Heatwrap the Exhaust/Turbo?

kimokalihi · Post by **kimokalihi** » Wed Jul 22, 2009 8:39 pm

I'm reading this book on turbos. I believe it's called Maximum Boost by Corky Bell. Good book, tells you lots of technical stuff about designing your own turbo systems.

In the book I remember reading that the more heat you prevent from escaping the pipes before the turbo, the more power you're going to make, basically. But as a catch, the more heat you put through the turbo, the shorter the lifespan of the turbo will be. I think it said that as long as your turbo is water cooled, it should be fine, but I'm not sure.

So the question is, should I heat wrap my header up to the turbo? Remove the heat shields and wrap the pipes?

If so, should I do 2 layers near the oil filter because it's really close to the header and the guy at the subaru dealer told me the reason they gave me a smaller filter than it used to take was because the header was too close to the filter and it was cooking the oil.

Anywhere else I should heat wrap? I bought 100ft roll off ebay and it'll be in the mail soon.

gijonas · Post by **gijonas** » Wed Jul 22, 2009 9:37 pm

I wrapped my mani as seen in my build thread.Quite happy with how well it really does keep heat down..or in rather.It seems to me that one good layer with 50% overlap works great, i wouldnt bother with 2 wraps.I dought very much that the oil was getting "cooked" unless you can visually see that the paint was being burned off the filter.Was it?

BTW Maximum Boost is one of the best automotive books ever and should be read by anyone who like doing things with turbos.And like you said - Yes more heat to the turbo is better,heat is after all a huge part of how turbos work,its not just the wind blowing through it.

kimokalihi · Post by **kimokalihi** » Wed Jul 22, 2009 9:41 pm

Did you wrap the downpipe at all? Or just the header? Did you leave the heat shields off after wrapping the header? I thought I saw someone put them back on after wrapping it.

Buffman · Post by **Buffman** » Thu Jul 23, 2009 1:12 am

IMO you're better off with cermachrome, especially when it comes to wrap holding moisture and holding in TOO much heat.

gijonas · Post by **gijonas** » Thu Jul 23, 2009 1:38 am

I only wrapped the mani and up pipe.I meant to do the downpipe but didnt end up bothering and its not a problem for me.It does suck to get coolant and such on it but it does burn off quickly.

And no i didnt put the shields back on,too rusty.

SLODRIVE · Post by **SLODRIVE** » Thu Jul 23, 2009 1:47 am

Wrapping the downpipe helps to heat up a catalytic convertor in the mid-pipe (if you're running a catless downpipe), and it keeps a LOT of heat away from the TMIC. The retained heat also increases the exhaust velocity of the gasses exiting the turbo, nothing wrong with that! I also wrapped the turbo, the manifold/up-pipe have the OEM shields.

kimokalihi · Post by **kimokalihi** » Thu Jul 23, 2009 4:06 am

Cool. I want to see pictures of a wrapped turbo. Picturing that in my head looks like it would be difficult to do.

But then again I've never wrapped anything before.

kimokalihi · Post by **kimokalihi** » Thu Jul 23, 2009 4:06 am

Cool. I want to see pictures of a wrapped turbo. Picturing that in my head looks like it would be difficult to do.

But then again I've never wrapped anything before.

Post by **Legacy777** » Thu Jul 23, 2009 7:28 pm

I too would also suggest the ceramic coating. An inner and outer coating will go a long way to keep the heat down.

kimokalihi · Post by **kimokalihi** » Thu Jul 23, 2009 7:58 pm

Where can you get that done and how much does it cost? Probably a lot I bet. I've already bought the heat wrap and don't have much money right now along with a bunch of medical bills suddenly so if it's spendy it's out of the question for now.

Post by **Legacy777** » Thu Jul 23, 2009 8:01 pm

Yes, it will be more money. There's a few places that do it. I haven't really looked into it. I need to, as I want to do the JDM manifold I have.

kimokalihi · Post by **kimokalihi** » Thu Jul 23, 2009 8:06 pm

Whatever happened to ceremic engine parts? I saw a video once on ceramic engines that didn't even need cooling systems because they can withstand so much heat. I think the pistons, block, heads, etc were all ceramic.

How come they don't use them in production cars? I'm gonna go look for videos on it.

Post by **Legacy777** » Thu Jul 23, 2009 8:14 pm

Ceramics don't tend to have the toughness needed.

brand · Post by **brand** » Thu Jul 23, 2009 8:38 pm

Grimmspeed offers ceramic coating of various components such as downpipes, turbos, intake manifolds, etc.

93forestpearl · Post by **93forestpearl** » Fri Jul 24, 2009 5:52 am

Fiberglass wrap still offers a better protection for other components compared to ceramic coatings. If you don't believe me, as mick_the_ginge on nasioc.

Grimmspeed does not offer internal coatings. Justin does not have that capability yet.

Also, modern water cooled turbos don't have the heat issues like oil cooled turbos that Corky was writing about. That book could use a little updating, honestly.

kimokalihi · Post by **kimokalihi** » Fri Jul 24, 2009 10:52 am

He said very few turbos aren't water cooled these dAys.

93forestpearl · Post by **93forestpearl** » Sun Jul 26, 2009 9:36 am

There are plenty of oil cooled journal bering turbos out there. Some mitsu stuff, all of Borg Warner, and VNT Garretts are oil cooled. Garrett just happened to hit the market at the right time with their CHRA. The BW stuff has been proving to be fantastic.

Airgne · Post by **Airgne** » Sun Jul 26, 2009 5:33 pm

since you are in washintgon go to performancecoatings in aburn and get them chromex'd

kimokalihi · Post by **kimokalihi** » Sun Jul 26, 2009 9:38 pm

Chrome is ugly, makes me want to throw up.

$100 to get a stock manifold done in satin black to withstand up to 2000 degrees.

$125 for chromex which only withstands 1300 degrees. I'm not sure what temperatures the exhaust manifold will hit.

kimokalihi · Post by **kimokalihi** » Sat Aug 15, 2009 12:15 am

So what are your guys' thoughts on heat wrapping the turbo with those turbo heat shield blankets?

How big of a difference do these make as far as ambient temps? Does it shorten the life of the turbo keeping that much more heat in or can the coolant keep the turbo bearings safe? Is it worth it?

They seem to cost around $100 for the heat wrap blanket/jacket.

biggreen96 · Post by **biggreen96** » Mon Feb 15, 2010 6:07 am

bump I'm curious too.

RJ93SS · Post by **RJ93SS** » Mon Feb 15, 2010 6:15 am

me aswell

kimokalihi · Post by **kimokalihi** » Mon Feb 15, 2010 3:18 pm

Me too.

jdmellor28 · Post by **jdmellor28** » Tue Feb 16, 2010 9:39 am

i have a friend that wrapped his turbo on his 600hp mazda RX7
and the turbo wrap caught fire !
hahah so be careful what you use !

gijonas · Post by **gijonas** » Tue Feb 16, 2010 5:41 pm

What did he use grip tape? fiberglass doesnt actually burn so good

.Probably what happened was the wrap got soaked with oil and then caught fire.

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Heatwrap the Exhaust/Turbo?

Heatwrap the Exhaust/Turbo?