Decided not to use that OBX header after all ... was wondering if there is much a difference performance wise between the pacesetter headers (black painted vs. the polished armor coated one) ... since there is a $100 difference in price. Or is it just for looks?
the coating protects the header , also its a thermal barrier and keeps more heat inside the the header , which helps to keep under hood temps down
[quote=97trd(???™)]the coating protects the header , also its a thermal barrier and keeps more heat inside the the header , which helps to keep under hood temps down
Of which can be done with $40 Header wrap and $7 DEI High Heat Paint.
If I had my opinion, I'd say their armor coat is for looks.
ive heard that the wrap can damage the header. annother diff (may or may not matter to you) is that stainless will disclour and powder coating or ceramic will stay same clour
thnx for the info. The looks of it won't matter to me so much or the discoloration because 1) I will be wrapping them in header wrapping material and 2) not gonna be showing off under the hood anyway.
Joel Clear wrote:[quote=97trd(???™)]the coating protects the header , also its a thermal barrier and keeps more heat inside the the header , which helps to keep under hood temps down
Of which can be done with $40 Header wrap and $7 DEI High Heat Paint.
If I had my opinion, I'd say their armor coat is for looks.
Yes but by using the header wrap you run into the problem of it trapping moisture and rotting out the header. Go for the armor coat you wont regret it.
Header wrap doesn't damage the header. The problem with header wrap is that it CAN hold and trap moisture which with an uncoated mild steel header will cause rust and eventually rot. However, if your header is coated with a ceramic paint, moisture cannot be touched by the steel and the moisture will just evaporate.
the black paint on the steel header is for shipping purposes. people who buy that header are supposed to get that off and paint it or do whatever they want.
the ceramic coated helps keep the heat inside the header, thus resulting in hotter exhaust gasses. the hotter they are the faster they exit the engine.
and header wrap is nice, but most of the time its not put on right and moisture gets trapped under there and rusts out the header. then you are screwed

Im a Xbox 360 fanboy...and damn proud of it!!
If I do buy the ceramic one, would header wrap then be completely useless or would it still have a purpose? Because if it won't, the $100 price difference won't be as much if I save $40 on the wrap and $10 on the paint anyway.
no need to buy header wrap if its ceramic coated. the coating takes place of the wrap

Im a Xbox 360 fanboy...and damn proud of it!!
I got the black steel one awhile back and painted it with high temp silver. It held up well for about a year then between road debris, and winter salt it's all spotty and rusting in places.
Go with the ceramic coated one. Wrench Monkey is right, you won't regret it.
-Matt
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