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Er semsagt ekkert flott lengur að hafa wrapped?

Heat Wrap vs. Ceramic Coating which one is right for me?


I get asked this question quite often, and there’s really no easy answer since each application is different, and everyone has a different budget. In a nutshell, Ceramic Coating is the better option, let me explain.

There are two main issues with using a wrap that do not come into play when using a ceramic coating; these issues are thermal fatigue and moisture corrosion.

Wraps will decrease under hood temps, saving other components, but the life of your exhaust will suffer from its use. The use of a wrap or blanket promotes thermal fatigue of the component you wrapped. Thermal fatigue is a type of metal fatigue caused by repeated heating and cooling, it is also called creep damage. This can and does lead to premature failure of a component. Some believe that wraps help prevent this, but it’s just the opposite. I have seen many headers that have been wrapped and a few years later, there are holes in the piping. This can happen quicker than you might think. The best option to manage heat is to have your exhaust ceramic coated. The coating actually bonds to the substrate (at about 10,000 psi) and prevents the heat from soaking into the substrate. If you get it done right, the rate of expansion of the coating will match that of the substrate, or the metal your manifold is made of. Your exhaust component can usually be coated on the inside as well, giving it thermal and corrosion protection inside and outside. I had one customer that went through 3 turbine housings from cracking caused by thermal fatigue. He finally broke down and paid the minimal charge to get it ceramic coated. I followed up with him a year later and it was still on his truck and he had no further issues.


Moisture is also a problem when it comes to wrapping exhaust. The wrap will actually pull moisture in and keep it there, holding it against the component, which actually speeds up the corrosion process. Ceramic coatings are self-sacrificial in design, meaning that they will corrode/rust/oxidize before the substrate underneath will. Now is a good time to talk about warrantees. It’s a good idea to go with a coating company that offers a warranty, be careful of companies that only cover 'rust-through', meaning that there has to be a hole in your exhaust before it will get covered.

It’s also a good idea to go with a company that creates/manufactures their own coatings, not one that just buys it from an online coatings store and slaps it on. There's a lot more to the application/preparation than you would think, and if a company has the resources to manufacture their own coatings, odds are they’ve been in the game a long time and have the processes to near perfection.

The downside to ceramic coatings is of course the cost. You can get enough wrap to do most of your exhaust for around $50-$100, compared to a full system getting coated for around $500. I get reminded of the old adage of you get what you pay for.

The 'true' ceramic coatings can reduce under hood temps by over 50%, and the more common cer-met or ceramic-metallic coatings can reduce temperatures from 30%-40%. Another added benefit is that you will see power gains anywhere from 3-5% by keeping the exhaust gas velocity up. Increase spool-time in a turbo system, and increased scavenging is another benefit of the increased exhaust gas velocity.


So, when the time comes to do some heat management, do some research for yourself, look at your budget, and determine which direction is best for you. If you can only afford the wrap at that point in time, get it so you don’t cook the rest of your components in your engine bay, just keep in mind that it’s a “quick fix” and get your components coated when your budget allows.