My homie asked me this question and I was not sure what to say.
He asked, "He wants to install a VIS CF hood on his GSR but was concern about any problems associated with the heat coming off his stainless steel JDM DC 4-1, such as melting or bubbling of the hood?"

 

I highly doubt that it will melt or anything like that.

BTW, FYI, VIS's so call CF hood, its made by a layer of CF on top, and the bottom is Fiber Glass. as for more "CF hood" out there. A true CF hood is should be less than 8 lb and use honeycomb in the middle.
just my$0.02

 

Also, REAL CF, look at F1 racing or DTM, they can take alot, alot of heat and will not change shape.

CF are bake in the oven. so....

 

no.

if he is really worried about it get some header wrap, it will lower engine bay temps significantly too.

 

Any specific brand of header wrap you recommend?
And what length is appropriate also?
---thanks

 

I recommend not using header wrap, and instead, getting the header jet hot coated.

http://www.jet-hot.com/about.html

 

if you use header wrap you might crack the header... i have heard DC Sports headers are known for that... infact (true or not) i heard that someone actually melted a hole right in the header pipe with header wrap, get it ceramic coated if its not already or get it jet hot coated like the guy above said

 

Carbon fiber is bad at conducting heat. You'r friend shouldn't have to worry about this type of issue. Outside layers of carbon fiber can get hot, but the inside layers will remain much cooler.

Header wrap is a good backup, though. I'm not sure how much retailers are selling header wrap these days, but optauto.com has some on their site. Looks like it'll get the job done. I always wanted to get some if i got Stainless headers.

As far as the cracking goes, this is really only a problem for ceramic coated headers. The header wrap by itseld doesn't cause this, it's moisture that gets trapped in there. Besides, any ceramic header will crack (and rust) over time. Understand this before purchasing a ceramic coated header.

Don't worry about making a hole in your header like the previous said. That would be the equivalent of smelting the metal. Thats physically impossible by simply putting header wrap on the headers.

 

CF doesn't melt. The heat and the sun might make the finish dull after a period of time but it won't melt. Carbon becomes brittle and shaters on impact when its very hot.

 

no

 

Are you saying i'm wrong or are you saying that the hood won't melt?

 

there is not enough heat coming off that header.

even turbo guys with way hotter manifolds have zero problems running a cf hood.

 

Dang, this one is real easy to put to rest!

Have your friend drive around until the car is up to operating temperature. Stop at the side of the road and then place your hand on the hood. That should clearly show that there isn't much heat transmitted to it.

Wes Vann

 

the sun puts more heat on the hoood.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 00 Meanie &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Also, REAL CF, look at F1 racing or DTM, they can take alot, alot of heat and will not change shape.

CF are bake in the oven. so.... </TD></TR></TABLE>

this is the thing with CF some is baked but most is not post cured like that and the CF will take really high heat but what you have to worry about is the resin i know some resins that start to lose there shap at only 180 F so that is the question you need to ask the companys that make the hoods.

 

guys, it would not likely for the carbon fiber hood today.

one of my friend got a hood like 5 years ago, it was melted from the heat off the turbine.

that's why i there's thermotec header wrap

remember those cf hood today, I am talking about quality stuff like vis, fi, they are very nicely constructed. I am sporting one myself with the turbo and it's fine

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Kamin &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">no.

if he is really worried about it get some header wrap, it will lower engine bay temps significantly too.</TD></TR></TABLE>


ive heard---on a few occations--- the wrap causes the header to crack due to temp changes mixed with condensation and moisture trapped inside the wrap.....

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 00 Meanie &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I highly doubt that it will melt or anything like that.

BTW, FYI, VIS's so call CF hood, its made by a layer of CF on top, and the bottom is Fiber Glass. as for more "CF hood" out there. A true CF hood is should be less than 8 lb and use honeycomb in the middle.
just my$0.02</TD></TR></TABLE>

actually the new VIS hoods are only CF. top and structure on the bottom.

and only the clear coat can melt. But it WONT. not hot enough.

 

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

actually the new VIS hoods are only CF. top and structure on the bottom.

and only the clear coat can melt. But it WONT. not hot enough.</TD></TR></TABLE>


correct, i was just about to say that VIS is one of the few companies that uses only carbon fiber