| Author | Message | ||
     Thepod |
It's over 100 degrees in Portland...this has lead me to consider ceramic coating my headers. Anyone who has done this, please chime in. How much did it reduce the heat on the ole inner right thigh? What is a reasonable cost for this? | ||
| Jornum1 |
The reduction in heat is not dramatic, but is noticeable. I would say its comparable to header wrap. Your still going to feel it. I payed around $140 to have mine done black from Grandstand | ||
| Bishopjb1124 |
It reduced the heat on my wifes xb9 by about 100 degrees, I had them coated by jet-hot in sterling 1300. Cost was 160 including shipping. Jimmy (Message edited by bishopjb1124 on July 29, 2009) | ||
| Sweetfish89 |
Is sending your stock headers in to get ceramic coated the same as buying ceramic headers from American Sport Bike? | ||
| Mortarmanmike120 |
Yeah. You order from American Sport Bike and pay an extra core charge. They ship headers to you, you send your old headers back to them, you get your core charge back. More money up front, less time with bike down. Unless things have changed that's how it worked when I did it 2 years ago. It's a nice coating. Heat reduction to leg is not dramatic IMO. | ||
| Nuerburgringer |
There's little relief from having an incredibly hot cylinder head right between your legs. Radiant heat from the header is only a portion of the problem, and with ceramic coating you're only addressing a portion of that portion. All bikes are hot; XBs especially so. Its one of those things that we learn to live with. That said, my header is coated. It helps a little, and looks a lot nicer. | ||
| Sweetfish89 |
I was reading that black ceramic headers don't do as well of a job as the silver ones. Is this true or is this because black doesn't reflect as much heat as lighter colors? | ||
| Grianp |
I have both my headers and race can ceramic coated black. I have only ridden about 1500 miles since this was done and havent noticed much difference in the heat. It may be slightly cooler but regardless of what you do, the bike is still going to get hot. One thing I did notice is that the headers cool down way quicker than before once you turn the bike off. | ||
| Nuerburgringer |
Supposedly this stuff is a lot thicker than typical ceramic; I'm trying it on my two-stroke GP bike: http://www.swaintech.com/store.asp?pid=10969 But again, the XB's rear cylinder head is hot as hell, right in your groin, and the header pipe's radiant heat is only a small part of the problem. Its the nature of the beast. Small improvements are the best that we can hope for. If nothing else, the thermal insulation of the ceramic coated header reduces the exhaust's contribution to cylinder head temperature. But that reduction is most significant in an enclosed engine compartment; not sure if there's notable change here. | ||
| Sweetfish89 |
I just ordered the Ulysses Comfort Kit. So hopefully that will help cool the rear cylinder. So I bet it would be more worth having the ceramic coated headers. | ||
| Kenney83 |
what do you think of powder coating headers? will it do the same as ceramic coating? | ||
| Nuerburgringer |
"what do you think of powder coating headers? will it do the same as ceramic coating?" Ceramic coating is more-or-less a powder coating process, (although not necessarily applied in a powder form) but capable of tolerating much much higher temperature, and producing a thermal barrier. I believe what you're talking about is cosmetic only, and not suitable for this application. At the kind of temperature that your bike produces on its header, the bond coat would lose adhesion. (Message edited by nuerburgringer on July 29, 2009) | ||
| Teddagreek |
Swaintech "White Lightning" is sprayed on molten...... There is no powder coating process... | ||
| Nuerburgringer |
"Swaintech "White Lightning" is sprayed on molten...... There is no powder coating process..." I believe that's what I meant by "more or less" and "not necessarily applied in powder form". But thanks for the clarification, I guess. The coat is not applied as a powder, but I believe it begins as one. Powder coaters typically do ceramic coating as well. Although applications are not identical, folks associate the two. More here: http://www.thomasnet.com/articles/chemicals/ceramic-coating-metals (Message edited by nuerburgringer on July 29, 2009) | ||
| Augustus74 |
Nuerburg - have heard great things about SwainTech. Do they still only offer 1 color? | ||
| Forerunner |
Ceramic coated my headers by Jet-Hot in black. No noticeable difference in heat reduction but I did it primarily for cosmetics. I hated how bad the stock headers looked as they started 'spotting' from road debris. Blueing didn't bother me but the mottled color did. Nels |
