But stainless steel does discolor when the header gets hot and ceramic doesnt. Ceramic headers can maintain their out of the box chrome like appearance for many years and the smooth surface makes them easy to clean.
2017 Zl1 Stainless Works Exhaust Steel Headers Vs Ceramic Kit
Stainless steel vs ceramic headers. The ceramic label come from the fact that its mild steel with a cermaic coating not that the header is made of ceramic. Tacomx oct 17 2011 4. I wanted some opinions on what benefits are provided from ceramic coated vs. There will be substantial more radiant heat compared to coated. 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. They dont rust so the coating wont flake off like it can on mild steel headers.
The stainless steel will look all nice and shiny when you first buy it but after you install it and run the engine for about 10 minutes it will change color to a copper shade and stay that way from the heat. Recently i have installed a cat back magnaflow exhaust on my 2008 silverado 1500 60l and am going to take the next step with headers. Stainless will radiate more heat into the engine compartment than ceramic coated headers will. Ceramic is cheaper and once it wears out you could always sand the old off and reapply a ceramic coating to the headers. This keeps the header from rusting and insulates a lot of the heat. The ceramic actually blocks alot of the heat if they are coated inside and out.
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. I am going to be supercharging the engine within the next 9 mo. Neither stainless or ceramic materials corrode so youll never have to worry about rust. I also agree with the lower temps. I would go with the ceramic it wont last forever but it will keep the engine bay cooler than stainlessand you save 100. But because of the mild steel core it will eventually rust if the coating takes any abuse.
Stainless prevents corroision while the ceramic coating contains heat and adds more corrosion and stain protection. The stainless header is a good choice for longevity but it doesnt have any insulation properties. Because of this coating they do not need header wrap. Ceramic vs stainless headers. And remember you get what you pay for especially in a header. Ceramic coating stainless headers is the best way to go.
I had coated headers on my lt1 camaro and like one of the other posters accidentally bumped into one of the primaries with my hand after the engine had run for some time. Stainless will discolor blue or gold depending on the temps but they will not rust. Anywhere the coating is scratched will rust and the inside of the pipe will rust of course.
Gallery of Stainless Steel Vs Ceramic Headers
