I'm thinking of pulling my 4-1 header and wrapping it in header-wrap. The process will cost me a new header gasket, possibly a new donut, wrap, and time spent. Is this worthwhile ?? I'm already pulling 206whp but I'm always looking for anything that will yield that extra hp ..

 

are you having overheating problems?

your not going to notice any gains by doing this. Its not like this is some crazy race header generating tons of heat. Its better to leave it unwrapped to allow the header to release the heat. Wrapping header's can sometimes cause premature cracking

leave it be

 

You would prolly see better under hood temps if you raised the back the hood a few cm. It creates a cowl effect which will help keep the temps down. You can also remove the coolant lines that go into the IM, along with adding a thermal intake gasket.

 

Ok .. I already have a Hondata thermal IM gasket and I'm running a Meziere water pump so cooling is not an issue at all.

So, if my engine bay is cool enough already, I should really not mess with the wrap at all ??

 

Correct...

<never replaced an exhaust manifold gasket, and has taken it on and off a few dozen times.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by walker111 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Correct...

&lt;never replaced an exhaust manifold gasket, and has taken it on and off a few dozen times.</TD></TR></TABLE>

lol x100

 

It all depends on who you choose to believe.

The theory behind header wrap is that it keeps the exhaust gas heat in the exhaust system, which leads to cooler underhood temperatures and it also increases the scavenging effect of a properly designed header. Will you see a difference on a dyno? Maybe. Will you feel it on the road? I doubt it. I had mine done when it was installed but I would never remove a header just to get it wrapped.

If you do it though, it smells like crap the first few times you drive the car!

 

You'd be better off having it Jet-Hot (or equivalent) coated, plus it looks a hell-of-a-lot better.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Mugen Mike &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">You'd be better off having it Jet-Hot (or equivalent) coated, plus it looks a hell-of-a-lot better.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I would have it coated instead of wrapping it as well.

Though I'd rather apply the cost towards a blingtastic header, like one of Dave's.

 

My vote for a high temp coating of some sort. And yes it has been proven on V8 cars that keeping the exhaust temps high inside the piping helps improve the flow and gives a few extra hp.

 

Hmm... why didn't I think about coating it !?!? Great suggestion guys. I think I'll go this way. There's a local shop who does very good ceramic coating. Thanks for the comments !!

 

Header wrap also promotes rusting of the header, something that you want to consider as well. A nice coat will keep those temps at bay.

 

Stainless steel doesn't rust.

Plus, wrapping is a HELL of a lot cheaper than sending it out ot get coated.

I checked.