[circusnuts]

I'm just so sure this has been settled on the forum many times over :bitchslap

Putting new, full Titanium Akrapovic exhaust system on my Gen1 & would like to wrap the headers (mainly to shield them from road debris).

**Please any info you have on dos, don'ts, pros, cons, best tape, best tape width, how best to apply, where to start/stop.

My inclination is to pickup something on Amazon (like Design Engineerings - DEI).

TIA
Phil

 

[F SANE IL]

Won't this trap the heat and not provide any benefit?

 

[SkyDork]

Phil-

Your Dos and Don'ts are.....DON'T.

Wrapping titanium with that junk can cause the headers to become brittle from the excessive heat. Let alone the fact that they will trap and retain water and road debris will add to the negatives. Plus they look like poop!

Leave those beautiful Akro headers open like they are designed. They are mostly shielded by the radiator and lower fairing anyway. There's nothing to shield them from with a wrap and you're likely to do more damage to the titanium than you will trying to protect them.

 

[Boxtradamus]

Phil-

Your Dos and Don'ts are.....DON'T.

Wrapping titanium with that junk can cause the headers to become brittle from the excessive heat. Let alone the fact that they will trap and retain water and road debris will add to the negatives. Plus they look like poop!

Leave those beautiful Akro headers open like they are designed. They are mostly shielded by the radiator and lower fairing anyway. There's nothing to shield them from with a wrap and you're likely to do more damage to the titanium than you will trying to protect them.

Gesus H Krist, Hell just froze over, the Atlanta Falcons just won the Superbowl and today I finally found a Skydork post I completely and totally disagree with.

That titanium brittle argument has about as much merit as the brittle argument has for BST Carbon wheels, as in none. Oh wait, I read it on the internet, never mind.

DEI makes some great wrap. The only drawback is it is horrid to handle. Do it OUTSIDE your basement or garage and wear gloves and a dust mask. Once installed, it looks awesome IMHO.

 

[Boxtradamus]

Won't this trap the heat and not provide any benefit?

YES and that's the entire idea.

 

[Boxtradamus]

18,000 miles and no brittle.

 

[evilaugust]

How do you tell if they are brittle or not?

 

[Duhastme]

18,000 miles and no brittle.

YES and that's the entire idea.

Is the effect best obtained at the end of the exhaust or at the header?

I have heard the idea is to increase exhaust gas temperatures and this promotes the scavenging effect, how are you to know if your scavenging effect needs improvement? Is this the same idea, I need more air flow so I put a high flow air filter?

Did you notice any difference in how they bike performed after installing the wrap? Like less backfiing, smoother ride, less heat soak, etc.


I only ask as I am ignorant.

 

[SkyDork]

Gesus H Krist, Hell just froze over, the Atlanta Falcons just won the Superbowl and today I finally found a Skydork post I completely and totally disagree with.

That titanium brittle argument has about as much merit as the brittle argument has for BST Carbon wheels, as in none. Oh wait, I read it on the internet, never mind.

DEI makes some great wrap. The only drawback is it is horrid to handle. Do it OUTSIDE your basement or garage and wear gloves and a dust mask. Once installed, it looks awesome IMHO.

:crackup::notworthy: Yeah, the brittleness argument is hearsay on my part since I don't have much experience with it. I haven't done any testing myself with it. So I'll concede the point. :badteeth:

It just boggles my mind to wrap titanium in mesh. The idea of keeping the heat up and improving the scavenging with it is sound, but it would have to be tuned for that with a goal in mind. This exhaust wrap was born out of the days when steel headers fell apart and could melt fairings because the exhaust ran so hot. Remember the days when black-coated Vance and Hines exhausts were the norm? Yeah, those were the days! Everybody and their uncle's cousins stepson grabbed the wrap at PepBoys and wrapped the headers. Oh boy, oh boy! Good times!

So with that said, here's the warning off of DEI's own website....

