going on some real life measurements when making a decision as to whether its worth it or not.
Measurements of what though ? Actual performance ? or just temperatures somewhere ?I've nothing on mine ceramic coated....largely due to expense, as I know there will be minimal if any actual performance gain from it.
As to how much it really insulates, it's a hard question to answer.
But Ive been around many turbo cars and quite a few with ceramic coatings. As said,. I still wouldnt want my hands near them when warm !
I'm sure there is some insulation and heat reduction properties with ceramic, but not as big as they'd have you believe in real terms
And once moving, underbonnet temp or heat really shouldnt be an issue due to airflow.
But can ceramic coating improve the appearance ? definitely they can. Some of them look fantastic and can remain that way for many years
Even heat wrap, I'd only use it where absolutely essential to prevent fire or heat damage risk.
Other than that I wouldnt consider it. It's a pain to install, and wrapping stainless parts always leads to premature wear and fatigue on the metal. For a very low use vehicle this may be fine and last some time.
For a daily driver just because you can do it.. I wouldnt do it.
Now obviously some installs it is essential for things to be insulated, in those cases you do what has to be done for protection.
stevieturbo said:
Measurements of what though ? Actual performance ? or just temperatures somewhere ?
I've nothing on mine ceramic coated....largely due to expense, as I know there will be minimal if any actual performance gain from it.
As to how much it really insulates, it's a hard question to answer.
But Ive been around many turbo cars and quite a few with ceramic coatings. As said,. I still wouldnt want my hands near them when warm !
I'm sure there is some insulation and heat reduction properties with ceramic, but not as big as they'd have you believe in real terms
And once moving, underbonnet temp or heat really shouldnt be an issue due to airflow.
But can ceramic coating improve the appearance ? definitely they can. Some of them look fantastic and can remain that way for many years
Even heat wrap, I'd only use it where absolutely essential to prevent fire or heat damage risk.
Other than that I wouldnt consider it. It's a pain to install, and wrapping stainless parts always leads to premature wear and fatigue on the metal. For a very low use vehicle this may be fine and last some time.
For a daily driver just because you can do it.. I wouldnt do it.
Now obviously some installs it is essential for things to be insulated, in those cases you do what has to be done for protection.
Having seen my IATs drop by fitting bonnet vents when running.I've nothing on mine ceramic coated....largely due to expense, as I know there will be minimal if any actual performance gain from it.
As to how much it really insulates, it's a hard question to answer.
But Ive been around many turbo cars and quite a few with ceramic coatings. As said,. I still wouldnt want my hands near them when warm !
I'm sure there is some insulation and heat reduction properties with ceramic, but not as big as they'd have you believe in real terms
And once moving, underbonnet temp or heat really shouldnt be an issue due to airflow.
But can ceramic coating improve the appearance ? definitely they can. Some of them look fantastic and can remain that way for many years
Even heat wrap, I'd only use it where absolutely essential to prevent fire or heat damage risk.
Other than that I wouldnt consider it. It's a pain to install, and wrapping stainless parts always leads to premature wear and fatigue on the metal. For a very low use vehicle this may be fine and last some time.
For a daily driver just because you can do it.. I wouldnt do it.
Now obviously some installs it is essential for things to be insulated, in those cases you do what has to be done for protection.
If the coating drops those temps, I'm all for it, even if expensive. What worries me about sales companies they seem to lack empirical data on which to base their claims???
MyM8V8 said:
davegreg said:
stevieturbo said:
davegreg said:
Is it worth the extra outlay getting ceramic coated headers and cats (700 quid difference), or waste of cash? Advantages? Cheers in advance.
If mild steel and appearance is important, then probably.If stainless steel, probably not
If you want the ceramic look..then probably. If not, nope.
As for how much they really reduce or retain heat....I wouldnt want to be touching them when they're hot ! lol
From any real world performance related point of view, the cost would be very hard to justify.
If you look at the zircotec video on its web site, you see an exhaust glowing red without their coating. Unfortunately there are not any comparative temps shown to back up the sales blurb so I suppose what you see is what you get???
davegreg said:
The car is my daily driver, is NA and has a fairly easy life to be honest. The reason I started the thread was because I enquired to Walkinshaw about getting the cam done as well as headers and sports cats - and they asked if I required the headers to be ceramic coated.
Dave if buying the headers ceramic coating is an option. I took it when buying some Pacemakers from Oz because it added $300AU to the price.ETA £700 is a lot of an extra IMHO. With my FI setup I would do it, but NA I'm with Stevie, its too much, even Di Fillipos didn't charge that much extra and they're dear.
(Ask them for a 50% reduction and have it???)
Edited by MyM8V8 on Friday 15th August 18:01
stevieturbo said:
I've nothing on mine ceramic coated....largely due to expense, as I know there will be minimal if any actual performance gain from it.
I don't think the point of ceramic coating is to increase power output.It's more about helping to manage engine bay temperatures with the goal of preventing IAT's from getting too high, which in its self might at best lead to a loss of power if left un-checked, or at worst lead to internal engine damage...
As previously mentioned, this is only really a concern for forced induction engines.
MyM8V8 said:
007 VXR said:
Zircotec say it brings temps down in there test from 700 to only 400. If this is true its going to be a big help in keeping under bonnet temps down....
It would be fantastic for my FI set up!!!!!!!!! Proof is in the pudding, lets see?Edit: I'll also be having an oil cooler fitted at the same time so the comparison may not be a fair one
Edited by pah250 on Friday 15th August 18:21
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