What are some of the pros and cons of wrapping a turbo manifold.

I got a cast manifold, i was wondering if it would crack if i wrap it.

 

obviously wrapping your manifold reduces engine bay temp. reducing heating problems. dought it will crack unless ceramic coated more prone to cracking

 

I'm not sure if I would wrap a cast manifold though
Even though wrapping does reduce engine bay temperature etc
Cast manifolds naturally retain more heat then tubular manifolds do
So by wrapping it your making the manifold retain even more heat
Thus increasing your exhaust gas temperatures
I mean just something to take into consideration

 

I would rather coat than wrap any manifold!

 

I thought that increasing ex. gas temps to the turbo was a good thing - assisting velocity etc.????
On the neg. side I heard (second hand) that some people who wrapped manifolds, complained about early rusting of the manifolds.

 

This is what I would do as well. Ceramic coat your manifold instead of wrapping it. Wrapping speeds up deterioration of the metal.

 

How is this a bad thing?

 

I never said it was a bad thing
Just Voicing my opinion or what could possibly happen
Is it a bad thing?
Or is it a good thing?

 

Funny I would rather wrap then coat, every coated manifold I held my hand next to was very hot, my Ramhorn is wrapped and I can put my hand on it for 2-3 seconds after a long drive and not burn my hand. I noticed my EGT's went up and my turbo seemed slightly more responsive in spool up. I used the DEI kit with the Insulating Spray, has held up like a champ so far. I recently pulled it all off to do some WG flange mod's and the manifold still looks brand new.

Most manny companies will void any warranty if you wrap their manny though

 

well first why do you want to wrap it, second i'd kinda be interested in how you'd wrap a cast mani, don't think i've ever seen that.

but my opinion is I wouldn't.

 

Swain tech, the best coating available on the market today. I wont even use another coating.

http://www.swaintech.com/

 

I had to wrap a ram horn do you issues with tight clearances between it and catch can lines coming off the valve cover. I think it's a best thing you can do, underhood temps went down a **** load, and you can set you hands on the manifold for couple of seconds. Possibly the turbo started to spool faster but I can't tell you since it wasn't my car. But between changing the manifold, wrapping it, and changing the downpipe car had to be retuned due to it going very lean (13.8 when hit boost, shut down right away, so it seem to help good amount). Previous manifold had cracks in it, and downpipe was sort of restrictive.

 

How much heatwrap (2" wide) do i need for a averange ramhorn manifold + downpipe?

 

My kit came with 2 50' rolls, I dont even think I used half of one roll to do the whole manifold and the DP to the flex section.

 

The main reasoning behind wrapping manifolds/headers is to increase exhaust temperatures which aids in exhaust flow velocity. If you look at domestic guys with V8's they obviously dont need to decrease under hook temps since their engine bays are the size of a jacuzzi.

The cracking is a given due to the amount of heat the metal retains and the stress/flex of that part of the motor. Its just a matter of time when it does.

Also another note, there was a thread on here that showed comparisons of log vs. ramhorn manifold turbo spool times and because the log manifold places the turbo closer to the engine, the temperature of the turbo was higher thus spooling the turbo earlier than the ramhorn.

 

.....and that had nothing to do with the emap ? there was probably a shift in the power band in the comparison's as well.

 

The actual temp of the metal is only going up a small amount relative to exhaust temps. You have to realize that most crap steels are okay to temps of 1200F, and egt's right at the head are 1450F on a HOT motor. All 300 series SS can take 1500F and not loose any strength. IMO worrying about extra heat doing lots of cracking is like putting larger brakes on a car. It makes it heavier, but by a very small amout relative to the full curb weight. The pros far outweigh the cons.

If you are *really* concerned about cracking, maybe you should have gotten a better manifold to start with.


On my setup, I have the whole works covered, besides the turbine - which I'm making an SS sheild for. Overall bay temps have dropped, IAT's dropped too, and all parts - hoses, charge pipes, etc - are all cool enough to hold onto. Before everything was at least 140F (infrared thermometer), which causes 2nd degree burns in a second or two. The best part is the price - $35 in wrap, $3 in gloves (or itch for a week), $5 for clamps, and an hour of my time.

 

lol I learned this the hard way, that stuff is nasty on the skin.

 

any pictures of the wrapped manifolds?? i am either getting mine coated or getting it wrapped

 

in for pics too

 

Example of our wrapped DP:

 

I was simply saying that higher exhaust temps = higher exhaust velocity. Not talking about powerbands here.