Has anyone wrapped the headers with asbestos wrap? I was considering doing this when I took off the radiators to change the coolant. It looks like the headers are very close to the radiators and the oil filter, so I may get some gains in that area. In Arizona the heat coming off of the bike is pretty bad anyway so if I can keep the exhaust heat out of the engine area I think I can alleviate that somewhat. And I may pick up a horse or 2 as well, but everyone knows how I feel about horsepower...

I guess my main question is if anyone has done this and where they got the wrap.

-- Andy Ruhl (quadreverb@yahoo.com), October 16, 2002

Answers

Hey andy! why dont you try a thermo wrapper. It's like a foil thing i use to wrap around my Honda civic's turbocharger pipes and as well as it's headers. I wrapped some around the headers upto the lower pipes. Works for me. it's a tested way to get rid of melting plastic components nearby. pair it with cabon fairings, they might remove the additional heat from your head. And dont use asbestos man!! you'd be like a cat with a furball in your lungs! im not sure with the power gain. but according to my dragster experience, thermowrappers give me something like 2-3 precious bhp's. you can buy some in a drag racing shop. do it now before you melt some components! good luck!!!

-- dza (dzabox@yahoo.co.uk), October 16, 2002.

I used a header wrap on my '91 ZX-7 and it did keep the bike noticeably cooler. It also felt like it had slight more snap but that could have been psychological. The brand I used was by DEI performance. A roll of 50' was about $30, if I remember correctly and I purchased it from Automotive Engineering, a local speed shop for cars. The only tip I can give is that if you choose to do this, make absolutely sure that no oil, not even a little bit drips on the header wrap. When changing the oil on my ZX-7 once, a little bit had dripped on the header pipe and actually caused a little fire; this in turn melted my lower fairings. I eventually took the wrap off because of the threat of this happening again.

Good luck in whatever you choose to do.

-- Pete (pistonpete@hotmail.com), October 17, 2002.

Yes, getting oil on it is my main concern. I was thinking of putting on a "removeable" section near the oil filter, but I may not be able to get wrap in there anyway due to the proximity of the pipe to the oil filter (they really shouldn't have done that!). But I know of a hot rod shop nearby so I'll check and see what they've got. If there is something out now that resists oil, that may be an option.

This will also be an experiment to see if the rear brake hangs with me too since the brake cylinder is very close to the pipes as well.

-- Andy Ruhl (quadreverb@yahoo.com), October 17, 2002.

I just remembered that you have another option. A friend of mine sent off his exhaust from his ZX-12 somewhere and they did some kind of heat resistant process which acts like exhaust wrap. I believe he paid about $75 not including shipping costs. I haven't contacted him lately so I am not sure of what the results were. I am sure that there has got to be some sort of information on the internet about it. Good luck.

-- Pete (pistonpete@hotmail.com), October 17, 2002.

I have my header ceramic-aluminum coating from HPC it reduces radiant heat from the header up to 50%. go to www.hpccoatings.com

-- Roy (mvagusta00@aol.com), October 17, 2002.

Sorry, www.hpcoatings.com

-- Roy (mvagusta00@aol.com), October 17, 2002.

What about all that heat that ends up fryin the computer at the tail end of things.....I'm a little bit worried about that! Andy, you live in the hottest part of the USA, so let us know your results. I know that my tailsection pratically melts my cellphone when I put it under the seat, and thats in normal riding, with highs of 78-85f!!!! We have probably the most ideal riding weather here until December- Feb due to rain, other than that our ambient temps are year-round 58- 70f.

-- val (valparaque@aol.com), October 17, 2002.

Yes, that is a bit of a concern to me as well. I believe that the warranty for the bike would cover the computer if it broke, but I need to be sure. I may end up putting a heat shield under the computer anyway... I have noticed that my tail section is becoming discolored underneath, particularly out toward the end under the tail light. The red paint is becoming dark. Lots of heat back here that this pipe wrap will only make worse.

I've heard of ceramic pipe coating. I don't think I want to go to those lengths, but it is a nice alternative because oil won't hurt it. I wonder though if the pipe wrap would do a better job of keeping heat out of the engine bay. My goal is not to keep heat into the exhaust gas, which is what the ceramic coating is for. The more heat you keep in the gas the better it flows through the pipe. That's all dandy, but all I want to do is keep from roasting!

We'll see how it goes. After changing to engine ice I may end up with MORE heat in the bike because it is supposed to be more efficient at transferring heat than normal coolant. So while the engine may be cooler, the air coming out of the radiator may be hotter... It would be nice if there was some kind of ducting in the area behind the radiator to pull heat into the low pressure area below the bike, but this would only work when the bike is moving...

-- Andy Ruhl (quadreverb@yahoo.com), October 17, 2002.

Andy,

As far as the discoloration on the tail section goes, that is due to the exhaust, not heat. I use Crystal-Glo acrylic wax, and with a little work, it comes right off. Try it with a white rag and look how much brown crap rubs off the tail section!

That last sentence just didn't sound right...

-- Brad Cowell (bcowell@sbcglobal.net), October 17, 2002.

PLEASE I NEED ANY INFORMATION ABOUT DESIGN OF CORRUGATED PIPE AND SLEEVE , AND UNCORRUGATED ONE , AND I NEED THE HEAT TRANSFER RELATION WHICH DESCRIBE HEAT TRANSFER IN VERTICLE PIPE ? I HOPE TO SEND YOUR REPLAY VERY SOON ,OR I HOPE TO HEAR FROM YOU VERY SOON AND I WILL BE VERY GERATFULL TO YOU .

-- LOAY AHMAD HASSAN (LOAYHASSAN@ARABIA.COM), November 08, 2002.