OK, I'm looking in to headers for my suburban, and wanted to get some opinions. I'm looking at the Summit Ceramic coated headers (http://store.summitracing.com/partdetail.asp?part=576&view=257#largerimage) or considering using header wrap. My underhood temps seem insane in this thing, soknocking that down is my biggest goal right now. I can't find a straight answer on the coated pipes. Some say they do decrease heat, but others say they don't. I know that the wrap tends to be tough on the headers, but I really need to tame the temp!

Well my first set of headers are coated..... the temps don't seem hot at all, so I'm convienced the coating helps a lot...I even put the inner wheel wells back in.

I know using the wrap will void the warranty on my headers, so it is obviosly very hard on headers. Uncoated headers with wrap will probably only last a few years

High quality ceramic coated headers should last a long long long time. We'll see....

My vote is get the coated headers. More money up front, but you should be happier in the long run.

Here's a current pic of my motor. Those headers have been on there over a year.....get this.... no gasket....no leaks, no loose bolts. I just used hi-temp RTV

http://home.earthlink.net/~mattsara/bb/my302.jpg

Get the coated ones. My brother and I put a set of coated headers on his 73 Corvette. Looked very nice and still look good. I have used the wrap and it is kind of a pain to work with. Gives you the fiberglass itch. Also, if you have any fluid leaks, it could burn.

I had the ones I put on my Impala SS Jet-Hot coated and it made a huge difference. Plus they were a nice looking silver color. I put 30,000+ miles on them and they looked like new the day I sold it.

DO NOT wrap a good set of headers if you plan on keeping them for a while. They will deteriorate a hundred times faster. I really couldn't tell how much cooler the engine compt ran, and it was a lot quieter with the wrap, but at a price. I've also learned that some offer a higher temp coating than others. Still researching that one.

header wrap is a rust breeding ground....

HEADER WRAP WILL VOID A MANUF. WARRENTY IT HOLD IN THE HEAT AND SOAKS UP WATER FOR RUST ...ONE MORE THING SAVE YOUR MONEY AND GET A GOOD HEADER.. I JUST QUIT SUMMIT AND THE SUMMIT STUFF IS CRAP. THE HEADERS ARE FLOWTECH YOU WILL BE DOING THEM TWICE

i wrapped my headers once. i'll never do it again. the hedders died very quickley and my turbo 400 spilt oil on them and it caught on fire once. they took a long time to put on too.
it did quiet down the truck a lot and cooled the engine compartment. but i'll spend the money next time.

Originally posted by LT's TOY
DO NOT wrap a good set of headers if you plan on keeping them for a while. They will deteriorate a hundred times

Or worse, even a cheap set.
I wrapped some cheap ones and they actually melted! The wrap holds in too much heat.