Note about Titanium Exhaust Systems:
DEI does NOT recommend wrapping Titanium exhausts. The alloys used in the production of titanium exhaust systems tend to be thin and are designed to dissipate heat quickly. By wrapping the exhaust, the additional heat can make the titanium alloy turn brittle and prone to premature cracking. DEI recommends using alternatives such as our flexible heat shields when seeking to reduce the heat on titanium exhaust systems.

https://www.designengineering.com/c...wrap-kits/titanium-exhaust-wrap-lr-technology

I wouldn't worry so much about the titanium tubes themselves than I would about overheating and causing issues with any weldments of the heater. But hey, what do I know? :dontknow: I read it on the Interweb anyway. :hello:

 

[Boxtradamus]

:crackup::notworthy: Yeah, the brittleness argument is hearsay on my part since I don't have much experience with it. I haven't done any testing myself with it. So I'll concede the point. :badteeth:

It just boggles my mind to wrap titanium in mesh. The idea of keeping the heat up and improving the scavenging with it is sound, but it would have to be tuned for that with a goal in mind. This exhaust wrap was born out of the days when steel headers fell apart and could melt fairings because the exhaust ran so hot. Remember the days when black-coated Vance and Hines exhausts were the norm? Yeah, those were the days! Everybody and their uncle's cousins stepson grabbed the wrap at PepBoys and wrapped the headers. Oh boy, oh boy! Good times!

So with that said, here's the warning off of DEI's own website....


https://www.designengineering.com/c...wrap-kits/titanium-exhaust-wrap-lr-technology

I wouldn't worry so much about the titanium tubes themselves than I would about overheating and causing issues with any weldments of the heater. But hey, what do I know? :dontknow: I read it on the Interweb anyway. :hello:

damn, I have been owned. I really knew in my heart of hearts the Falcons didn't win the Superbowl! :notworthy:

I guess I need to go and replace my brittle exhaust system now, silly me.

 

[Boxtradamus]

Is the effect best obtained at the end of the exhaust or at the header?

I have heard the idea is to increase exhaust gas temperatures and this promotes the scavenging effect, how are you to know if your scavenging effect needs improvement? Is this the same idea, I need more air flow so I put a high flow air filter?

Did you notice any difference in how they bike performed after installing the wrap? Like less backfiing, smoother ride, less heat soak, etc.


I only ask as I am ignorant.

Improve your knowledge, go to Barnes and Noble and buy a book called POWER SECRETS by Smokey Yunick, he is the one that first started all of this exhaust wrap nonsense decades ago. He can explain it better than I can.

 

[Victors]

You want it to trap the heat. Yes it helps. Yes it makes tuning a bit more difficult. Yes you should use the titanium specific wrap. You don't wanna use it on thin titanium for sure. I wrapped my 4th gen but didn't wrap my full system on my 5th.

 

[SkyDork]

damn, I have been owned. I really knew in my heart of hearts the Falcons didn't win the Superbowl! :notworthy:

I guess I need to go and replace my brittle exhaust system now, silly me.

Come on now, don't jump off the deep end here. Don't unwrap your headers if they're already done. That would be messy. Just use your finger to flick the exhaust tubes every so often to check them for premature brittleness. The only thing you got wrong in your heart was that the Falcons should've lost. :biggrin:

 

[Duhastme]

@Boxtradamus

Did you notice any difference when wrapping your headers?

What was the reason you wrap your to begin with?

 

[bikerman7502002]

I've wrapped the stock exhausts on my last 3 bikes and saw 20-30 degree lower coolant temps plus they cooled down faster after starting to move (ie in stop and go traffic). I also did it because it made it nearly impossible to burn my hand compared to bare metal.

I have over 70,000 miles on my gen 3 and the welds on the header failed, possibly because of the tight overlap I did on the wrap. Since I changed to a full titanium system, the pipes cool down so quick compared to stock I'm not concerned with burning myself and the lower temps aren't critical for me, so debate or not I'm not risking the wrap causing any issue or failure. That and the titanium cleans up with Windex so it's easy to keep looking good lol