How durable is header ceramic coating?
12-02-2012, 08:21 PM
#1
3rd Gear Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: WV
Posts: 750
How durable is header ceramic coating?
And by that I mean both to use and heat cycles on the exhaust, and to possible impacts/abrasion/etc during shipping and the install process?
I'm looking at headers though undecided on brand...would like ceramic coated, just wondering how well they'll hold up (especially since a lot of the ceramic coated ones are mild steel). When I think ceramic I think brittle, that's all. Also, a few years back my brother had some Dynomax ceramic coated headers on his truck, and in less than 2 years most of the ceramic coating had come off the bottoms of the tubes and the collectors and they were rusting. I really don't want that to happen, either!
I'm looking at headers though undecided on brand...would like ceramic coated, just wondering how well they'll hold up (especially since a lot of the ceramic coated ones are mild steel). When I think ceramic I think brittle, that's all. Also, a few years back my brother had some Dynomax ceramic coated headers on his truck, and in less than 2 years most of the ceramic coating had come off the bottoms of the tubes and the collectors and they were rusting. I really don't want that to happen, either!
12-03-2012, 04:26 AM
#2
3rd Gear Member
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Posts: 743
And by that I mean both to use and heat cycles on the exhaust, and to possible impacts/abrasion/etc during shipping and the install process?
I'm looking at headers though undecided on brand...would like ceramic coated, just wondering how well they'll hold up (especially since a lot of the ceramic coated ones are mild steel). When I think ceramic I think brittle, that's all. Also, a few years back my brother had some Dynomax ceramic coated headers on his truck, and in less than 2 years most of the ceramic coating had come off the bottoms of the tubes and the collectors and they were rusting. I really don't want that to happen, either!
I'm looking at headers though undecided on brand...would like ceramic coated, just wondering how well they'll hold up (especially since a lot of the ceramic coated ones are mild steel). When I think ceramic I think brittle, that's all. Also, a few years back my brother had some Dynomax ceramic coated headers on his truck, and in less than 2 years most of the ceramic coating had come off the bottoms of the tubes and the collectors and they were rusting. I really don't want that to happen, either!
12-04-2012, 03:18 AM
#3
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Detroit, MI
Posts: 1
The Durability of Ceramic Header Coatings
And by that I mean both to use and heat cycles on the exhaust, and to possible impacts/abrasion/etc during shipping and the install process?
I'm looking at headers though undecided on brand...would like ceramic coated, just wondering how well they'll hold up (especially since a lot of the ceramic coated ones are mild steel). When I think ceramic I think brittle, that's all. Also, a few years back my brother had some Dynomax ceramic coated headers on his truck, and in less than 2 years most of the ceramic coating had come off the bottoms of the tubes and the collectors and they were rusting. I really don't want that to happen, either!
I'm looking at headers though undecided on brand...would like ceramic coated, just wondering how well they'll hold up (especially since a lot of the ceramic coated ones are mild steel). When I think ceramic I think brittle, that's all. Also, a few years back my brother had some Dynomax ceramic coated headers on his truck, and in less than 2 years most of the ceramic coating had come off the bottoms of the tubes and the collectors and they were rusting. I really don't want that to happen, either!
With regards to being brittle, Ceramic Coatings have nothing in common with what you'd associate with brittle glassware. Ceramic Coatings are comprised of Ceramic frit, metallic components and binders. Properly applied to the substrate they will have a metallic bond with that part that can literally be hammered on without failure.
As for your brothers failed headers, that could be the result of several issues.
Depending on the complexity (how tight the tubes are to each other) of the collector area often times you're not able to either get sufficient coating in these areas or in the case of Bright Ceramic, they may not be able to be polished properly which leaves them porous and prone to corrode. Another common reality in commercially avail "big box headers" in which most are all made in Mexico by the same supplier, there appears to be something acidic in the process. It's most likely being introduced in the coating / rinsing cycle but may also include the substrate as well. The end result is premature coating / metal corrosion.
Now the most common source of failure that compounds the previously mentioned issues stems from excessive temps. Overheating Bright Ceramic can occur from both a too lean or too rich condition. This usually occurs when starting or dynoing an un-tuned motor with Bright Ceramic headers. If the motor is too lean you'll see dulling from the head flange out. If it's too fat you'll see dulling from the collector back to the middle of the primary. If the temp is excessive due to these conditions or say trying to use Bright Ceramic on a turbo application, the coating will actually become sacrificial and flake off.
Below are some samples of improper usage of Bright Ceramic.
Started up too lean
Improperly used for a turbo application
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