How many of yall have had your headers coated and with what? Is this worth it? Is the main benefit simply keeping underhood temps managable? Thanks!
I had TA coat mine when I ordered them... They used Jet-hot, cost $200 for shorties. Expensive addition, but very worthwhile in my opinion.
I had TA coat my headers and they look great. Coatings will keep them looking good and run cooler. They coat the inside of the pipes also, this helps to keep them from corroding from the inside out. Only thing is I wish I would have welded a stock type flange to connect to exhaust before having them coated. Then I wouldn't have to worry about the 3 bolt reducers leaking.
I did the same thing with the TA headers. The Jet Hot coating is great, and if you have any problems.... or just a small scratch or ding, you can send them in for a recoat under warranty for one time, free. I called up Jet Hot, and the tech said as long as you have the receipt, no problem. He said to take out any dings or dents first, then send it to them. I also asked if I installed a O2 bung, would he care? He said do it all before you send it!
Coating on the inside also retains even more heat thereby keeping gas velocity higher. CC magazine did a test of this a few months back.
I dunno.....mine are going on 8 years old. They were bought new from TA with the Jet Hot coating. While the car was outside, it wasn't driven on salty/nasty winter roads and when I had the car apart 3 years later they looked terrible. They got sent back to JetHot for a re-coat (BTW - shipping is on YOU both ways so its about $100 process). Looked great again.....but now its 4 years later, and they're not looking spectacular any more. Specifically....the area where all the individual pipes come together and kinda Lay on top of each other - inbetween these "folds". I did it for longevity - I've seen uncoated headers look like rusty pieces of crap after a year and I didn't want that...... .....But considering the coating was MORE EXPENSIVE than the headers actually were Im a bit disappointed.
My headers were coated by HPC back in 1995....... they still look grate to this day. Granted, they would look alot better if I ever took to time to clean them, but I don't. I've had HPC do the pipes on my off ride toys that go to the sand dunes as well, and they still look great dispite getting sandblasted all the time. I'm sold on HPC.
I also have TA headers that have been Jet Hot coated. If you want that extra good looking engine bay, then go with the Jet Hot. If you are just needing a set of headers for the strip or for a good driver and are on a econo-budget then save the $200.00 bucks. The jet hot coating though should make them last longer.
I'd go with the Jet-Hot. My first set of custom built headers for the race car rotted away because they weren't coated, just painted with high temp heat paint. What Junk! That paint is worthless! I had the second set of headers (Kook's) coated with Jet-Hot when they were built, over seven years ago, and they still look great. I had my T/R downpipe done with the same Sterling coating a few years ago and it doesn't look quite as good as new, but still pretty nice. Of course, it IS outside all the time and the turbo car sees a LOT more exhaust temp than the big block. The Jet-Hot 2000 coating would be better for high heat applications, but it doesn't come in the nice shiny Sterling color. It only comes in grey, black, and blue. I bought headers for my 454 Suburban straight from Jet-Hot and had them coated with the black 2000 coating and they are holding up great. And THAT'S a high heat application, hauling my box trailer through the mountains at 80 mph. :Brow:
I tried that header-wrap stuff 15 years ago on my '70. It works pretty good at keeping the heat in, but it doesn't look nice and if you ever take it off, your headers will be left looking pretty ugly. Also it won't keep them from rusting, inside or out.
Jet-Hot is good, just don't go with the chrome coating. It's scratches easy and does not like EXTREME heat. I broke a new cam in with this coating on (yes they were already heat tempered when I was running the old cam and they looked great until then). So now they are dull and not looking like the worth of extra bucks for the chrome look. Since they are Stage 2 header they are a @^%$ to "just pull off". Moral of the story: Save money and go with a neutral color like black in the coatings. BBQ paint is looking good too for the $$$ of Jet-Hot. :Smarty:
Since the price of the coatings is almost the price of the headers themselves, I recommend buying a second set of headers, and when the first set rots out in 6-7 years, throw on your new-looking second set and use them for another 6-7 years. I've had Jet-Hot, Jet-Hot 2000, and Airborne Coatings. They look great when new, but in all cases they rusted out, and didn't last much longer than if they were uncoated. -Bob Cunningham
HPC HPC HPC HPC There is a reason Nasa uses this coating over Jet-Hot and the others. The also coat the inside of the pipes to keep them from rusting from the inside out. That will be my last plug for HPC as I am not a affiliated with them just someone that has used there product since 88 and have been very impressed with it.
I was going to use HPC for my saturn turbo project. They seem like they have a good product. Their customer service (via email) has been great too. http://www.hpcoatings.com/pricesheet.htm
You can get them coated at a local shop with Jet Hot usually for about $150-200. Saves on the shipping. I did it to reduce the underhood temps in the 455 Century swap. The headers were melting my carpet!
