Wrapping your exhaust system

[JGK]

Sorry if this is the wrong forum, but I wanted to cover both 24 and (properly valved ) 12 valve owners.



Has anyone experimented with wrapping the exhaust system, like is done to headers on gassers? A co-worker here as a new-to-him '98. 5 and is considering it for noise reduction in the cab and system efficiency. His father-in-law (Ferd owner) swears by it on his PS (yeah, I know, consider the source. ).



Never seen it mentioned here.



TIA,

Jay

 

[SLang]

I do not know about noise reduction (I do not know why people dislike the beutiful sound of the cummins) but header rap has its use. By insulating the exhaust manifold, the heat is trapped and you do not get volume contraction from cooling the air. Thus the velocity of the exhaust stream is not reduced and your turbo spins faster.



The down side is, it will rust your manifold. It traps moisture behind it and is like having an old rag in your bed. It will rust out under it. How long the manifold will last I have no clue.



This brings up an interesting question. Does anyone make stainless headers for the 5. 9 Cummins?

 

[EMDDIESEL]

The only "Header" i know of for the Cummins is the ATS manifold and it too is cast iron. As for wrapping it, like SLang said, it will only lead to serious rust problems. He is better off with a Hitco Exhaust blanket. which only covers the top and lets moisture drip down for the most part.

 

[JohnE]

The series 50 Detroit Diesels we use all have a jacketed exhaust manifold.



I've only seen one cast iron manifold rust out and that was a marine engine that used salt water cooling without an intercooler. That was the intake manifold, too.



John

 

[Cooker]

The exhaust blanket is the way to go, IMO, the trap the heat in the exhaust manifold becasue it also grabs the turbo.



You might consider wrapping the downpipe with header warp. I got this idea because the 4" is much closer to the fire wall than the 3" and the performance aspect, however much or little, was secondary. Hemi-Dart has/had his downpipe wrapped and felt is was woth the time and money. I have yet to install mine, maybe Saturday, so I cannot comment on it.



-Ryan

 

[EOliver]

Hey guys... A ceramic coating is the way to go! Check out there stuff at http://www.jet-hot.com/ Basically it protects exhaust parts up to 2000 degrees. It also lowers under-hood temperatures by 40 degrees, keeps the pipes 25% cooler and gets you 1-3% extra horsepower. Of course, it's highly rust resistant as well - 140 times better than paint. Because of that it will increase part life be 10 times or more. It also comes in colors black, grey, and blue!



It would run $250 to coat the ATS header and Exhaust side of the turbo housing inside & out with the 2000 finish. Jet-Hot will need the parts there for 5 days plus shipping time. Return shipping will be $22.



All parts receive a 3 year unlimited guarantee that covers chipping, peeling, cracking, discoloration, rusting - anything. New parts also get a lifetime rust through warranty as well.



Check it out, this coating is well worth the money in my opinion.

 

[SLang]

I'm with EOliver but last I checked it took 2 weeks to get the coating on. Long time without your truck.

 

[Cooker]

I agree with the suggestion of Jet-Hot. I didn't want to drop the money to coat my downpipe though. I still think an exhaust blanket is a good way to go. I would prolly yield even greater results if the parts were Jet-Hot'ed.



JMHO,

Ryan

 

[jcbrown]

Wrap this...

Advanced Thermal Products - Mention TDR Member and get 10% off...



http://www.atpwrap.com/dodge_ram.htm

 

[JGK]

Thanks for the replies, guys, but what I think he's considering is wrapping the thing from the trubo to the muffler, or further. Not the manifold.



SLang, your comment about keeping the exhaust charge hot leads me to a thought. I would think that to improve the efficiency of the turbo, the ideal would be to keep the upstream charge as hot as possible until it hits the turbo, then cool it as quickly as possible on the downstream side. This would create a greater difference in pressure across the tubo, thus making it spin a bit faster. Wrapping the exhaust from the turbo down would defeat this. Any merit to this idea?



