Header coating on stainless steel?

[Rhode Island Red]

First thing

2002 M6 LS1, Firehawk... engine and drivetrane is stock (except dyno tuning)

In August I plan on ordering some Kooks stainless steel LT's (best fit found for LS1's on 98's+) . All the people around me state that as they are stainless steel thus there is no need to get them coated (From a well respected guy who has built countless setups, latest is a NH 97 vette with a C5R motor on ls1tech)

Now I don't like the idea of introducing anything that will heat soak the engine harness and other electrical wiring as years down the road problems will develop. I beleive coated stainless LTs are the wise-est as they do not add any heat soak to the engine bay

so should I get them coated and if so with what?

[SteveH95Formula]

I highly recommend ceramic coating headers. Stainless or not.
SLP sells thier stainless header with or without coating. Its a cople hundred dollars or so more but for modern engines with so close clearance with everything in the engine bay its highly recommended.
Now take my '79 Camaro, it is very simple and there is plenty of clearance with every thing. Still I might chose a coating for them just so the engine doesn't get so hot.

[Kevin - Blown 95 TA]

For rust reasons, it might be less important, but stainless heats up the engine bay just like regular steel, so get it coated. IMHO coated stainles sheaders should last a LONG time.

[Injuneer]

Definitely get them cera-metallic coated. You don't want all that heat in the engine compartment. Keeping the heat in the tubes also helps speed up the exhaust gas flow, increasing scavenging, which increases HP. And the reduced tube metal temps help reduce the chances of cracking the welds.

[Rhode Island Red]

Thanks

Now who makes an excellent Cera-metallic coating? Anyone in mind Fred?

[Injuneer]

I have had two sets of coated headers... my JBA's were done by AirBorne, and were excellent quality. My (bought them used) AS&M's were done by HPC, and they are now at least 8 years old and only now starting to show signs of age/rust bubbles at the welds. Swain makes an excellent coating, but I never tried it. A bit expensive, and not as attractive to look at as most.

I have never tried Jet Hot, but I have seen a lot of complaints about rust, flaking, etc. Surprising, since they seem to be a major supplier.

[27Cam04]

Definitely get them cera-metallic coated. You don't want all that heat in the engine compartment. Keeping the heat in the tubes also helps speed up the exhaust gas flow, increasing scavenging, which increases HP. And the reduced tube metal temps help reduce the chances of cracking the welds.

I prefer on CeRa-MetaLLic headers. I had two headers sets on my vehicles. One> 91 Camaro RS with 200,000 miles and looks fine and no RUST on headers..
I impressed with it. Go for CeRa-MetaLLic headers.

[Rhode Island Red]

Looking into the Airborne coating for the Kooks . One more question, Should I bother looking into locking header bolts to prevent exhaust leaks?

[Joe 1320]

I have had two sets of coated headers... my JBA's were done by AirBorne, and were excellent quality. My (bought them used) AS&M's were done by HPC, and they are now at least 8 years old and only now starting to show signs of age/rust bubbles at the welds. Swain makes an excellent coating, but I never tried it. A bit expensive, and not as attractive to look at as most.

I have never tried Jet Hot, but I have seen a lot of complaints about rust, flaking, etc. Surprising, since they seem to be a major supplier.

I've seen mixed results with Jet Hot. My Turbo Buick's downpipe is Jet Hot coated and 10 years later still looks great. Although not polished, it still looks and performs fine. I've heard of newer jobs that didn't hold up well yet others that did. The ceramic coating on my Poston's headers looks great, the coating on my SLP headers is discolored but still has perfect integrity. One thing in common..... a big reduction in radiant heat.

[Joe 1320]

Looking into the Airborne coating for the Kooks . One more question, Should I bother looking into locking header bolts to prevent exhaust leaks?

That and burn proof gaskets like Percy's. Unless you love doing things twice. I found that in these tight engine bays, I only want to suffer once and ya never know when a not quite tight enough bolt will allow a gasket to burn though. Then you're at it all over again. At least with burn proof gaskets you can just retorque.

[Rhode Island Red]

Thanks

I wouldn't of never thought of the burn-proof gaskets.