Exhaust wrap

[350matt]

I've got the manifolds off mine at the mo and am going to wrap them in the fibreglass stuff to reduce underbonnet temps and so hopefully increase starter motor life, reduce air inlet temps etc.

This mod worked well on my wedge ( about 15° drop on the air temp logger) and the manifolds are stainless on the cerb so shouldn't rust, but has anyone else tried this?


Mattt

[trackcar]

Yup I've done quite a few now Matt .. only downside is that when teh manifolds crack they're a bugger to weld up cos they're wrapped in heat wrap! .. I now miss out the bits where the primaries join together as that's where they crack .. if you leave just that bit unwrapped you can get in to weld them up ..

other than that no probs at all, never measured underbonnet temps before and after but they run cool enough to touch when the engine is running

[GreenV8S]

I used thermotec bandages on the V8S for years, took it off at the start of the year to avoid overheating the cat due to exotherm in the exhaust. I've suffered from a few cracked primaries over the years but I don't think any worse than normal. No external corrosion problems.

If you use the bandage I suggest you strap it down at regular intervals. It's quite fragile and will get damaed very easily, the straps limits the amount of bandage that comes loose when this happens. As an alternative to bandage Colin (pies) fitted some aluminium backed glass fibre sheets round his headers, sold as steam pipe lagging. It looked rather harder to fit because the aluminium sheets didn't take compound curves well, but much more robust that the bandages because it gives you a layer of aluminium on the outside (think very heavy duty aluminium foil). I reckon it might be possible to cut the lagging into say 2" strips and put it on like the bandage? Not tried it though.

[APMAUTO]

have you considered ceramic coating rather than wrapping?

[trackcar]

Never really considered ceramic coating as it's best on new manifolds and i can't remember the last time i actually fitted any of those .. well over 7 years ago now.
Doesn't coating them make them even harder to weld after they crack though? It will prevent the heat going into the manifolds if coated on the inside but it still wont stop the vibration work hardening the metal.
Coating does look really neat though, and defo reduces the heat transfer and is certainly I'm sure well worth doing if the engine is out for work and the original manifolds are being replaced

>> Edited by trackcar on Sunday 18th December 08:18

[APMAUTO]

all the ones i've had coated have been done inside and outside i've not had any crack yet(thats not to say they won't just not had any yet)some of the ultima owners are reporting under bonnet temp's reduced by 150c.
andy

[350matt]

Can't this only be applied to shiny new manifolds?

Matt

[APMAUTO]

it can be applied to used manifolds but they have to be cleaned first and the 12mth garantee against flaking or peeling won't apply

andy

[jonnyw]

Andy had my new ones ceramic coated and the resultant has been, albeit only 3 days of motoring but 450 miles, that the temperature under the bonnet is more consistent and is holding 80 in this weather, it is certainly lower and doesn't build up as before so only one fan is coming on in traffic to bring the temp back to normal. The heat reduction is so effective that the cabin is basically cold unless the hot air is on full blast, if you can call it full blast !