TTI vs Dougs

-
That’s a lot to read. I’ll stick ith my measure, TTI’s 100 degrees cooler underhood. Even if that is the only benefit. Heat is the enemy.
 
krazykuda said:
No .003" or less is just a coating meant to make the appearance look better...

Thermal barriers are much thicker to be of any use...

.003" for a thermal barrier does as much good as pissing in the ocean to raise the water level....
Click to expand...
I agree
Over the past 45 years I have had headers with all types of coatings, none of them hold up.
I have had ceramic coated "thermal barrier" headers on street cars, never could prove that they had an advantage. They are impossible to touch up if chipped.
The only headers I really care for a stainless steel, no coating.
 
Last edited:
AAndrews said:
Well guys... Seems that everyone's perspective has some merit in this discussion, according to this article in Hot Rod , where they tested the coatings for performance gains.

This is a good read!

A Look at High-Tech Engine Coatings and What They are Worth - Hot Rod Magazine
Click to expand...
Terrific read. Thanks for finding it! My take-away from it is that the coatings didn't do much to increase hp's on the dyno, but most definitely reduce under-hood temps in a significant way. See below:
"Testing coated versus uncoated headers on an otherwise internally uncoated engine showed no statistically significant changes in overall torque and power output, although the engine was up a couple of numbers in the midrange. It could be that stainless steel headers are just less sensitive to thermal-barrier coatings than typical mild-steel headers. In any event, ambient temperatures with a heat gun in the vicinity of the headers did show a 200-degree-F temperature drop near the pipes at the pipe surface. Although the dyno numbers don’t reflect this drop, in a tight engine compartment not using cold-air induction but rather ingesting inlet air from inside a hot engine compartment, a reduction in exhaust-radiated heat could translate into a big power gain: On a normally aspirated engine, every 10-degree-F inlet air temperature decrease increases engine power by about 1 percent. Even if the air were only 50 degrees cooler by the time it got into the inlet tract, that’s a 5 percent improvement."
 
gabe380 said:
In any event, ambient temperatures with a heat gun in
Click to expand...
This shows a problem in the testing. Ambiant (air) temperature can not be read with a 'gun'. They can only read surface temperatures. Even there, on the more expensive ones can be set to compensate for the surface reflectivity.
That doesn't mean the test is invalid. Just their summary interpretation of what they were measuring is incorrect. A surface near the header very well could have been 200* cooler.

It's unfortunate there's no specifics about the coating.
It could have been whatever it is these folks use. Xtreme Performance Heat Coatings
or one of these products of the same name. Xtreme Temperature Coating - High Temperature Paint - Header Paint - Stove Paint
Really no information about the products in either case.
 
Last edited:
AAndrews said:
Well guys... Seems that everyone's perspective has some merit in this discussion, according to this article in Hot Rod , where they tested the coatings for performance gains.

This is a good read!

A Look at High-Tech Engine Coatings and What They are Worth - Hot Rod Magazine
Click to expand...

This article backs up why the pro run this stuff, most prostock racers would kill for another 8 h.power .
I have never seen a top fuel zoomy system with any thickness inside the tubes, but I bet all are coated---------
 
Dennis H said:
That’s a lot to read. I’ll stick ith my measure, TTI’s 100 degrees cooler underhood. Even if that is the only benefit. Heat is the enemy.
Click to expand...
With a 440/505 , with raised port heads in a 68 barracuda engine compartment , I`d welcome 100* less compartment heat !!
 
Mattax said:
This shows a problem in the testing. Ambiant (air) temperature can not be read with a 'gun'. They can only read surface temperatures. Even there, on the more expensive ones can be set to compensate for the surface reflectivity.
That doesn't mean the test is invalid. Just their summary interpretation of what they were measuring is incorrect. A surface near the header very well could have been 200* cooler.

It's unfortunate there's no specifics about the coating.
It could have been whatever it is these folks use. Xtreme Performance Heat Coatings
or one of these products of the same name. Xtreme Temperature Coating - High Temperature Paint - Header Paint - Stove Paint
Really no information about the products in either case.
Click to expand...


Agreed that Ambient air temp can't be read with a gun. Bad choice of words by the author of the article, however, the claim of 200 degree temp drop is valid as tested in this article. Also, his suggestion that a temp drop of that magnitude in an enclosed unventilated space ( underwood with no fresh air inlets) would make a significant power difference is also valid . My take-away is the same as Dennis H in his post above.. any heat drop under the hood is welcome even if that's the only benefit. I am also inclined to believe that TTI knows exhaust technology as good or better than most and if they offer this option, it should work pretty well. I have it, I use it, my under hood temperatures are most definitely lower than the old exhaust manifolds and headers I used in the past. As well, my headers look as good as they did when I installed them 1200 miles ago. To me the coatings were worth the extra expense.
 
Is all these "coatings" accepted by NHRA? Primarily in the Stock eliminator and Super Stock classes? (Or even Pro Stock for that matter?) Coating top of pistons and valve train parts do change geometry and weight. (Even if marginal.) Which by the strictest rule interpretation is not compliant? I believe exhaust piping is fair game. But internal components?
 
Last edited:
I think coatings extend header life. However, coatings aren't going to make headers last a lifetime but will help with lowering underhood temps.
 
gabe380 said:
It makes sense that any type of coating/barrier that keeps heat in the pipe, will lead to better performance. Theoretically, if the tube stays cooler, there will be more of a "draw" which will lead to more power. That said, it's only a 318 with a stock 340 cam and stock 318 heads, so I wouldn't expect the "thermal barrier" option from TTi to result in a noticeable difference in power. I was more interested in the lower underhood temp, and keeping a little more heat away from pumps/wires/reservoirs/etc under the hood.

It seems like everyone generally rates both Doug's and TTI very favorably, and very comparable to each other, with an ever-so-slight edge to the TTI's . I was prepared to shell out the $$ on the TTI's, but with the 20% off deal through Auto Zone, the ceramic Doug's really are only $560 right now, compared to $954 (incl shipping) for TTi. That's hard to pass-up on its own, but when you add-in the fact that TTI says there's a 4-6wk lead time for the 273/318 headers, I think I'm going to go with the Doug's.
Click to expand...
It took TTI 7 weeks to get my headers out to me after ordering. I was pretty disappointed in that. On the plus side, they dropped in on my 440 70 GTX with only having to pull the motor mount bolts (I’m swapping out the heads to Trick Flow 240’s so the heads were off of the block). Bolted on the heads and the headers fit PERFECT!!!!! So far I’m happy. Hope to fire it up this weekend.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
-

Back
Top