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Exhaust Wrap - Good or Bad Idea?


Terence

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With the generous offer announced by Geoff Brown (https://www.lotus7.club/news/flame-barrier-high-temperature-exhaust-wrap-20) I searched on-line and on this site for information on the benefits or otherwise of exhaust wrapping. The internet seems ambivalent about these, and my search on the Club site gave me the following:

Enter search term:  Exhaust wrap

Did you mean: Exhaust crap

I don't know if that was an AI answer to my query, but I understand from my limited knowledge and research that there are benefits in using such tapes.

What are your opinions, views, experiences?

TIA

Terence

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I use a relatively small amount of wrap to reduce the heat from the primaries near the alternator and starter on a 4-2-1 system. Personally I wouldn't get too heavy handed with the stuff as the heat it retains has to go somewhere (e.g. engine block, lambda sensor) and it is probably healthier for the engine in general to let it dissipate over as large an area as possible.

The benefits are supposedly to keep the gases at a higher temperature so they flow better, protect some components and it's a bit safer when working on a hot engine. The supposed downsides are the overheating of components directly attached to the exhaust and the increased discolouration of the exposed parts of the exhaust system. I say "supposed" as I am by no means an expert and just have opinions.

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  • Leadership Team

I agree with John. I previously had mine wrapped and then noticed that the timing cover backplate had some signs of melting (VHPD) so I removed the wrap and I've had no further issues. I now have no exhaust wrap, no heat protection on the starter motor, and the only issue with heat from the exhaust primaries has been the label pealing off the battery.

Stu.

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I wrapped mine (K series, 4-1 race exhaust) some years ago while trying to cure the perennial starting/ 'K click' problem.  The wires to the started were frazzled, stiff and burnt and the solenoid on the top of the starter was sticky.  So I replaced all the cables, wrapped the starter and exhaust in heat wrap and Ive not had problems since.  I also did the relay mod at the same time, so not conclusive, but reducing heat into the starter and wiring can only be positive.  I have wrapped them to the inside of the side skin.    

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Obviously it will depend on how fragile the engine is, K's being more fragile than Duratecs I would guess, but when I had a CSR 260, which are prone to VERY hot footwells, I wrapped my primaries from head to exit from the body, for the 7 years I owned the car, with no obvious ill affects, and it did keep the footwells cooler, as well as one of the main brake lines which are clipped under the top chassis tube immediately above the primaries.  

So, I would conclude the benefits are more than the downsides and would do it again if there were any delicate parts in the vicinity, including driver/passenger.

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I am a fan of exhaust wrapping ( lava rather than fibreglass). Heat is dissipated through the exhaust and this speeds up the gas flow, allegedly improving power output marginally but at least as importantly removing some of the heat, by confining it to the exhaust,that otherwise can cook wiring and conduct into the cockpit
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I would be cautious with applying too much wrap adjacent to a lambda sensor. I assume they are built to get very hot but there must be a limit. Wrapping in my opinion is highly effective as I could see that the exposed parts of my primaries had changed colour after one run. The trouble is how to quantify the effect and judging if it is all good.

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"The trouble is how to quantify the effect and judging if it is all good."

It depends on what you are looking for.  If it is a cooler underbonnet area, then that is easy to see and read with a suitable thermometer, if it is increased power through better gas flow, then it is a bit like fairy dust - hard to see and even more difficult to prove.

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It is not just about what you are looking for as you could end up with something having a shorter life. The trouble is that creating hotspots are a bit of an unknown without a few hundred thousand miles of testing under a variety of conditions. As an extra 1% of power would be of no use to me I would only use wrap for heat reduction and then only just enough.

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