I just bought a cheap used JDM/STi uppipe (catless). It doesn't have the heat shields anymore because they were coming loose and rattling, so the previous owner took them off. But, I'm debating if I want to:

a) Install as is w/o heat shields
PROS: Costs nothing extra.
CONS: Possibly a lot of heat soak into engine bay. Decrease in performance.

b) Take factory heat shields off current pipe and weld it on JDM pipe
PROS: Better heat retention than no heat shields at all.
CONS: None that I can think of (as long as weld job is good).

c) Ceramic coat it (outside only)
PROS: Best performance and heat retention.
CONS: Since it holds more heat, it will be more prone to failure, reducing life span of pipe (no statistical data to back this up, just rumors that I've heard).

Heat wrap retains heat, but it also retains moisture and dirt. So, I decided not to list it as an option. Currently, I'm thinking of option b since it's middle ground between pros and cons.

Basically, I'm wondering if anyone here has personal experience with ceramic coated exhaust parts. Please enlighten me.

Current Stock Uppipe (catted):


JDM Upipe (catless):


[Edited on April 10, 2006 at 11:41 AM. Reason : pics]

4/10/2006 11:39:38 AM

i doubt you'll see a decrease in performance because of missing heat shields.

if it were my choice, i'd wouldn't worry about it.

4/10/2006 12:31:36 PM

I'd weld your shields from yours on there. But if you need to put the car uppipe back in for immisions it might suck b/c then you wouldnt have heatshields for a short period of time. But then I guess you could put the catless one back in and be all happy.

I know on the KA24 removing the heat shields if the car is turbo has been shown to heat up everything (duh), but on the NA it doesn't matter.

My guess would be that since you have an uppipe and an STi your car is turbo (just a hunch)

[Edited on April 10, 2006 at 12:33 PM. Reason : l]

4/10/2006 12:32:21 PM

if you can weld, just go ahead and weld them there

they were put there for a reason, although it's not like the car's gonna blow up because you pulled off a couple heatshields on the dp

[Edited on April 10, 2006 at 2:19 PM. Reason : ]

4/10/2006 2:18:38 PM

You know that catalysts run much hotter than just a plain exhaust pipe, right?

4/10/2006 3:31:15 PM

true... thanks for the feedback folks...

I guess next week or so I'll have my factory uppipe off and get the heat shields transferred to the JDM pipe.

So, any welders out there? zxappeal? bigblueram? nightkid

[Edited on April 10, 2006 at 4:20 PM. Reason : blah]

4/10/2006 4:07:30 PM

^^I think he's getting at the point that the heat problem you are anticipating isn't going to exist because that heat shielding is there to protect from a much hotter source. In which case, you're insulating a colder pipe than the one you removed. I think you ought to go without the shields entirely.

4/10/2006 4:39:53 PM

don't worry about it.

4/10/2006 9:03:50 PM

zxappeal, bigblueram, gk2004, me!, tkeaton. lotsa ppl w/ welders

4/10/2006 10:11:00 PM

what the fuck is with you people and ceramic coating and heat bullshit.,

waste of money and time. shit doesnt work. get lost. burn your car and get a honda dammit.

fags

4/10/2006 10:32:28 PM

^heat retention is good, makes turbo system more efficient, etc

my friend took the shield off his exhaust manifold (turbo 240) and the biggest problem is that it gets way hotter to work in that area if you're impatient and want to work on it right after shutdown

[Edited on April 10, 2006 at 10:47 PM. Reason : thermo]

4/10/2006 10:46:41 PM

Ehh, I wouldn't stress about it.

4/11/2006 8:17:33 AM

waste of time, just put the damn things on and worry about something more significant

4/11/2006 8:27:48 AM

http://performanceunlimited.com/cobravalley_drivetrain/heattape.html

heat wrap or heat tape for the reverse effect

4/11/2006 11:18:10 AM

I wouldn't worry about it either, BUT if you were a customer, I would recommend at least wrapping it, if not ceramic coat (but only double, not just the outside, if you only want to coat it on one side, do the inside, not the outside).
Ahmet

4/11/2006 11:30:04 AM

^ agreed

4/11/2006 11:56:45 AM

Ok, this weekend (Saturday, April 22), I'll need someone to take off my STOCK UPPIPE heat shields and weld them onto the JDM UPPIPE. They have to be good welds too, none of this OEM quality crap... the factory welds failed on the JDM UPPIPE.

Please refer to the first post for pics. Then PM me and let me know if you can do it. I'm willing to pay big bucks. Or a free lunch

4/18/2006 3:54:19 PM