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Login to post Forums » Grassroots Motorsports » To wrap or not to wrap, that is the question

March 22, 2011 10:44 a.m. mike Reader

Actually, I already wrapped the new headers for my 2003 MINI S. These are American-made, good-quality 304 stainless steel headers, all TIG-welded (Mynes). The wrap is the DEI "Titanium" header wrap. FYI I am not associated with those companies; this is not a can-knew.

Searching the 'net gives you any answer you want to the question of whether or not this is a good idea. In short, it's a good/bad/terrible idea to wrap mild steel/cheap/expensive/stainless turbo/NA one piece/two piece headers with cheap/good/top-of-the-line header wrap. Always/never/be sure to use/don't use/never use safety wire/snap straps/nothing to hold the header wrap, and never/always wet the wrap with water/distilled water/Colt 45.

Arrgh! So many opinions out there on this stuff. GRM rules the car universe where I'm concerned, so give me your views on the subject.
March 22, 2011 10:46 a.m. mndsm SuperDork

Heat in engine bay=bad. That's what I got.
March 22, 2011 10:56 a.m. itsarebuild Reader

if they are heavy guage steel (stainless or otherwise) i say they are good to be wrapped. and ties work best unless you want the wrapping hanging behind the car in a few days. i think wire would work (check it periodically for wear) but clamps are better. unless you are having trouble getting the wrap to lay flat in your bends i dont think wetting is neccessary and your wrapping job looks pretty tight in the picture.

my $.02
March 22, 2011 11:01 a.m. Raze Dork

We wrapped our 3" downpipe from a Dodge Ram P/U that attaches to our Holset in our XR4, it made a helluva difference in under-hood temps and has held up fine. We use the fiberglass stuff, and painted in with high-temp ceramic header paint, held on with safety wire, presoaked in tap water. When it dried it was super tight, and with the paint very hard too. It was good for about 2 years, but this past year it really started degrading/flaking. The DP is fine so it's no big deal, but kinda messy.

On the other hand we also wrapped our cast iron header, BIG MISTAKE, cracked it in no time. Helped a ton keeping things cool, but not worth the problems of replacing it after it cracked and would smoke...
March 22, 2011 11:02 a.m. Tom Heath Web Manager

I like them.

A lot. Let me prove it.
March 22, 2011 11:03 a.m. 92CelicaHalfTrac SuperDork

I was just about to ask this same question...

Now that it's not -30 degrees out, my "normal" operating water temps in my car seem to hang around 210-220 degrees. Little high for my comfort, though it seems to not mind, nor does the factory temp gauge show anything out of the ordinary.

Wondering if wrapping my manifold (bet wrapping a log manifold SUCKS) and/or exhaust would do anything worth doing.
March 22, 2011 11:08 a.m. imirk Reader

Regardless of anything else, It looks sexy, like a racecar!
March 22, 2011 11:31 a.m. HiTempguy Dork

Whenever we wrapped VW/Audi dp's, we used a hi-temp silicone spray after wrapping that made them tight/keep their shape. I also believe we used safety wire as well.
March 22, 2011 11:36 a.m. Keith SuperDork

I wrapped a Jackson Racing header on a Miata. About two years later, it burned through. It really didn't look like rust, it looked burnt. Of course, the average lifespan of a Jackson Racing header is only a couple of years before they crack, but I've not wrapped anything since. If I'm worried about heat, I go with ceramic coating. The wrap was safety wired on and stayed in place nicely. No water or any weirdness, although the big cloud of blue smoke that came out from underhood the first time the wrap got up to temp was pretty entertaining.

I would not expect a wrapped header to make any difference to coolant temperature unless radiated heat from the header is cooking a water fitting somewhere.
March 22, 2011 11:40 a.m. imirk Reader

IAT is where you would see the difference right? Is the cooper S intercooled?
March 22, 2011 11:44 a.m. Woody SuperDork

I'm with Keith on this one. I'd go with ceramic coating. I wrapped the header on my last Miata and I thought it was a pretty aggravating job. I really don't want to do another.
March 22, 2011 11:53 a.m. 92CelicaHalfTrac SuperDork

Keith wrote:

I would not expect a wrapped header to make any difference to coolant temperature unless radiated heat from the header is cooking a water fitting somewhere.

I may start my own thread here in a minute... the more i think about it, the more i don't think my situation applies here.
March 22, 2011 8:28 p.m. mike Reader

imirk wrote:

IAT is where you would see the difference right? Is the cooper S intercooled?

Yes it is.

I did use safety wire to ties the wrap off for this installation, and this particular product is already pretty supple, so water is not recommended. Interestingly, the silicone spray is also not recommended.

On first start and idle, the wrap did smoke a fair bit, but not alarmingly so. It was a new header, too, and those often smoke when started for the first time as well.
March 23, 2011 5:08 a.m. foxtrapper SuperDork

There's really no doubt about the bad things wrapping does to the metal of the header. So accept that.

So, do you need it? That of course depends on the application. Cross flow head with nothing around the header, it's kinda pointless, except for a little performance gain. Got a header sitting under a carburetor or wrapped around a starter motor, might want to wrap that one.

How much do you use the vehicle? A daily driver will burn through those wrapped pipes far faster than a weekend warrior will.
March 26, 2011 12:45 p.m. mike Reader

After more research (and the input here) I decided to chicken out and pull the wrap back off. It doesn't seem like a good fit for a MINI that sees more highway driving than anything else.

MINIs tend to run with high EGTs, and the problems encountered after wrapping run from reduced header life to burned-out cat converters. Also, the high exhaust temps tend to kill even the high-tech lava rock product, with reports of wrap found in tatters and baked to a crisp.

Lower underhood temps are apparently the only verified performance gain. I can't afford to replace the exhaust system every 1 to 2 years, so the wrap experiment is cancelled, so to speak.

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