header wrap?

[homurcules]

borla gen3 headers... should i wrap em, or just go au'natuaral??

[ScreaminFast]

coat 'em, swaintech style

[homurcules]

there going on the car tonight,...... so no time.  my main q is if i dont wrap them , might that make them more likely to crack, or will that help keep my cel from coming on?

[byroll01]

wow I just talked about this in your other post.

Here's what I heard/know....
Wrapping/coating them should help you not get a cel.
Wrapping will hold water against them and cause rust.

My have neither and I have a persistent CEL that wont leave me, even with the mech. fix(two sparkplug non foulers screwed together to get it out of the flow). at first it would stay gone for a week or two but now everytime I reset it just comes back when all the readiness tests are run. Now I'm wondering if my O2 sensor is shot.

[ImprezaRSX]

wrap em.  

then paint the wrap with a high temp paint to seal them.  then don't worry about rust and call it good. If you wrap them sufficiently you shouldn't get a cel.  If you still do, use bryon's cel eliminator trick and you should never get one. If you do... your o2 sensor is bad.

Don't worry about rust.   A small oxide layer is good. Just seal them with high temp paint and enjoy fourth and fifth gear. They are so much more fun with headers and exhaust.

[ImprezaRSX]

oh , and if you wrap them evenly along the whole header you shouldn't worry about cracking. Mine have wrap in only a couple spots for the last 30k miles and I don't suffer from any cracks.  And shit, my EGTs are upwards of 1700 degress with my turbo.  I think you'll be fine.

[ScreaminFast]

Wrapping will hold water against them and cause rust.

Also, Thermotec makes a spray that is part of the installation process and instructions on their wrap. You spray it on and it helps to keep any moisture out. I'm going to wrap over my swaintech coating for double the effect

dom- never heard of using high-temp paint....does it really seal it?

[ImprezaRSX]

that's really all their spray is. The directions say use their spray or high temp paint.
I have three boxes here at the house.

[homurcules]

well so far, i havent gotten a cel, its only been about 20 miles tho.  ill see!

i didnt wrap them, i figure if i need to , il just drop em down, and take care of it then, i was quite anxious to get them in last night.  

the power feels more consistant through the rpms, but not really a big power differance. it does rev a little quiker too.

overall, im very pleased with em, even if the main gain was the sound, it just sounds mean as hell now!!

[ImprezaRSX]

you will get a cel
it will happen when you are cruisin on the highway and the wind has time to cool your cat

you won't notice a large difference in power right away.
Right now you are running lean.  You ECU has to learn. It'll take longer to feel the difference if you didn't reset your ECU.  Also, you will notice your exhaust note change over the next couple days as this learning takes place.

The biggest place I noticed the difference was fourth and fifth gear on the highway when passing someone.

SO when are we going to do your cams???

[ImprezaRSX]

one more thing,
wrapping your headers will improve your low end torque and throttle response. It'll also make your car sound different. You will hear more of the noise coming out of the tailpipe and less of the sound coming from under your feet. It makes a big difference.

So basically what I'm saying is: wrapping can be a pain in the butt your first time, but it is worth it in EVERY aspect.  Performance, sound, CEL's, etc.

[ScreaminFast]

yea, you'll have to help me do all of my piping then, dom

[homurcules]

someone has told me that wrapping will void the warranty.... might that be true?   do i even have a warranty from borla since there used?

[ImprezaRSX]

no