Ceramic coated or stainless steel header?

[OS]

I ordered DC sport header for my car, but my contact says the stainless ($330) is on back order with no ETA. Ceramic coated ($270) is available, but supposedly it has questionable longevity. For the CC, the header itself is made of mild steel with a ceramic coating. Then again, the flanges on the DC sport stainless are made of mild steel. Should I wait for the stainless or get a ceramic?

edit, had the wrong prices.

 

[Ladies Man]

ummm i actually thought ceramic was better since it lets off less heat in the engine compartment, and it doesn't rust so it looks better for a longer time.

If anything i thought it would cost more for ceramic.

 

[rezinn]

Ceramic coated > Stainless. Mine are 6 years old with no wear. Been on and off four or five times. Mine were coated by edelbrock, or one of their related companies. I don't know about DC or their coating.

Ceramic coating generally reduces heat loss of the exiting exhaust greatly, allowing for a lower drop in exhaust velocity and lower engine bay temps. Both pluses. Stainless are just pretty (until they turn blue), and will not rust. Ceramic should never rust either. Ceramic coated stainless would be the best of both worlds, but probably not worth the money.

 

[Eli]

Originally posted by: Ladies Man
ummm i actually thought ceramic was better since it lets off less heat in the engine compartment, and it doesn't rust so it looks better for a longer time.

If anything i thought it would cost more for ceramic.

Stainless Steel is expensive, heh.

Once the ceramic coating wears off, the steel will be free to rust. It must be a cheap coating...

 

[AvesPKS]

Originally posted by: Eli

Originally posted by: Ladies Man
ummm i actually thought ceramic was better since it lets off less heat in the engine compartment, and it doesn't rust so it looks better for a longer time.

If anything i thought it would cost more for ceramic.

Stainless Steel is expensive, heh.

Once the ceramic coating wears off, the steel will be free to rust. It must be a cheap coating...

I've been wondering stainless that for awhile. My grandfather told me stainless is like a brand name; it's really corrosion-resistent steel (CRES). He said calling all cres stainless is like calling all tissue Kleenex.

 

[Lizardman]

get the cheaper one. Its not like you are going to see it.

 

[Eli]

Originally posted by: AvesPKS

Originally posted by: Eli

Originally posted by: Ladies Man
ummm i actually thought ceramic was better since it lets off less heat in the engine compartment, and it doesn't rust so it looks better for a longer time.

If anything i thought it would cost more for ceramic.

Stainless Steel is expensive, heh.

Once the ceramic coating wears off, the steel will be free to rust. It must be a cheap coating...

I've been wondering stainless that for awhile. My grandfather told me stainless is like a brand name; it's really corrosion-resistent steel (CRES). He said calling all cres stainless is like calling all tissue Kleenex.

Hmmm....

I have never heard of that, but I wouldn't doubt it. That happens more often than people realize, much to the chagrin of the original nameholder.

That very well may have been true in the past, but I don't think it is anymore.

stainless steel
n.
Any of various steels alloyed with at least 10 percent chromium and sometimes containing other elements and that are resistant to corrosion or rusting associated with exposure to water and moist air.

While it has this to say about Kleenex,

Kleen·ex

A trademark used for a soft facial tissue

.

Says the same thing about Vaseline and Band-Aid.

Not really sure how to go about researching that fact further.

After a little searching, it appears that "Corrosion Resistant" is a label given to steel that has lesser anti-corrision properties than a true "stainless steel". For example, it might not "rust" in the conventional sense, but it could pit, or have other symptoms of oxidation.

As per the dictionarys definition, to be "stainless", it has to have at least 10% chromium. The "corrision resistant" steels probably have less. But they will also cost less.

 

[atom]

Even though the ceramic coated supposedly has a shorter lifespan, how many people do you hear cracking it? Course you could get the SS header and then swain coat it (or something similar).........

 

[AvesPKS]

Originally posted by: Eli

Originally posted by: AvesPKS

Originally posted by: Eli

Originally posted by: Ladies Man
ummm i actually thought ceramic was better since it lets off less heat in the engine compartment, and it doesn't rust so it looks better for a longer time.

If anything i thought it would cost more for ceramic.

Stainless Steel is expensive, heh.

Once the ceramic coating wears off, the steel will be free to rust. It must be a cheap coating...

I've been wondering stainless that for awhile. My grandfather told me stainless is like a brand name; it's really corrosion-resistent steel (CRES). He said calling all cres stainless is like calling all tissue Kleenex.

Hmmm....

I have never heard of that, but I wouldn't doubt it. That happens more often than people realize, much to the chagrin of the original nameholder.

That very well may have been true in the past, but I don't think it is anymore.

stainless steel
n.
Any of various steels alloyed with at least 10 percent chromium and sometimes containing other elements and that are resistant to corrosion or rusting associated with exposure to water and moist air.

While it has this to say about Kleenex,

Kleen·ex

A trademark used for a soft facial tissue

.

Says the same thing about Vaseline and Band-Aid.

Yeah, I don't know, it was just one of those things that he would say whenever I would say "stainless steel."

 

[OS]

Originally posted by: atom
Even though the ceramic coated supposedly has a shorter lifespan, how many people do you hear cracking it? Course you could get the SS header and then swain coat it (or something similar).........

Well, I had a former coworker, he had a DC ceramic header on his car, and it was quite rusty on the lower half. I think it was like 4 years old or so. The top half was in very good condition though.

 

[atom]

Originally posted by: OS

Originally posted by: atom
Even though the ceramic coated supposedly has a shorter lifespan, how many people do you hear cracking it? Course you could get the SS header and then swain coat it (or something similar).........

Well, I had a former coworker, he had a DC ceramic header on his car, and it was quite rusty on the lower half. I think it was like 4 years old or so. The top half was in very good condition though.

Hmm, was the car lowered? If you scratch the coating off, the mild steel underneath will rust easily. A similar thing on turbo versions of my car happens, if the downpipe is ceramic coated mild steel, the super hot exhaust gas eventually kills the coating on the pipe then it gets all ragged looking and rusted.

 

[OS]

Originally posted by: atom

Hmm, was the car lowered? If you scratch the coating off, the mild steel underneath will rust easily. A similar thing on turbo versions of my car happens, if the downpipe is ceramic coated mild steel, the super hot exhaust gas eventually kills the coating on the pipe then it gets all ragged looking and rusted.

Actually it was very lowered. :\ Though the rust seemed to originate from the welds more than anywhere else. I have no plans to lower my car myself.