Hey I was wondering if any of you guys with mild steel downpipes have ever heat wrapped your down pipes? If so what are the pros and cons besides lower temps under the hood? I've heard that when u wrap the down pipes the pipes tend to deteriorate faster, is that true...? I was thinking or using 1" or 2" exhaust wrap to do my downpipe. Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thanx.. Tony


P.S. I would just pull of the down pipe and get it ceramic coated but the dang thing was a pain in the butt to install and plus shes my daily driver.

 

You really should get it jet coated. I am going to get mine done when I can afford it. If you put the heat wrap on then you will trap the heat inside the dp and it will deteriote it faster. I am not 100% sure on this but there was a thread not to long ago talking about the pros and cons of jet coating also the pros and cons of wrapping. Use he search key at the top right and look for jet coating.

 

As far as the DP itself the Wrap won't change the internal temp much, Just reduce the amount of heat radiated into the engine compartment.
I would suggest wrapping the DP even in addition to Jet Hot Coating - Mild Steel Pipes actually Burn Thru from the INSIDE out from the heat of the exhaust (SS is more heat resistant) Thin Ceramic Coatings (like Jet Hot) will reduce the BURN through rate but is NOT as good at reducing heat transfer to the engine compartment. The thicker coatings like WHITE LIGHTNING are good Insulators - but also significantally reduce the ID of the Pipe if applied Internally. With ThermoTec Wrap on my SS DP I can hold on to the wapped portion of the pipe with just a thin leather work glove on when the bare metal part of the pipe is hot enough to burn through the sleeve of my cotton coverall and sear the flesh off my arm.

 

 

Thanks for taking one for the team. (/me tosses a tube of Neosporin to Max) What about moisture/rainwater getting trapped under the thermo-wrap of a mild steel pipe?

 

I used 2 inch wrap from DEI on my Pettit SS DP and my underhood temps dropped radically even after the precat to DP install. I also used the aluminum color high temp spray that DEI provided in their kit to protect the wrap from water/gravel. Looks nice and professional =)

-Kib

 

The operating temp INSIDE the wrap is like 1000 deg so I think any moisture will boil off instantly.