Header coatings - Who is best ?

[Jack Matyas]

Looking to get headers coated and need some advise on who lately is the best company to use as they seem to be falling by the wayside .Who has the best coating and the best value - and will be in business long enough to get them done ? And should the inside be done - did it in the past but i'm not so sure its necessary .

[Alan Roehrich]

NitroPlate, call Kevin Cradduck at 615-227-9899 extension 18.

[treessavoy]

What he said x2!

JimR

[jmcarter]

I agree with Alan, as an alternate I've used Performance Coatings, Inc.in Jonesboro, GA without an issue at all. Their number is (770) 478-2775. I needed a really fast turnaround but perhaps Kevin can do the same for you if that's needed.


There aren't any merits for interior coating but don't recall all the techical specifics. A good thread that SSDiv6 (his line of work makes him a very credible resource on many things) and others chipped in on as well discusses this along with stainless matl use, I've included a link to that here. I also wouldn't hesitate to call Mark Lelchook at Performance Welding, he's VERY helpful and knowledgeable on all exhaust topics.

http://classracer.com/classforum/sho...llector&page=2

[Jeff Lee]

Internal coating affect the speed and wavelength on the exhaust. Or something along those lines (over my head). The goal is to simulate as best possible to a stainless header which have the attributes which are desired.
Techline coatings offers these features and can be applied at home.

[Alan Roehrich]

Back to back testing within 24 hours on one set of headers, under very similar conditions, showed an approximate 2% gain in HP on 500HP 406 small block, with tuning to compensate for the changes the coating created. The headers were coated with ceramic/aluminum coating inside and out. The coating raised the EGT's significantly, and required a jet change to richen the A/FR. The engine was tuned for peak HP with the uncoated headers, the headers were removed, coated, and re-installed the next day. The engine required a jet change or two (richer) to bring the EGT's back in line, and the result was about 2% more HP.

If you have your engine tuned to be as lean as possible in order to make maximum HP, with uncoated headers, when you coat the headers you'll find the EGT will go up, often by a significant margin, as much as 200 degrees or more. You may lose HP, or not gain any power, and you may discolor the coating, no matter whose coating it is. We have seen it necessary to go up 2 to 4 jet sizes to get the EGT back to where it was before the coating was applied.

If you leave mild steel headers uncoated on the inside, the unprotected side of the tubing will rust, header life will be reduced, and you may lose HP.

[Kevin Cradduck]

Metallic/Ceramic coatings both reflect and dissipate heat. Coating the inside of a header (steel or stainless), will significantly improve scavenging by moving the heat out of the exhaust port and away from the cylinder head more quickly. Coating the outside helps dissipate heat from the header surface.

Alan is absolutely correct about the dyno results. The performance gain isn't huge but it is real and it is very repeatable. The gain is achieved by improved scavenging, thereby enabling (requiring) additional fuel to be put into the motor.

And.....coated headers look way cool!

[Dave Casey]

I like Central Connecticut Coatings, East Hartford,CT 860 528 8281

Excellant and long lasting

Supports our stock/superstock assoc.(ASRA)

Nice people

[Ed Fernandez]

Jack,FWIW I had Air Born do mine in 1999 and they still looksuper.The only area that is
getting rusted looking is where the tubes go into the collectors.Other wise they are good.
They were in Ct.then.Now I see they are in N.C.They did the headers,collector and pipe extensions and 8 special spacers to mount the header with the stock intake.It cost me
around $200 then.Today they charge around $300 for V-8 comp headers.

[njk53]

Jack are the headers new? If they are check with your header manufacturer first. Stahl Headers will not warrant their headers if they are ceramic coated. If there is no problem with header warranty, Nitro Plate seems to be a favorite of Class Racer members.