Exhaust manifold wrap.

[paulmanta]

I have a pair of home made mild steel exhaust maniflods on my Rover V8, they are very smartly made but even if i paint them with VHT paint inside a few weeks they go scabbly looking again with surface rust.
I want to get some of that exhaust bandage stuff and wrap them up.

Is it worth it ? is this stuff any good ? will it cause problems due to heat building up because it is not dissapating or is all the stuff i have read in the magazines true and wrap is good ?

cheers for your opinions in advance !

[Ian Anderson]

I have heard they cause rust.

The wrap will help keep under bonnet temperatures down

An alternative could be ceramic coating them

Ian

[Alley Kat]

imho the white ones damp, get dirty, and start looking a bit manky quite quickly. I wasn't best pleased with the steam that issued from my bonnet vents every time the engine warmed up. Final straw nail was the fibres itched my skin as well. There's some copper-based wrap though, maybe thats better all round.

I've used POR-20 paint on 2 car and 1 bike headers, it doesn't last forever but lasts well and is easy to touch up. Probably helps that the headers have been cleaned and sorted, one set was blasted.

[paulmanta]

I am going to blast the manifolds when i take them off at the weekend, i was going to paint them again but thought if i paint them then added wrap it might look better for longer.

I have seen the black wrap which is what i was considering, the engine is mostly black anyway.

hmmm.

[ramon alban]

will it cause problems due to heat building up because it is not dissapating or is all the stuff i have read in the magazines true and wrap is good ?

In opposition to the disadvantages already mentioned, the main advantages are all marginal:

o The exhaust gasses do not lose heat so fast in the header so are less dense. Cooler gasses are more dense so require more effort to move them along.

o Less noise from the exhaust system due to the sound deadening effect of the wrap.

o Lower under bonnet temperatures - more so when stationary.

o Properly done, it can be visually pleasing.

[ian.stewart]

My manifolds are wrapped, and I dont seem to have any real problem with rust, But I do give the engine death every time I have the car out, so if there is any moisture in the wrappings its well gone by the time I put the car away, and I do not use the car for the Quick, no time to warm up runs to the shops, To help aleiviate the fibreglass irritation I sprayed the wrappings on the pipes with Black VHT, that helps big time, But on the downside, it makes the wrappings somewhat brittle and needs to be replaced every 2 or 3 years.
Ian

[paulmanta]

Aye, Black wrap it is then.

Its not a car thats going to stand about and get damp so i will wrap em up.

cheers chaps.