How well are the jet-hot coated headers holding up ?

[peg_pilot]

I see from the archives that a number of people had their exhaust
headers coated by Jet-Hot a couple of years ago. How is the coating
holding up? Anyone having problems with pitting, discoloration, or
flaking?

I just ordered new headers and am thinking of having them coated.

[archigator]

I've had my Jet-Hot coated exhaust for 5 or 6 years now, and they
look great. No pitting, flaking or discoloration at all. I highly
recommend it.

Gary
'71 Elan Sprint
_____________________________________________________________________
--- In ***@***.***, "peg_pilot" <d.rovner@a...> wrote:

[Briggs1]

I have had my headers for a few years - jet hot coated.

They still look good.

IF you are going to go this route- ask them about the lotus group discount
that was set up a few years ago. When we did our group purchase I was told
that it would basically be in effect until people stopped buying.

No promises but worth a try.


Briggs Pletcher

["Tom the scooper&quo]

Had mine done. The usual rusty manifold was sent to them and got it back looking great. I don't run the car a lot but the color has faded a little. Still much better looking then the rusty looking thing I had. For me it was worth it.
----- Original Message -----
From: peg_pilot
To: ***@***.***
Sent: Sunday, December 19, 2004 6:20 PM
Subject: [LotusElan.net] How well are the jet-hot coated headers holding up ?



I see from the archives that a number of people had their exhaust
headers coated by Jet-Hot a couple of years ago. How is the coating
holding up? Anyone having problems with pitting, discoloration, or
flaking?

I just ordered new headers and am thinking of having them coated.

[gjz30075]

--- In ***@***.***, "peg_pilot" <d.rovner@a...> wrote:

Well, just to put a twist to it, I had mine ceramic coated three
years ago in a flat black. They are discolored and stained and I
think its from water getting on them when they were hot, but I'm not
sure. Mine were done by a local shop with his own techniques and
his other work has turned out fine. Jet-Hot is a company and a
process and probably patented and if these headers ever have to come
off again, I'll probably send them direct to a Jet-Hot dealer.

Greg Z
'72 Sprint

[marcfuller]

Has anyone who has used the Jet-Hot observed changes in either the nominal
engine temp or the firewall/floor temp?

[type36lotus]

I never drove my Elan without jet-hot coated headers so I can't say
there is a difference. Although I do live in Florida and have never
felt that my feet got toasty from the headders being so near by. I
also jet-hot coated the headers and 2-into-1 downpipe on my Esprit.
I really think that that help keep things less hot.

And yes, coolant dripping on my headers in the Elan made them look
dull. The parts in my Esprit looked the same many years (5-8) later
as they did when I got them back from Jet-Hot.

Mike Geiger

--- In ***@***.***, Marc Fuller <marc@s...> wrote:

[BillGavin]

I'm seeing substantially lower underhood temps after installing coated
headers.

When I bought my S2 it had the usual 4/2/1 headers - I painted them with black
VHT when I was putting the car together. My fuse box is under the hood near
the
(LHD) master cylinders, and I frequently had fuses blow when I got stuck in
traffic
on hot days.

I bought a set of TTR big bore headers, and had them coated before use. Since
installing them, I have not lost any more fuses, and have noticeably less heat
coming into the passenger compartment. The headers come quite close to the
fiberglass in a couple of spots, and there is no sign of excess heat or damage
to the paint. I expected the new headers to produce a lot more heat, and was
hoping that the coating would keep temps from getting worse - the result
greatly exceeded my expectations.

My friend who races a Miata with similar headers tells me that the coating
adds HP by keeping the exhaust gas velocity high farther down the system. I
have no way to confirm this, but it makes sense. I'd say the lower temps are
worth the cost, any extra power is a bonus.

- Bill

At 11:37 AM 12/21/2004, you wrote:

[marcfuller]

Bill and Mike - thanks for your replies.

It is good to hear that the underhood temps are lower and to the benefit of
electrical systems and probably brakes too.

Have either of you noticed any difference in engine operating temp, since
the exhaust manifold/header is keeping more heat in the gas flow?




At 12:14 PM 12/21/2004, you wrote:

[BillGavin]

Oil temp is hard to say because the oil always runs cool - I have an
oversize oil pan and it takes quite a while to get the oil up to 125 deg.
It rarely gets as high as 190 deg.

My water temp is a bit lower, but I credit that to fixing a leak in the
heater core. One of the seams had cracked and produced what the
radiator shop called a "Champage Leak" - it bubbled a very fine spray
of water, barely enough to smell and produce a slight film on the wind
screen. I never noticed any puddles, but when the engine cooled, air
would be sucked in through the cracked seam, compromising the
cooling system. I replaced the original S2 radiator with a TTR alloy
crossflow unit, but, while it seemed better, it didn't really solve the
problem. After this I discovered the leak in the heater core - fixing this
solved the cooling problems.

In any case, I don't believe I'm seeing more heat in the water due to the
coated header, if anything there's less. On cool days the engine takes
several miles to come up to temp.

- Bill

At 03:25 PM 12/21/2004, you wrote:

[poiuyt]

What is Jet-Hot? Are you referring to powder coating? If not, what
kind of process is this?

Steve B.


--- In ***@***.***, Marc Fuller <marc@s...> wrote:

[denicholls2]

There's considerable discussion in the Europa site archives of the
benefits of Jet-Hot. Posters universally agreed to a dramatic
decrease in radiated heat, which can be more of an issue in the
Europa configuration.

There was some discussion of damage seen to tape-wrapped headers from
keeping heat in the pipes, and whether this malady might extend to
Jet Hot as well. No one claimed to report a problem in this regard.

About a year ago as I recall; there's a downloadable knowledge base
with excellent search capabilities at lotuseuropa.org.

-- Doug Nicholls, 54/1822

[marcfuller]

It's not powdercoating. Here is a link-

http://www.jet-hot.com/pages/headercoatings.html

At 02:46 PM 12/21/2004, you wrote:

[type36lotus]

I too have heard about warnings of heat wrap causing some type of
damage to headers, ususally cracking. When I had my parts coated I
specified both inside and outside. My thinking was the inner
coating may protect the steel by holding back some of the heat. In
the case of the exhaust manifold I was also hoping it would smooth
the surface a little thus helping the gas flow.

Mike Geiger

--- In ***@***.***, "denicholls2" <dnicholls@k...>
wrote:

[elancoupe]

I have had Jet Hot coated headers on mine for 12 years. Never
noticed increased heat either inside the car or the engine bay. Of
course, I drive on the proper side, so I am not near the heat
source.

Mike B
66 S3 FHC RHD


--- In ***@***.***, "Michael Geiger"
<type36lotus@v...> wrote: