Living in a world where the gas prices are constantly changing and the market never stops evolving, the performance nuts worldwide start to consider Exhaust Headers as a timeless upgrade and most of them think the upgrade of performance headers is worthwhile. And once you purchase a good set, the upgrade will last for years.
Don’t forget, the headers on a vehicle are intended to ventilate heated gases from the engine combustion chamber at a quicker speed than the factory built exhaust manifold, so they should be able to take some serious abuse considering that the combustion chamber is the hottest part of any motor and enjoys the highest temperature all over the vehicle. If the exhaust headers you purchased happen to be uncoated, the outside element, such as moisture, will break through in a couple of years. In order to treat a header, you have several options, including chrome plating, black paint, ceramic coating, etc.
In spite of the good appearance presented by chrome plating, it cannot survive prolonged heat and exposure to external elements such as slat, dirt, mud and high operating temperature as time goes by. Similarly, a coating by black paint, even with hi-temperature paint, will fade away quickly under the circumstances of high temperature and you will have to refinish it nearly once a year. Because of the above factors, ceramic coating comes into our views for its durable appearance and protection for both outer and inner parts of the pipe. The provided temperature protection under hood can make all the rubber components such as belts and hoses enjoys a longer service life. Compared with the average temperature loss of chrome plating and black paint headers, that of ceramic exhaust headers is nearly 30%.
Another advantage of ceramic-coated headers is the dual benefits by keeping the heat metal tubes radiate otherwise, which contributes to lower engine compartment temperature. When the exhaust heat is kept within the tubes, exhaust gases scavenging will be improved. It is allowed to imagine that as gas flow increases, the engine performance improves. But considering the various components included in the exhaust system, it is still difficult to make an overall prediction on the extent of performance gained by ceramic coatings.
Pay attention that in fact the ceramic exhaust headers are made of steel pipes coated by ceramic. Through using mild steel to form the headers and then coating them with ceramic material, its costs will be lower than that of stainless steel headers. Taking the cost and performance factors into account, ceramic exhaust headers can provide better performance than its popular stainless steel counterparts. Stainless steel is durable, but its costs are relatively high. However, for those gear heads who have a passion on bling, the appearance of stainless still attracts their interest.
You’d better know that heat will be a major problem when you desire more horsepower form your car’s engine. So ceramic exhaust headers will be your best option considering its low temperatures underhood. Although the sparkling appearance of stainless steel headers seems to be more attractive, the powerful and reliable engine provided by ceramic headers will definitely be more useful and practical.
Since there are so many advantages of having ceramic exhaust headers, please do not hesitate to check out the site of DMC Racing Parts which is specialized in providing ceramic headers for popular cars!