So i'm sick and tired of taking the stupid downpipe/turbo heatshields on and off, on and off...so many freaken 10mm bolts, scratched up hands, what a pita...plus they are ugly. My downpipe is already ceramic coated. Couldn't I just use header wrap on it and be done?

Any input?

EDIT: Was considering having the downpipe jet hot coated, and then wrapping it as well. Plus I have the WMW turbo wrap...

 

Why are you taking it on and off and on and off? The wrap will work, but I'd suggest having the heat shield on there.. Seeing how much of a problem heat is in our cars already. Plus cooler dp means slower exhaust gasses exit velocity, so slower spool. Whether this will be noticeable to you is a different story

 

Why it's been coming on and off is a long story...but it's also an eyesore whenever I open the hood even though I ceramic coated the outside black. I just thought that having the downpipe and exhaust side of the turbo ceramic coated inside and out, as well as wrapping both would be better than the factory heatshield and make it so I can throw it in the garbage.

I figured i'd see if anyone else had done this with success? I've jet hot coated motorcycle exhausts and headers with HUGE reductions in temperature....especially on my Ducati with the underseat exhaust. But I wasn't sure with the kind of heat a turbo throws out that it would make the same kind of difference?

 

I have my downpipe wrapped and am not using the lower heatshields. Have over 1,000 miles w/no problems. Have an ED downpipe and the heatshields wouldn't fit. When I say lower heatshields I mean the front lower heat shield. Retained the rear lower heatshield and the top heatshield. Good luck.

 

We have wrapped a few of our DP's and it's been ok so far. We've melted fans before with out a shield or wrap at the track.

With out the upper shield you will melt the valve cover and wire harnes, so keep that coverd.

 

I had the high temp jet hot coating on the exhaust manifolds on my WRX (Cobb stage 2). Surface temp at idle dropped from like 460 to 260 deg F (as measured with a laser pyrometer). I never put the coating on the WRX downpipe (wrapped instead), but am sure that coating would be 100% durable.

-my 0.02

 

Well that makes up my mind, i'm going to have the exhaust manifold, turbo, and downpipe coated inside and out. Wrap them, and modify the upper heatshield to still protect the valve cover and wiring. I'll be curious to see what temps are like after everything...can't be worse and it won't be much money invested.

 

Good god. I installed the Akrapovic downpipe today and a job that could have taken an hour or so ended up taking 3.5 because of these stupid heatshields. Incredibly tedious getting at the bolts and my hands are a mess now. I had no idea this job sucked so bad. On a positive note...the pipe sounds great and there is an ever so slight seat of the pants as the boost comes on but overall...not much of an addition over the stock pipe. More of a better sound than anything.

 

Lol yeah my hands are STILL raw from doing it...

But yeah sent the turbo, downpipe, and exhaust manifold out to be double ceramic coated inside and out, going to wrap the turbo with the WMW wrap, and header wrap on the downpipe. Figure i'll have a friend sit in the car and run it at high RPM parked after i do a good hard sprint on my road and see how hot things get with an infrared thermometer.

If they still get too toasty, i'm just going to make my own heatshield to protect other underhood parts.

 

Even though its an incredibly easy job....I paid a shop to install my DP.

Wasn't gonna deal with the heat shields lol...they got both shields back on and I didn't have to cut my hands or waste an ounce of frustration in the process. I always like to install things myself but this was money well spent...

 

Be sure to inspect your turbine housing carefully after you get it back. Durability was never any issue at all on my exhaust manifolds, but there was a hardened drip in the coating at one of the gasket surfaces. This was no big deal on the manifold, but depending on clearances inside the turbine housing, it could be an issue in there. For reference I had the Jet hot 2000 black coating. I'm very interested to hear your impressions and results.

-JL

 

Just a thought. I only put the top 3 bolts back on mine. Thouse are easy to get and hold it fast with non problems.

 

Wellzy,
You are right...the upper shield only needs 3 but I prefer to use all 6. I am **** retentive when it comes to doing things right and/or putting it back to it's correct configuration.

On a side note....the akrapovic downpipe is AWESOME!

 

Mflossin, you're comments on the akra DP have gone from "good" to "AWESOME". Is it getting better with age?

 

I underestimated it as I hadn't had much time behind the wheel after initial installation. It tied for the best mod with the AP. I LOVE this thing. I love the sound of the turbo spooling and when you hop on the throttle....it sounds beautiful.