Ceramic Coating on Headers

[greyghost]

I have the stainless headers and am still debating whether to have them ceramic coated. I have talked with several experts and some of the responses have been;

Coat them because it will reduce the eng. comp. temps and prevent the wiring from getting brittle. They will also loolk better over the years.

Don't coat them it will reduce the power they make.

Coat them they will increase the power they make.

Anybody else? your input?

[TooManyFords]

Coat them because shiny is good. (hehehe) Shiny. I like shiny.

Have you ever had headers that we not coated? After a couple years, they look ugly and detract from the appearance under the hood.

You have to ask yourself, what are your goals with putting the headers on? Is it to go faster? Are you ever going to show your car anywhere?

I got the coated ones because I know what the heat can do under the hood to things like starters and wiring. Those Kooks get really, really close to the starter so I opted to keep the heat -in- rather than out.

Another reason I did this because my high-flow cats (you did get them too, didn't you?) are further down stream than where the Kooks kit puts them. For cats to function, they have to be close enough to the exhaust ports to experience the high heat. This is why cats are always very close to the engine and not in the back by the mufflers. Because I have an extra 12 inches of pipe for the electric cutouts right after the headers, my cats had to be after the tranny crossmember adding an additional 12 inches from the headers. With the ceramic coating, I'm keeping as much heat inside the pipes as possible so the cats will still work. Just trying to be "green".

John

[greyghost]

Thanks for the info. My headers are being ceramic coated as I send this to you, Hope to install a week from tomorrow after I get the car back from Dennis Reinhart