Hydra747
Roll Me Over
Reged: 06/29/06
Posts: 3814
Loc: South Texas
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Will do!!!! 
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The Kia Sportage: When I grow up, I want to be a "HUMMER"
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Iron
Rock Warrior
Reged: 10/05/06
Posts: 616
Loc: Edmonton, Alberta
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Quote:
I plan to put some heat wrap around the Pipes......
If you are talking about header wrap, I wouldn't recommend it, those welded joints would crack within a year, go for a ceramic coating, cost would be about the same.
I've used header wrap for a while, while it does make a marked improvement in noise and engine bay temps, I've seen no noticeable gains in HP. I've also seen my fair share of cracked headers over the years too, the header wrap tends to trap the heat inside the metal making the welds over time brittle, a few good bumps and you got yourself a cracked header. I stopped using it a few years back, and only have it on one of cars in my mini fleet today.
Just my 2 cents or 1.987 cents US
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08' Jeep Wrangler
64' Plymouth Sport Fury 383
58' Triumph TR-3A
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flyboy367
Mudrunner
Reged: 06/24/05
Posts: 477
Loc: new jersey
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dith the wrap idea. not good for a daily driver. use the vhy ehxaust paint you wont be dissapointed.
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1995 nissan maxima se, 5spd short throw, aluminum flywheel and crank pully, stage 3 clutch, custom ported top end, full 2.5 exhaust jdm front end
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Yankee_Tim
Wheeler
Reged: 06/27/07
Posts: 150
Loc: Catskill Mts, NY
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Quote:
go for a ceramic coating, cost would be about the same.
X2. Top end headers have ceramic coating. This will significantly keep radiant heat in the engine compartment down. And does help in the rust department too. Be sure to clean up those boogers with a whizzer wheel first.
Rule of thumb on headers. The shorter the header from flange to collector, the more top end HP at the expense of low end torque, while the longer header provides more low end torque at the expense of top end HP.
Whichever, proper port matching is critical. I've seen some makers (e.g. Doug Thorley) produce a header that had round ports, while the head had retangular ports.  This will cause turbulance, and on the exhaust side, turbulance in the enemy.
Pick your poison
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Yankee Tim
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Hydra747
Roll Me Over
Reged: 06/29/06
Posts: 3814
Loc: South Texas
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Flyboy's original design/idea was shorter headers. BUT due to adjustments made they had to be lengthened. I did not know about lenghth making that much of a difference (Thanks TIM). I suppose that they should halve been a little bit shorter.
I have the rest of Flyboy's exhaust I think they are 2 1/2" or even larger GOtto measure. I wonder if the pipes will be too BIG for lower RPM issues??????? Any ideas???
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The Kia Sportage: When I grow up, I want to be a "HUMMER"
Edited by Hydra747 (01/09/08 08:58 AM)
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Dave Scott
Trail Leader
Reged: 08/02/01
Posts: 5459
Loc: san antonio, TX
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i don't know about 2-1/2 being too big, but i would have stuck with 2 or 2-1/4 just to be sure. as far as the wrap vs. paint vs. powder coat? i know for a fact that the paint burns and smokes and that powder coat turns dark colors and eventually turns flat and powdery and flakes off. the wrap is better for a vehicle that has an open engine compartment and doesn't sit in traffic too long. as lame as it may sound, best bet for a DD is chrome or some other color plating. if it isn't done well, it can flake off too, so make sure you get it to a good shop.
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95 Sportage w/welded and 5.89 geared dana 44's on 38.5" TSL's.
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/341410
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Hydra747
Roll Me Over
Reged: 06/29/06
Posts: 3814
Loc: South Texas
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Quote:
whoever did that welding isn't going to win any awards! I am a beginner welder and I could have done a better job....
but as long as it doesn't leak I guess it should be ok.
I went this morning and talked to the guy who welded it. I gave him feed back on what all of you had told me. He said that a Tig weld would have been better and that STEEL is very difficult to weld.
He further stated that Wraps would be the best route to go. And that the purpose of wraps is to heat the headers for more efficient/rapid exhaust flow <Not To Cool The Engine Bay> (explained in complicated science theory).... 
Also, he reccommended aggressive research on finding programs that would allow me to remove both CAT Converters---without throwing a code and compromising performance.
