I recently Purchased MSA's 3-2 header system. Befroe installing it my friend recommended header wraps to keep the engine bay cool and the headerpipes hot to increase flow and deliver maximum hp. When I looked at the wraps MSA was selling they advised them only for racing and not long term road use and instead suggested some ooogley header jackets or blanket. Why wouldn't I want to run my daily driver with 3-2 headers wrapped for higher efficency?

 

Wraps will increase efficiency, but they will rot your pipes faster since they retain moisture and do not let it out as well. Most header companies will void your warranty on a header if it has been wrapped.

 

thanks. ok second question: how much faster? are we talking about cutting off a couple years of life or cutting it in half? This might be a terrible question, but i'm just looking for an estimate.

 

Is there a specific reason you are DYING to use header wrap?

"how much faster" is relative. How much will you be driving it? Will it be driven in the rain? Are you going to let it sit outside in the hot, cold, and humid times?

 

I'm not dying to use it. A friend suggested it. I am meerly trying to do some research to make an educated decision. It's my daily driver, It does sit outside (but I live in california in the bay area so weather is pretty mild), and it will be drivin in the rain. Do those answers really help?

 

i've seen them on daily driven cars before. i know one particular guy had had his on for at least a year being driven daily and everything was still fine so far. i'd guess that even being driven daily, you'd have at least two years before the headers rusted through. if you are worried about the long-livety of your headers though, you could just change the wrappings and clean the headers off once or twice a year

 

You should be fine as long as your header is coated. If it's plain aluminized steel, it'll rot in a few years, but it won't be anything crazy unless you live next to the ocean with a lot of salt water exposure. My friend's header didn't rot until ~ 3 years after he wrapped his, however my 510 with the same header not wrapped is going strong 7 years after I bought it (it is jet-hot coated though). Do what makes you happiest!

 

alright. I think i'm going to go ahead and wrap 'em, but they are just aluminized steel(they have a black coating that im sure is somewhat protective but got scratched off in a couple places during shipping) I know I had the option of buying coated ones from the beginning however I chose not to because the difference in price was somthing like 200 dollars. Is there a coating I can apply myself that will work similarly to protect them?

 

Not that I know of. Most of the so called "coatings" you can buy to put on yourself burn off except by the collector part that attaches to the rest of your exhaust system. Best bet would be to use that high temp spray paint/coating they sell at your auto store and see how it holds up to the heat. It didn't hold up longer than a 30 min. drive on my Z's exhaust manifold, but I'm turbocharged so I don't know if it will work on a naturally aspirated application or not. However, it has lasted so far on my downpipe section that's under the chassis by the catalytic.

 

alright.. i'll give it a try. whats the harm right?

 

I'd assume that at least on the L-engines header wrap should help at least reduce all the excess heat. Especially during the warmer weather, it's just less heat coming up around the intake, fuel rail, etc.

 

get them jet coated, did it on my buddies race car and you can pretty much touch them after 20 minutes of WOT racing.