Header Wrap

[beeza]

Disclaimer: The following is provided as a GUIDE ONLY, and neither myself nor Ozhonda take any responsibility for the outcomes of someone else doing the following. You follow these steps at your own risk!


Aim: To wrap ya headers in header wrap


Required:

* 15 metres of 2" wide header wrap for a standard sized 4-2-1 header like mine,more if bigger.I used 'thermal wrap',it's the best stuff.I bought 20m becuse I will wrap my cat soon,cost = $62 from 'QLD diesel spares'.

Note: If your headers have lots of bends U may need to use 1" wide wrapping.

* Stainless steel hose clamps.U can work out how many from this DIY.Bought from the same place $60 for lots of great quality Stainless Steel clamps!

* The usual tools to remove the headers.

* A blade to cut the wrap.

* Gasket goo and gaskets are optional,if U think U need them then get them.I didn't.I re-used the old gaskets with 'blue silicone',it's the same as gasket goo but much better,$20 a tube.There is another product that is copper and is better again but it's more expensive.

* Patience,for a good result.

Steps:

Put the car on jack stands and remove the header,just the bolts at the top there and the 2 underneath.Slide the headers out from under the car.Make sure U dissconnect or remove the 02 sensor first,be careful not to knock it if its still in there.

U can wrap ya headers while they are on the car but there is no way U can do a good a job as when they are off! The way to do it would be to kneel in front of the car,arms in at the headers.And obviously lay under the car for the 2-1 piping part.

Removing the headers is actually very easy to do.





Best to use a vice to hold them,while U wrap.If U dont have one,look to securing it somehow,it will make it far easier.



First,fill a bucket of water and dunk ya header wrapping in there,this will all but eliminate those tiny fibreglass fibres from entering your breathing system and will make the wrapping much easier.Make sure U use gloves for this reason too,even a long sleeved shirt if ya keen.

Always start where the exhaust gases enter/start and work down/away from the engine.

The trick is U need to cut of strips of the wrap but how much? Basically I just felt it out and it worked out perfectly.I was using 60 - 90" lengths.



First,wrap it around 1 1/2 times and fix a clamp there.



Good even wrapping,keep it tight,the recommendations is 1/4" overlap.Just keep it even,that's all that really matters.Mine ended up more than 1/4" overlap and it's awesome I feel.



Tight tight tight!!



1 done! U can see I wrapped right over the old 02 sensor bung hole location.If your 02 sensor is here,it's only reading 1 cylinder.



Lets go!



Every header will be different,this is how the 2nd pipe finished up,lets just leave that for now as we should be able to hose clamp that one with another one,the way the design is there.







Done!







Dont bunch it all up at the bottom,U still want it nice and evenly spread so no 'hot spots' appear.This can cause cracking in ya header.

Starting to warm up! Need some shade



OK,next piece!



I wrapped one side then I wrap the other + the collector.2 pieces all up.U can wrap the collector seperately as a 3rd piece with 1/4" overlap if U wish.



Clamps are where needed to hold it tight as!!



I cut a hole where the 02 sensor is



Here's the silicone blue gear,it needs 24 hours to cure.

[beeza]

Wholla!









I hate leaks lol



Stoked.Been wanting to do this for ages.



Installed!











Oh man,I need a stretch!



And a good aussie movie!

'Malcolm'



It will smoke for 30-40 minutes after U start it,don't worry it's not gonna catch on fire LOL

The next morning:






Other comments:

What a fun DIY!! Take off the headers,wrap em',whack em' back on,too easy and that means FUN!!

It took me 5 hours and I am super happeeeeeeeee with the results.Patience/time is the key to doing a good job here.

First Impressions:

I only done it yesterday but damn,I Love it.

* The sound - WOW.My car is so much quieter now,nice deep note,sounds solid,wow,impressed! That farty sound that was there at low rpm's is gone!!

* Performance - Pretty sure there is but I need more time.

Put it this way,I did a 0-100km/h run this morning as was like DAMN!!

EDIT: There's a definate performance increase,I knew there was after the first drive,just needed to make sure.

There certainly is.

* Another good thing about this is will protect ya headers to a degree in the event of a big whack.

EDIT: Added a header shield cause the car is looooow



But the main reason I did this was to get the exhaust system sounding more solid,get rid of that farty sound at low rpm's and any performance gain will be a bonus.I definately feel there is and relay it on to U guys soon enough!

[ekcoupe]

such a good diy, gotta take me for a drive i wanna see the difference

[EK1.6LCIV]

excellent, only got the bottom wrapped on mine due to the heat that hits the inner driveshaft boot that caused a number to fail over the years lol

will eventually get around to wrapping them lol

[beeza]

^^ Thanks Ryan,definately recommend it!

I would invite out the farm but I've already done that,about 10 times lol

Thanks Timmy,99% is planning,1% doing.So true.I have menatlly done this so many times in my head lol

U were right,I could hardly sleep,was to keen to drive it this morning hehehe

Can't wait to drive home haha,I'm taking beau's hilux tomorrow to work cause I gotta pick up the quad,dammit! lol

Gotta love,lovin' ya car aye

[Premature Vtec]

Nice work ! BUT. I have heard this is bad reading from other forums ? ?

heat wrap is BAD. It causes heatsoak into the steel, causing excessive fluctuation in the steel movement resulting in strees fractures of the martensite and austensite grade steel around welds(as well as making the non welded bits brittle) so its definitely a bad idea

This true ? cause I'am about to do my headers aswell

[beeza]

This argument will go on forever,so lets not go there.

Bottom line:

It happens.As with all warnings though,they get blown up into something that is bigger than what it is..

I was on d-series.org for a year,most guys on there have their headers wrapped and no one on there had an issue that I heard of.

It will always pop up but I believe it is not common at all.

The main reason why cracking occours is because the headers weren't wrapped correctly to begin with,this causes 'hot spots' or 'heat spots' which then leads to cracking etc.

The other is the headers were crap to begin with lol

Wrap them good,tidy,even and neat!

[Premature Vtec]

Yeah well said. Well I should be doing this soon i'll post some pictures up ! +1 to bez great stuff

[aaronng]

Nice pics!!! Especially stretching.

Instead of the Loctite 587 blue silicone sealant which goes only up to 260 ºC, you should use the 5920 copper one which goes to 371 ºC. Your exhaust will easily go above 260 ºC. I use Permatex Ultra Copper which is the same as the 5920 and goes up to 371 ºC as well. The Permatex version is cheaper than Loctite though.

[VT33CN]

Great Diy. im planning to wrap mine also. but cant find reasonable priced wrap from sydney.
Also how come you didnt blue silicon the header but ony the 2-1 join?
Some wrap kits have steel ties. how would they work compare to steel clamps? which is cheaper?
Thanks in advance.

[ekcoupe]

beeza just took me for a drive, the sound is just so nice no rattling just a nice deep tone i love it an im planning to do it once i get a new car and there is a small power gain i can feel it, great work.

[SHU-ES1]

the stainless steel ties work fine, just like the plastic ones except they can withstand the higher temperatures that plastic doesn't. if i could do it again, i'd probably use the ones beeza's used as you can get a tighter seal with them. just becareful when you use the the SS ties, and have to trim them not to cut yourself cos they are blood sharp. learn't from experience. awesome write up bretty!