so i made a spontaneous decision yesterday and bought exhaust wrap from advanced auto to wrap up my header. its supposed to retain a great deal of heat, allowing the exhaust to run hot and apparently, better flowing(which adds hp!). it also keeps the engine bay cooler during drives, which should compliment my SRI very well. so, i was initially sold on those aspects.

now before i start putting it on, i did some research online which left me a bit skeptical. some say that moisture will start to build between the pipes and wrap, causing the header to rust. others also say that the header may crack due to the increased heat. therefore, many have suggested getting the header ceramic coated(or something alike), which happens to exceed my willing budget. but none of this info came from scion forums, and ive yet to find it on here. so heres the deal:

im running fully stock, with my only mod being a SRI. i figured i'll do a little tweaking by wrapping up my stock header in hopes of some benefit(and hopefully no losses!). any advice would be appreciated. thanks in advance!

 

I think you will see minimal gains, if any. If you are willing to wrap it then do it, drive for a bit and see what happens. If it cracks then buy an aftermarket one =)

 

on my very first i/h/e daysin 2007, i had a knock off ebay header SS that was heat wrapped. it didnt rust on me for the year it was on, and never cracked it either. i've ALWAYS used heat wrap, for my own reasons. people have been using heat wrap on high hp v8's for a looong time. ive never heard this testimony. maybe there referring to cast iron, or mild steel manifolds. ive never heard/seen of cracking, and there are a LOT of tuners out here in chicago

 

https://www.scionlife.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=206053

I just did it, and another xb2 guy has 30k on his wrapped header.

 

good job man, looks great! did you notice a difference regarding how it drives?

also, i'll be applying this to my stock header, which includes the cat. do you suggest i wrap up the cat as well? im thinking of wrapping all the way to my downpipe... if i decide to do so at all.

 

wraps = cracked manifolds ftw.

 

I hear that all the time, seems like more of a myth than anything. I'm pretty sure if it was true, pasquale's header would have broken long ago....as well as thousands of v8 guys who have run wrapped headers since before we were all born, lol.

 

It won't crack anything, it'll be fine. The only way moisture would cause rust on the pipes is if the pipes aren't properly treated. If you're worried take the header/exhaust manifold off, throw some high heat paint on it, cure it correctly, then wrap it.

 

this

 

IT WILL CRACK OKAY?

 

Do you honestly believe that wrapping a headers is going to give you noticeable HP gains?