I have the Stillen second-gen header which is ceramic coated and I am considering wrapping it with carbon-tape. I am doing this to help the cat light off, and also to keep heat away from the alternator, which is about an inch and a half away from the primary. Who knows, it will probably keep underhood heat down too. Anyways, I heard that this will damage the header due to the deeper heat cycles. anybody have any input?

Hi, I would not do it, I saw a V8 header with that wrap stuff on it, and one of the primarys close to the collector had rotted out.

I have never dealt with it, but I have been told by many people that it holds moisture in and can cause rust.

Ceramic coating looks awesome!! Don't cover it up.:)

ok then looks like a no-go. I just hope i dont overheat my alternator, but i guess there are lots adn lots of people wtih headers here and it doesnt seem to be a big problem.
On a totally unrelated note, I was putting the brakes together and my little shit-disturber 16 year old brother is looking under the hood and i hear "PPPPSSSSSSSSSSSSSSTTTT!!......PPPPPPSSSSSSSSSSSSSS SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSTTTTTTTTT!!" I'm thinking, what the hell is that? ther is nothing pressureized under the hood...oh dear god! He is letting the R-12 out of my A/C!!!! shit how do i punish this punk?

shit-disturber 16 year old brother , He is letting the R-12 out of my A/C!!!! shit how do i punish this punk?

That stuff isn't cheap, Does the AC even cool now?

Make him buy you some more R-12.

I would make him pay, to have your AC charged again........the PUNK.....LOL

i woulld have to R-134a retrofit it which costs like $200 canadian I think. The A/C worked well before, and now it cools the car, but not really. We'll find out today, it's freaking 35 degrees up here and humid!!!

Yeah, not the best of ideas to do that.

If you have the money though you should get it Swain coated.

conversion kit is your only option.. finding r-12 is next to impossible and its illegal to sell it to someone that is not certified. last time i checked r-12 ran about $60 per lb. (in fla anyway)and thats if you could even find someone who has or someone who will put it in.. gl.

http://www.automotiveforums.com/kris/kris/KrisG20/path%20012.jpg

I have the fiberglass heat tape, and live in Utah, and there have seen no signs of rust. But hey, its your car. :)

how long has that been on the car for?

their is lots of dispute over header wrap. heres my .02
if you wrap them up, they will hold more of the exhaust heat in. this is good for performance(lower engine bay temp) but bad for header. its your decision.

the basic rule is never do it on ceramic, only stainless. trust me.

Thank-you for posting everyone, you just saved me buying a new header down the road....well i think i will go for the HS eventually, but at least i'll be able to sell my stillen....

if your worried about your altenator, try to fabricate a heat sheild for it. maybe even make it out ot the factory manifold heat sheild.

that's actually a really good idea, thanks!

Originally posted by FastNX
how long has that been on the car for?


About 2 years.