Thanks,

Jay

 

[SLang]

What you are talking about is what happens. The turbo takes energy away from the velocity. That inturn cools the charge. This is evident in a pre and post turbo pyro.



As far as the wrap goes, I discussed it with a major diesel guru (for referance he was the first in the world to put two allison aircraft engines on a pulling tractor) and he siad he alway wrapped it 1/2 way down the down pipe. He didn't have time to give the full explaination. I'll try to catch him this weekend and probe him why.



EDIT: By wrapping 1/2 way down it keeps heat out of the engine bay. Brian fart on my end. This makes a lot of sence.

 

[Skydiver]

Trying to remember.

Is cast Iron ferrous or ferric?

Anyway the plant manager at the foundry I worked at in 1979 told me that the best protection from rust concerning cast Iron is 1(one)layer of rust. He said that castIron (not steel)will only rust on the first layer unless salt or some other chemicle takes over.

Tim

 

[Great White]

I wrapped Mine!

I wrapped my exuast pipe starting just forward of the bend beneath the turbo to the "resonator" and between the resonator and the muffler. Drone seems to be gone. I think the wrap and the hose clamps killed the harmonic vibration.

Rich

 

[vc]

Great White,

What did you wrap your down pipe with? I have some insulation blanket material that Geno's sells left over from lining under the hood with it and thought about doing some on the down pipe, but don't know if it can take that kind of heat. It is lined both sides with foil.

vc

 

[John]

Header Wrap

When the old CDW (Cummins Diesel Website) was around (preceding the TDR website), a very frequent poster, Craig Scoll, had wrapped his entire exhaust system from the downpipe to the tailpipe. Advantages cited by him were reduced cab noise and quicker turbo spool up. However, he did recommend the use of either the header wrap (spray on) top coat or similar product to eliminate the rotting process of the wrap (if left unprotected). I believe Craig said a cheap high heat spray paint worked just about as well as the official header wrap brand of top coat for a lot less money.

 

[EMDDIESEL]

Summit sells exhaust wrap called "Thermo Tec" its used by all the major racing bodies. I have used it too on my own and freinds cars. It works pretty well. But i would not wrap cast iron with anything, downpipe fine, but dont wrap your manifold

 

[Cooker]

I just finished wrapping my downpipe with DEI header wrap and then coated it with DEI's high heat silicone spray. I think the cost was around $50 for both.



I have nothing to compare it to, but I think it's worth the money. If nothing else, it definitely will help keep the under hood temps down and keep the heat away from the firewall (the 4" downpipe is a bit close).

 

[Power Wagon]

Wooooeeeee woooooeeeeee... . This is the TDR tagline police... pull over...



EMDDIESEL



Your tagline cannot be that long. By scientific calculation, we have determined that it is not possible to add to / do that many things to your truck.





Your fine is to be forced to drive an unmodified truck for 6 months, and then be put on probation. Further violations of the modification limit will be met with increasingly longer sentences...

 

[Big White Beast]

Exhaust blanket......

Just got Geno's catalog and they have a exhaust blanket. Seems kind of steep to me. Any alternatives???? Don't know if the benefits would be anything like your all discussing. But being open on the bottom rust wouldn't be a problem.



I was wondering if this could help keep the heat away from the Mopar Guy Air Filter. I've popped the hood after hard runs and the filter gets somewhat hot. I Can usually keep my hand on it... ... Just not for long



Just a thought...



Garrett

 

[jsimpson]

Jay, the reason for insulating the entire exhaust system is that as the exhaust cools, it gets denser, heavier, and harder to push out of the pipe. Any cooler exhaust at the end of the pipe slows down the hotter exhaust at the front of the pipe! That's the primary reason that a three inch downpipe into a four inch exhaust system with a 5" tailpipe works so well: it compensates for the cooling of the exhaust gasses. I've used JettHott on motorcycle exhaust systems. It works well. There are plenty of local ceramic coaters who are much cheaper however. I would prefer ceramic coating AND wrapping! But that's another dollar!