I'm in the market for some lt's for my 01 z28. The only real qu3stion I have is is there a real advantage to going with the ceramic coating over the black. I'm not worried about price, generally the difference between the two I've found is about $100. No biggie, but I actually like the look of the black over the ceramic or chrome look. But that's only if the black stays. I'm guessing it fades quickly though. Anyone have black lts on their car that is a daily driver? How do they looke 2 months later or 1 year later? I just don't want them rusting and falling apart, I'll get the ceramic if getting the black just leads to headaches. Thanks.

 

Ceramic is the only way to go. It helps cut down on engine heat and keeps all the exhaust heat inside the tubes where it belongs. Black is just a paint ment to look good for shipping purposes. It will burn off very quickly leaving your headers looking bad and able to rust.

 

All the way. It is worth the $250 or so to have them coated. Definitely do it.

 

Wow, looks like ceramic it is. One more question though, why do they offer them in black if it just burns off? Is that just for shipping and then you have them coated in something else of your choice?

 

If you were to send them to Jet-Hot or someone like that, they would just sand blast them and coat inside and out.

 

What he said. They clean, then bead-blast them before coating. Though they DO offer a matte black ceramic finish that wont flake like black paint will

 

But would that be more money than just getting the ceramic coated in the first place? I like the black look but not enough to spend more than the ceramic headers.

 

I think its like 15% more then the normal ceramic finish.

 

The best part is the way the ceramic headers stand out in the engine bay.

 

Here's a $2,000 set of custom made 2" step headers, stainless steel, brand new:

http://cjcfo.fbody.com/members/bryan...net/gb/gb2.jpg

Here's the engine in the car, with about 15 1/4-mile passes on it.... note the discoloration of the headers:

http://cjcfo.fbody.com/members/injun.../DCP03807a.jpg

If those were mine, I'd have had them coated.

Advantages of ceramic coating:

-Reduces external tube metal metal temperature up to 300degF.

-This reduces oxidation (rust) of the tubes, and reduces stress cracking from cyclic thermal loads and vibration.

-Reduces under hood temperature dramatically

-Increases exhaust gas temperatures, improving scavengining and increasing power up to 3%.

-Looks good

You can now get the ceramic coatings in a "black chrome" appearance, along with color tints.

 

ceramic all the way. you'll love the look 10000 miles from now when they are the exact same as the day you put them on.

david

 

Sorry they won't look the same they did 10K miles later. ALL mild steel headers with ceramic coatings I've seen rust eventually; starting at the collector.