Header Wrap?

[Dasfinc]

Who all has done it? I recall spotting a post that someone recently had.

Real pros/cons? benefits? Difficulty?

Thinking about ordering a ton of it for the bimmer since I have to run forward-facing exhaust, and wrapping the headers, and all of the tubing to the front 'Y' Merger, but I'm seeing mixed reviews about the longevity and appearance, and don't want to spend $100 on the stuff if it will look like shit in a year and not give a worth-while benefit.

Also, where all have you ordered it from, choice brand etc?

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[DanJ]

I used black header wrap from summit on my crossover for awhile and it did lose its color and get kinda nasty over time. Granted it was on a daily driven car but I think the heat had a lot to do with it. Difficulty is easy, you wrap it around with a bit of an overlap and secure it with steel ties on each end. For a fair weather car I would use it. If you're meticulous in the application it can look pretty good.

 

[1quick]

any speed shop will order it if they dont laready have it, there is deals on some on ebay also, its easy to do ive done it dry, and soaked it in water before wrapping, it looks nicer if you soak it, my last car had it on there for a few years i only put maybe 20k miles on it but it lasted fine, it faded a little, the one im trying to finish up now i sprayed it with the silicone spray coating stuff and it looks pretty good cant say how the spray will hold up tho

 

[Stink Star]

I had it on my Vette. You could literally grab the exhaust with your hand like a minute after driving the car. It greatly reduces underwood temps. Installation is ready you just gotta take your time. And if your headers are already ceramic coated this wrap will protect the finish from being chipped off by rocks. I just ordered the DEI header wrap kit from summit or jegs and it came with enough to finish and some to spare

 

[DanJ]

Yes, DEI is what I used.

 

[SuperDaveGSE]

They have it at O'reillys.

 

[Spicy McHaggiz]

I used DEI wrap and silicone spray on the WRX cross pipe and down pipe. I can grab the pipe's after a bit and not be burned. Along with a DEI branded foil tape on the intercooler, the thing is Ambient or colder when I touch it. (intercooler) So far I've been happy.

I bought mine from http://fastwrx.com/mavexwrkit.html as a kit, 51 bucks gets you 100 feet of wrap, steel ties, and spray.

 

[willizm]

I used the DEI titanium and from what DEI was saying the titanium doesn't need to be sprayed with their silicone as it's already "cured" or whatever. Anyway, I had my hotside completely coated with swaintech and it still didn't cut down temps. I wrapped it and now am much happier with my under hood temps.

Look at it like this. Would you rather ruin some pipes or have the wrap degrade or burn up wire harnesses, plastics and accessories under the hood. That was what made the decision for me. It doesn't look bad at all.

 

[SuperDaveGSE]

I could never get mine to look that good. I really need to redo mine all over again.

 

[1MEANGT]

I have a lot of my hotside wrapped. I used the black DEI wrap and their silicon sealer.

The trick to a good wrap job is you have to wet the wrap as you are putting it on. Once it dries it will be tight. If you do not wet it then the wrap can become loose and sloppy.

Also once dry you need to coat it with their silicon high temp spray. This will seal the wrap so that anything that gets on it can be wiped off. And it will not loose it's color.