Headers: Wrap or not? Coat or not?

[MuRCieLaGo]

Hi,

I just received my OBX headers. Should I have them coated? Wrapped?

I found this:



What do you guys think?

[Paul Workman]

They're stainless, of course; like my SWs. And for the life of me I couldn't see any demonstrably significant reason to paint or coat them - aside from possibly one of cosmetics. But, I'm NOT a WAXER either (not that the headers of an LT5 do more than barely peek out between the heads and the frame rail anyway!)

A show car = yes (I guess)
A warrior? Meh...

YMMV

[Gunny]

I've had SW long tubes on the Z for well over 10 years. When I installed them the current "wisdom" & recommendation was to coat them ... which I did. Honestly, if I were doing it today, I would leave them stainless and save the $$$ to use somewhere else. Not that I dislike having coated headers or think they are better or worse but I would be just as happy with the original stainless look.

[MuRCieLaGo]

My car is definitely a warrior, not a show car. So I guess I'll choose the easiest way: leave them like they are. They look great (at the moment)!

Thanks!

[efnfast]

I coated mine for heat retention. They almost have a beaded glass look, not a shiny look just for looks. Did it for under hood temps and "better gas scavenging"

[MuRCieLaGo]

How did you coat them?

[efnfast]

I think I sent them to Swain Tech in PA. If you need more info, I'll pull some paperwork. They offer two different coatings. One for looks, one for function. I picked the one for function/better heat retention. - Steve

[Gunny]

Originally Posted by efnfast

I think I sent them to Swain Tech in PA. If you need more info, I'll pull some paperwork. They offer two different coatings. One for looks, one for function. I picked the one for function/better heat retention. - Steve

thanks for refreshing my memory, Steve ... to clarify, I had my headers Swain coated for function.

[Karl]

Jet hot coating via lo ko coating in the Chicago suburbs. I have always jet hot coated headers. With the lt-5 engine not exposing as much of the exhaust header in the engine bay vs a traditional sbc, maybe it's not necessary.

https://www.google.com/search?site=&...#istate=kp:xpd

[KILLSHOTS]

I had my OBXs coated. I wouldn't install headers without coating. Obviously, the heat shields are lost when headers are installed, so there is a chance that fingers, wires, etc. could be burned, which I didn't want. I noticed that underhood temps seemed to be down quite a bit after the install. Furthermore, heat dissipation with the coating was so good that I could actually touch the headers within maybe 15 minutes after a drive. Highly recommended. Make sure you take them to a reputable coater and - VERY IMPORTANT - make sure you confirm that they'll be coated both inside and out, otherwise the process will be worthless. Believe it or not, some coaters do shortcut the process and coat the outside only. Good luck.