Stainless will radiate more heat into the engine compartment than ceramic coated headers will. Ceramic coatings take that a step further.
304 Vs 409 Stainless Steel Bet You Didn T Know These
Ceramic vs stainless steel headers. A full stainless header will not rust at all. The ceramic label come from the fact that its mild steel with a cermaic coating not that the header is made of ceramic. I also like stainless because i think they look better and they will last a lot longer granted if you buy the 700 dollar ones. Ceramic coated headers are not stainless. Ceramic coated headers vs. A ceramic coated stainless header would be the ideal setup if money aint a thang.
Because of this coating they do not need header wrap. This forms a hard impermeable barrier that doesnt corrode. These coatings made of aluminum powder mixed with ceramic dust are sprayed onto the header as a powder and then baked on in an oven. Discussion starter 1 sep 22. This keeps the header from rusting and insulates a lot of the heat. Also since the heat is staying inside the headers the exhaust gases will be hotter and will flow more remember as air cools it becomes more dense.
But because of the mild steel core it will eventually rust if the coating takes any abuse. Joined dec 18 2001 1478 posts. The ceramic actually blocks alot of the heat if they are coated inside and out. This is the reason a chikara steel header is so damn cheap and then the ceramic coated is more and so on to stainless. Jump to latest follow 1 15 of 15 posts. They are cheaper bc the steel in the header is not cheaper.
Ceramic is cheaper and once it wears out you could always sand the old off and reapply a ceramic coating to the headers. The stainless header is a good choice for longevity but it doesnt have any insulation properties. Stainless headers get around this problem by using a material that doesnt corrode in the first place. That is why they rust.
Gallery of Ceramic Vs Stainless Steel Headers