Help guys with this please.....I KNOW THAT SOMEONE OUT THERE HAS HAD TO HAVE DONE THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Someone here has mentioned of a GM program and plug for the second O2 sensor a while back. I think that we are almost there in terms of improving or rides (where Exhaust is concerned)! 
Slightly OT: I still have an electric fan and spal in the box------Another project in itself!
That guy from Oklahoma did it well a while back...Forget his name now......But he did Awesome!!!
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The Kia Sportage: When I grow up, I want to be a "HUMMER"
Edited by Hydra747 (01/09/08 11:38 AM)
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flyboy367
Mudrunner
Reged: 06/24/05
Posts: 477
Loc: new jersey
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iirc the pipe is 2 1/2 at the cat and reduces to 2 1/4 for the rest this way it handels the push from the engine thru the restrictive cat and flows normal the rest of the way. i do this on all my cars.
2nd stay away from the guy that welded those pipes. from what he said he is a moron. im an ironworker. you want to know how easy it is to weld steel come visit some of my jobs. i have mig welded complete chassis with no problems and no cracks. 3rd do not wrap that for a daily driver. the wrap works good but will melt the pipe at temperature for long periods of time. i have seen it myself. i have had ceramic coated headers and its ok but to me they chip easy and arent worth the money. i have used the vht exhaust paint many times with great sucess. cheaper then ceramic but does the same thing.
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1995 nissan maxima se, 5spd short throw, aluminum flywheel and crank pully, stage 3 clutch, custom ported top end, full 2.5 exhaust jdm front end
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jaybur
Mudrunner
Reged: 11/02/07
Posts: 394
Loc: ashland oregon
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steel is difficult to weld? thats crazy, aluminum is tricky, how is steel so hard to weld? $100 for that weld job is also crazy.
and removing the cat has been proven to have either 0 gains or maybe 1hp and at the cost of more pollution. it is a waste of time to get rid of the cat, especially on a stock motor. once you turbo it and have 400 hp out of it then you may want to run a high flow cat.
unless your cat is clogged (you'd have signs if it was ) then it is not going to benefit you enough to make it worthwhile.
Your best bet is to find an actual welding shop who has experience to weld stuff up. Its one thing to tack it in place yourself, but another to fully weld it so crappy like that, he is clueless on welding.
I agree on NOT doing the header wrap, be a miracle if those welds hold up the way they are, dont add to the issue by wrapping them , trapping moisture on the metal.
I would stop going to that guy for advice!
when you weld metal, you get dis-coloration near the weld because it gets very hot, there is hardly any on those headers, meaning he welded on top of the metal, not burned into the metal.
think of it as using glue to hold 2 pieces of wood together, would you glue the ends or would you put the ends together and glue the outside edge?
in order to get nice welds the metal should have a gap so that the weld can penetrate into the metal completely. looks like he put them tightly together and then welded. And so many spots where he globbed the weld on, obviously does not know how to weld.
the first few times I welded, I used my dads 220 welded and some scrap metal, I had no advice , just wanted to try it, and my welds looked like the ones on your headers.
later on I was taught by a welder who had been doing it for 11 years. and once I was taught the right way to weld, I never looked back, and he was impressed on how fast I caught on.
there is still tons I could learn, I have never done tig or aluminum, nor arc welding. just mig. and structural welding also has a different technique.
but as a beginner myself, ( I call myself a beginner but probably better than most beginners!) I can say that I would be ashamed to hand you the header if it looked like that.
just my .02
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Sportage sold.........
1999 4runner 4x4 , Tundra brake rotors and calipers (well worth it!) -wifes
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Hydra747
Roll Me Over
Reged: 06/29/06
Posts: 3814
Loc: South Texas
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Don't comment about this part....I paid $165.oo 
Anyway, I won't do the wraps thing as everyone has so authenticated!
Will Prolly do that VH thing that DOn was talking about.
I don't know about the cosmetic side of that guys weld....But I bet it still lasts a couple of years.
I see improvement when I drive and it seems that the gas is burning a bit faster.
I forgot to mention that i have the ported throttle body that I need to put on!
Let me get a pic of that posted in a sec........
I wish that I possessed knowledge on welding and the like. Well in due time my friends.
I guess in due time. 
Jaybur---Are you sure of the o-1 HP gais from lack of the CATS??????
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The Kia Sportage: When I grow up, I want to be a "HUMMER"
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