Duct Tape Insulation and Heat Wrap

theKnifeArtist

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Apr 6, 2006
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so i just did my upper intercooler piping and i'm gonna heat wrap it...i'm gonna heat wrap my downpipe too. are there good and bad heatwrap brands? also, i was thinking, for the IC piping, what if i first wrap the shit out of it with duct tape..i was thinking it would act as an insulator..and then heatwrap it...seemed like a good idea..or am i just ccrrazzyy:runaway:
please enlighten me with your thoughts.
 

suprahero

naughty by nature
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Aug 26, 2005
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Duct tape will definately give you more horsepower and keep your pipes from blowing off. It saids so right on the label.............:biglaugh:

Good luck with the heat wrap. Did you install the ddp yet?............lol
 

Supracentral

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Mar 30, 2005
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theKnifeArtist said:
so i just did my upper intercooler piping and i'm gonna heat wrap it...i'm gonna heat wrap my downpipe too. are there good and bad heatwrap brands? also, i was thinking, for the IC piping, what if i first wrap the shit out of it with duct tape..i was thinking it would act as an insulator..and then heatwrap it...seemed like a good idea..or am i just ccrrazzyy:runaway:
please enlighten me with your thoughts.

No duct tape. It doesn't weather well, it will make a mess and trap moisture.

As a matter of fact, wrap on intake pipes in general isn't a good idea. They don't get hot enough to cook off moisture so the layers under the wrap become a corrosive steam bath.

Ceramic coating is where it's at for IC piping.
 

theKnifeArtist

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Apr 6, 2006
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really? bad idea? dammit..i've seen it done before..
well i bought a 3000 replacement pipe from someone on here and i have it installed...today when i touched it after driving for 15min, that shit was hot as hell...i guess 'cause it's a thinner metal.

yeah suprahero, i installed the ddp. and i love it! i've been driving around open downpipe for..i guess its been a month. it scares the pants off some people, hehe. im gettin the rest of the exhaust done tommorrow..hopefully.

quick irrelevant question..is it bad that my hks ssqv is really close to my turbo? the way i have these pipes set up, the bov is like 2-3 inches from the turbo...i can change..just wanna know i'm doing any harm
 
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jdub

Official SM Expert: Motor Oil, Lubricants & Fil
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Feb 10, 2006
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Supracentral said:
No duct tape. It doesn't weather well, it will make a mess and trap moisture.

As a matter of fact, wrap on intake pipes in general isn't a good idea. They don't get hot enough to cook off moisture so the layers under the wrap become a corrosive steam bath.

Ceramic coating is where it's at for IC piping.

Dead on...even wrapping a downpipe, the metal should be protected by hi-temp paint, ceramic coating, or stainless to prevent corrosion. Wrapping IC piping is really not worth it...and please don't use duct tape!
 

jdub

Official SM Expert: Motor Oil, Lubricants & Fil
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A log or stock manifold would be very difficult to wrap...you want to use a continuous piece w/ the ends held in place with steel "zip ties". Hard to do, not to mention it would look like crap ;)

The best option for a stock type manifold is ceramic coat. Just make sure it's done on the inside and it's a 2000 deg rated coating. If I have someone ask me to do the outside only, I won't do it...they can go elsewhere. It's not as effective doing the outside only and can cause cracking (depending on the metal's condition). When you ceramic coat a stock manifold (correctly) and ceramic coat the heat shields, it cuts the radiated heat by almost a 1/3.

The best option for a down pipe is to ceramic coat it, then wrap...huge decrease in radiated heat in the hottest area of the engine bay. Same for the turbine housing in combo with a turbo blanket...or a stock CT housing with a coated heat shield.