Has anyone here ever added header wrap to their MINI's exhaust header to insulate the pipes (i.e., keep the exhaust gas hot, less dense and moving more quickly)?

I did this years ago on a car and it definitely helped the underhood temps and also added measurable power. The car had a high performance header, no cat and a very free flow muffler and we wrapped it all the way to the muffler. I'm thinking in the case of my MCS I'd do it to the cat-back connection point (including the catalytic converter).

 

But this is something that I was entertaining as well... I think this is a low cost mod that might have an impact..

I hope others will post their experience so I can read along too...

Thanks for posting.

 

you'll shorten the life of the header by about 3/4 of it's normal life.

 

Perhaps, but when I did it previously the header was still fine when I sold the car 35,000+ miles later. Have you seen shorter life when this is done yourself?

 

Yes, I have, although on V8 racecars. I've seen headers wrapped and five races later unwrapped, exposing almost nothing left of the header itself.
If you look at racecars you just won't find wrap, unless it's a BIG money team that can replace the pipes often.

 

That was far more true for mild steel headers than stainless. Even then I got 25K or more out of sets of cheap Doug Thorleys.

Add to that that OEM headers are lying about in garages all over the US and come cheap this isn't much of a gamble.
Even if you want to step up headers aren't going to be any more expensive in 2+ years.

I just bought some header wrap BTW. For those looking Summit, Jegs and where I bought mine from BLR Motorsports all have it. I had read good stuff about the heatshield products so thought I'd try some.

 

True.

 

Amazing timing! I just installed the Megan header and it really emits tremendous heat, so was thinking "mmm, I should look into thermal wrap as I am too late for ceramic coating." Perhaps ceramic coating is preferable, but as an after-install option, the wrap might keep some of the temperature under the car and away from the engine.
I'll keep tuned... and thanks for doing the beta on this.

 

header with heat wrap and sealer spray. Still going strong with no problems yet. Much cheaper than ceramic coating.

 

I'm wrapped on my exhaust manifold & my Down Pipe. Helped the high temps in the engine bay I was seeing. I pulled mine all out to wrap as it was much eaiser to do off the car then on it.

 

This I gotta see - wrapping the header already installed! Please video record this with audio so we can send it to Howard Stern .

 

Webcam...webcam..


www.Ifdmyknucklesallup.ouch

 

how much can you get ceramic coating for on a header? i actually clicked on that link

 

[quote=obehave]Webcam...webcam..


Absolutely! We know how generous the work space is on a MINI!

All I remember was how we had to finesse getting the obx header in! We know how generous the work space is on a MINI!

Can it be done? as i said I'd like to see it! Wrapping or coating is a pre-installation decision. as far as I am concerned. Once the header is in, I say leave because wrapping and coating add some value but not much.

 

2-300 are prices that I've seen... This will usually include a coating on the inside, and out, and some choice of colors, if that matters.

 

Was just doing some research on coatings, and found this:

http://www.centuryperformance.com/heatwraps.asp

I got my Summit magazine yesterday, and saw the wraps... very tempting, but I'm going with the coating, somewhere.

 

OK, so I *didn't* wrap it while installed...
But I did remove the header and wrap it with Thermo-Tec wrap, and then seal it with TT sealer (which turns that yucky off white wrap a nice heat resistant black (like my BBQ!) The Megan header primaries get pretty close as they approach the collector, so I had to leave some small amount of pipe exposed near the joint.
Apart from all the smoke and smell that comes off the header when first installed, both went away after a trip around the block for 5 minutes (as advertized!) Now I have an obviously cooler engine bay (sorry, no temperature measurements, but I can actually touch the header after about 10 minutes whereas the heat shield above the header is too hot to touch. The heat must be going somewhere, and it's somewhere other than my coil and other parts back there behind the engine. Who knows if I'll blow the header to pieces in 5000 miles or not, but it's an experiment I consider worth conducting.
Unfortunately the Megan is a very tight fit to get into the car, and with wrap it's just too tight. A bit of creative underbody work solved the installation problem, however...
Anyway, I'm a convert to keeping your head(er) cooler!

cheers,

 

walking on water would have been your next trick

 

Is this it?
Very nice writeup. I was going to do this this weekend but that now depends on if I can get this in time.

I'll do some basic before/after underhood temp measurements
Hope to see what kind of effect it has on IC temps too.

 

Yes, that's it, obehave! I certainly recommend the sealer--it clearly absorbs into the wrap and "bonds" it together. It smells and smokes badly but only for a very short time. It certainly keeps the heat inside the header rather than radiate it as the wrapped header is the first to cool after shutting off the engine after the drive home from work. What worries me about this is the difficulty/impossibility of wrapping the entire primaries since they are too close at the joint with the collector to cover, so there will form "hot spots" in the header which are not wrapped and which will radiate more heat, creating high differential temperatures at the header surface. I'm speculating, and only time will tell whether this is a problem. Fortunately I have a spare header, so I can always wrap it and do this all over again when necessary!
PS you have to wet (not soak) the wrap to apply it, so it must be bone dry before sealing, then that needs to dry. I did all this 2 days before installing the header.

cheers,

 

Thanks. Had to order it from Summit. No local parts stores had it or knew what I was talking about.

I understand the hot spot concern. I have run this wrap on old mild steel headers and did really have a problem. I guess we'll see eh?
If it ever stops raining around here I'll do the install on Monday.

Thanks

 

Here's what the wrapped and sealed header looks like, next to a stock Megan (that's been in a car for about 250miles.)



btw, that's about 45ft of wrap (of a 50' roll)
cheers,

 

Whew!
I bought a 50' roll.
Come to think of it though my OEM header has shorter tubes.

I see you shot the exposed metal as well.What prep work did you do?

Thanks again

 

obehave: Yes, the OEM header has shorter primaries, with smaller diameters--so you won't need a lot of wrap for them. I overlapped about 3/8" so it's *nearly* double wrapped. You might be able to wrap more of the OEM header too. I could not wrap the collector as the wrap would not stick to the conical shape (I really tried hard, trust me!) I would suggest cleaning with some type of solvent to remove grease, and go over it with steel wool to remove any surface *****. I just degreased the Megan as it was brand new. I emptied the can of sealant on that puppy, since there's nothing else to do with any remainder, and it can't hurt as it's resistant to 2000degF.
I can guarantee you will notice lower under bonnet temperatures! I am pleasantly surprised how well it's working and I'm suffering in daily mid-90s weather here in New Mexico.
Good luck,

 

Yea it's mid 80s here and dropped to 70% humidity. I'm going to do some base underhood temps. I had also done some measurements years ago posted in this thread So i'll have a decent baseline.

Will check it again after as well as the affect, if any, on IC temps. This'll be a bit tough since there are some variables but hopefully I'll get some improvement in IC temps.