Ceramic coated headers - worth extra cost?

[daves8]

Hey all,

Do you think the extra cost of ceramic coating headers is worth it?

I’m going to upgrade my headers to some DPE long tubes.

They are stainless so shouldn’t rust, but have a ceramic option for an additional $500

Is the heat insulation in engine worth the extra cost?

 

[Forg]

My belief is ... it's incremental.
I personally don't think there's a massive difference, but IMHO there's a wee bit of value in keeping plastic & electronic things under there just that little bit cooler which you probably wouldn't see any effect from for at least 5 years.
Appearance wise it'll look nicer but only for a few months ...

I think it's hard to decide whether that $500 is worth it unless it's your car that the money's being spent on.

 

[Ginger Beer]

I have been ceramic coating headers, dump pipes and the hot side of turbos since I became aware of it about 20 years ago

Modern coatings have come along way in 20 years

Not so much for any perceived performance gain, mainly for more thermal protection and to keep things looking nice

Yes, they do dull up a bit, especially when they get hit hard with sustained heat from long WOT sessions

For my old track cars, on both mild steel and stainless headers and down pipes I would get them coated, and then wrapped

Underbonnet heat is a real issue once you start removing the OEM heat protection sheilds

My final point is to ensure the joint you use actually uses good products and application processes to ensure you get what you pay for, not all joints that do ceramic coating are good at it, I've seen some poor examples of coatings over the years

In saying that I have never had an issue with anything I have had coated, even after replacing a wrap that has been damaged, the pipes, whilst dull, have never rusted or cracked, even coated and wrapped turbo manifolds that live on high boost track cars

Disclaimer: I don't buy ebay headers, I either get them custom made, or, purchase them from well known suppliers

Do it right the first time

 

[blackvxss]

not worth it in my opinon on a ls

My pacmaker 4>1 1 7/8 are losing there ceramic coating on my VE with only 36000kms on it.

 

[daves8]

My belief is ... it's incremental.
I personally don't think there's a massive difference, but IMHO there's a wee bit of value in keeping plastic & electronic things under there just that little bit cooler which you probably wouldn't see any effect from for at least 5 years.
Appearance wise it'll look nicer but only for a few months ...

I think it's hard to decide whether that $500 is worth it unless it's your car that the money's being spent on.

I have had uncoated stainless headers under bonnet for last 6 years.

So I guess the protection conversation is now irrelevant.

 

[daves8]

I have been ceramic coating headers, dump pipes and the hot side of turbos since I became aware of it about 20 years ago

Modern coatings have come along way in 20 years

Not so much for any perceived performance gain, mainly for more thermal protection and to keep things looking nice

Yes, they do dull up a bit, especially when they get hit hard with sustained heat from long WOT sessions

For my old track cars, on both mild steel and stainless headers and down pipes I would get them coated, and then wrapped

Underbonnet heat is a real issue once you start removing the OEM heat protection sheilds

My final point is to ensure the joint you use actually uses good products and application processes to ensure you get what you pay for, not all joints that do ceramic coating are good at it, I've seen some poor examples of coatings over the years

In saying that I have never had an issue with anything I have had coated, even after replacing a wrap that has been damaged, the pipes, whilst dull, have never rusted or cracked, even coated and wrapped turbo manifolds that live on high boost track cars

Disclaimer: I don't buy ebay headers, I either get them custom made, or, purchase them from well known suppliers

Do it right the first time

I am getting DPE headers.

They come either stainless or coated from factory, so I would have no control over quality.

Seems like it’s not worth it

 

[Pollushon]

I'm all for ceramic coating on specific use cases. The average stock motor won't need or benefit much from it. Once you start playing with bigger cubes, compression, fruit and especially boost, it becomes a huge benefit as those underhood temps can get extreme

 

[Ginger Beer]

I don't know of a stock car that doesn't have a heat sheild over the exhaust manifold for thermal protection, if they didn't think it was worth it they wouldn't fit them

My 4:1 1 7/8 headers are uncomfortably close to my plug leads, to protect them I have ceramic coated headers and thermal plug sleeves

I also have thermal protection sleeves on anything that is in that high radiant heat area, from wiring, to hoses, like the hard lines from the transmission, the coolant lines for my WTA interchiller, and anything else that gave me cause of concern when looking around with my IR temp gauge

IRT the IR temp gauge, it is an extremely handy and relatively cheap tool, whether you use it to check how hot your underboonet temps are, to differences in primary tubes when tuning of fault finding, or the efficiency of intercoolers/radiators or trans coolers

Without real data you are just relying on hopes and dreams

In the end the cost for good thermal protection is minimal when you bring reliability and efficiency into the equation

I consider thermal protection best practice, I've melted enough stuff under the bonnet over the years to easy justify the small outlay

 

[Derekthetree]

I don't know of a stock car that doesn't have a heat sheild over the exhaust manifold for thermal protection, if they didn't think it was worth it they wouldn't fit them

This might be to stop people touching it rather than under bonnet temps.

Proof of ceramic coating is undeniable. Plus a coting has got to help with maintaining the condition of the steel.

As Pollushon says, unless buying for bragging rights, is a 1% mod for high duty engines.

 

[Deuce]

I like ceramic coating, but I also use my car occasionally for drags or circuit fun days. Although don't have it on my current headers (but will at some point).

I've melted enough stuff under the bonnet over the years to easy justify the small outlay

Have you melted as much as @someguy360 ?


Whoops, too soon??