Could be moved to guides poss...

So i was buying some slimline fans from ebay and saw some heatwrap, thought, my 4-1 manifold, il have a go, only 8 quid.

Recieved, lovely. So whacked it on, didnt take long, was able to do it without taking manifold off. It looked good too.

Allready engine bay temp seemed much better and you could feel the fact that the heat was being held in.

Took her for a drive, now not sure if its just conincidence, but the car felt better. It wanted to rev if you get what i mean. (apparently hotter air gets, faster it moves?)

As i stopped at the lights, my temp gauge was moving, i could see it moving much quicker than normal, up, fans kicked in, kept it all at bay. But i wasent convinced...

A quick google and there seems to be no definitive answer, is heat wrap good or bad?

Now technically speaking, allthough the heat isnt escaping to the engine bay, it must be going somewhere? So the manifold must be getting hotter and hotter underneath the heat wrap, and then that heat transferring to the head. Hence my temp gauge going up quicker than a pedos pecker in a childrens playground.

As much as the Zetec is a pretty strong engine, its only metal and after a certain amount of heat, surely somethings going to give? I mean it could be the manifold cant take the heat its holding in and thats the first thing to crack. But if the engines getting hotter, overall, could have drastic effects.

So for peace of mind, ive removed it. Better safe than sorry i spose! Now its off, temp gauge moves as normal.

Your thoughts and opinions?

Discuss.

(ps anyone that does decide to use heatwrap, wear gloves while fitting it)

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I like boost! Formerly cookie456_the2nd

I think making changes to the thermostat so it kicks in sooner would help combat the problem along with regular coolant replacement.

I follow your thoughts on the heat theory you've put forward, only so much heat will go down to the cat and onwards, some will come back. I would use heatwrap just to protect certain areas, such as a close starter motor and allow heat to escape into the engine bay. Never thought I'd learn heat management for cars from a computer case building and design.

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i think the heatwrap would just hold the heat in the mani, and thats quite bad specially if its mild steel.

i need somthing to stop my induction pipe getting so hot!

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The Fat Fake Xr2i

I have heard all sorts about heat wrapping manifolds. I have done a few race manifolds myself before.

The real possitives out of it are that it keeps engine bay temps down and can provide better velocity air flow. But with that, it can heat up the exhaust metal more than it should and shorten the life of it.

If you want to do with the route of keeping the heat in and having long lasting system, get it ceramic coated - its the way forward

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fit a summer thermostat so engine fans kick in at alower temp, also which manifold are you using?? ashley, maxnex or a st170?? as you said tho hot air does move quicker, but the manifold under the heat wrap will be extremly hot compared to usual, the heat will transfere in to the aluminium head, as aluminim will conduct and disperse heat heat much better than steel

As always all that heat has to go somewhere, it depends where you don't want it the most.

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I've never been a fan of heat wrap on exhaust manifolds on road cars for this very reason. Race and track cars, a very different matter. But if you're driving at normal speeds on the road and sitting in traffic, I believe they have a detrimental effect. As you say, you are preventing heat from escaping in it's normal manner, and although the engine bay temps may be lower, it transfers to elsewhere on the engine, which in turn can have other effects on other parts.

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