Thread: Exhaust...stainless or ceramic coated?

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It is getting time for exhaust and I'm not certain which way to go. I have Sanderson ceramic coated block hugger headers. I am not sure whether to go with stainless steel exhaust or to have my exhaust made & then have it ceramic coated? I am just try to reduce heat as much as possible and to keep the exhaust looking as good as possible for as long as possible. Am I wanting too much? I will be running flowmaster 304 hushpower mufflers and I can coat them or polish them. Thanks for some advice, tips, or pointers as to which would be the BEST way to go.

"Best" is a matter of choice, they're both good options, just depends on who does it and what you want.

If your primary objective is heat control then the ceramic coated exhaust is best. It's also going to have better longevity (than either plain or aluminized steel), and maintain good appearance. The ceramic coating is low maintenance, and shouldn't lose it's finish quality (depends on which color you choose as too whether it will be shiny or not). The headers might get discolored if the fuel mixture/timing is off at startup, but the rest of the exhaust won't see that kind of temp. Advantages are that a well qualified "regular" shop can bend and weld them up without having to have any "special" expertise. With the stainless your odds aren't quite as good, though with the more frequent use of stainless exhausts there are more qualified shops than in years past. In either case the pipes are likely to get some handling marks on them during the fab process (depending on how much of a gorilla the tech is), so with the one the cleaning/coating process will fix that, the other will require repolishing (if that's the look you're going for). Depending on operating conditions, and the quality of the stainless, it's likely the stainless will last longer, if you intend to keep the car long enough for that to matter.

Basically its a money choice, "pay the man now, or pay him later". I had the same choice and went with 2 1/2" mild steel bends and tubing with plans to have the entire system ceramic coated after the car comes back apart for final paint. I've been quoted $600 to $750 to ceramic coat the entire system headers to tail pipes. So in retrospect it's close to a "toss up" in overall cost between coated mild steel vs. a stainless system in materials, IMO. Also one more thing to consider when you build the system is the lenght of each piece. Several coaters have told me that five feet is the largest piece that would fit in their ovens when doing ceramic. For me the most important design element was to have the exhaust not exit under the car to eliminate the rumble noise. Mine goes out the rear and sounds good.

Originally Posted by John Palmer

Basically its a money choice, "pay the man now, or pay him later". I had the same choice and went with 2 1/2" mild steel bends and tubing with plans to have the entire system ceramic coated after the car comes back apart for final paint. I've been quoted $600 to $750 to ceramic coat the entire system headers to tail pipes. So in retrospect it's close to a "toss up" in overall cost between coated mild steel vs. a stainless system in materials, IMO. Also one more thing to consider when you build the system is the lenght of each piece. Several coaters have told me that five feet is the largest piece that would fit in their ovens when doing ceramic. For me the most important design element was to have the exhaust not exit under the car to eliminate the rumble noise. Mine goes out the rear and sounds good.

John, the ceramic coater I spoke with can do a maximum length of 6 feet and needs the mufflers to have either flanges on both ends or to use slip joints. I just DO NOT want to end up with any exhaust leaks. If I was going with SS everything would be welded. Like you I am going to go out the rear with the exhaust to reduce the noise level in my roadster. If I can reduce the heat as much as possible (ceramic coating & Lizard skin inside too) and still have a high quality appearance I will do that. I am just NOT SURE what is the BEST way to connect the mufflers to the exhaust pipes and have the BEST possible appearance of clamps...open for suggestions!

Don't use clamps, weld the pipe to the muffler. Stainless is easy to weld and lasts a long, long time.... But as Uncle Bob said, upkeep is a booger. On show cars, I'll go with the stainless but on drivers I used the aluminized tubing, buy an assortment of mandrel bends and some straight tubing and go to it. Before I fire the car with the new exhaust, I clean it thoroughly with lacquer thinner, then run the car and get the exhaust system nice and warm, then paint it with high heat paint...

Bob, the guy who does my exhaust built Meguire's 2006 Willy's which was used on their show circuit. He is excellent and has just finished an even better Willy's now than the first one. My headers are ceramic coated Sanderson and the BBC was built and run in on the dyno WITHOUT the headers being bolted to it so there will be no issues fuel mixtures or timing being off when I fire it up in my roadster. I am looking for the shinny silver color to match the Sanderson headers and be low maintenence.

Dave "IF" I was going stainless I would have everything welded so there would be no issues with exhaust leaks. I just hate the thought of the polishing upkeep unless you have them done brushed as opposed to polished. However "IF" I go with ceramic coating none of the sections can be longer than 6 feet. I would have the exhaust pipes built out of mild steel and the ceramic coating place coats the inside once and two coats on the exterior of the exhaust. They claim a 50% reduction in heat by using their coating. Consequently by going this way I believe I will have to deal with clamps of some type so I can connect the front and rear sections of 2 1/2 pipe to my 24 inch mufflers which also will be coated. I am just wanting the fanciest connectors possible and ones which WILL NOT be prone to exhaust leaks IF THERE IS SUCH A CREATURE?

How about the wide band type clamps like the trucks use? Or a flanged connector like a catalytic converter uses? I've used the wide band clamps on stainless, just oversize the end of the pipe that is closest to the engine, slide the next pipe in it, and tighten the clamp. Just a touch of exhaust sealant in the joint will prevent any of them nasty ticky sounding exhaust leaks. Hope I described it so you understand what I mean.....

I have Stainless on the 32 Roadster ... and it is tough to keep looking GOOD ... As a matter of fact ... it does't anymore ... I just finally let it go natural ...

I went with the Jet Hot coating on the 3W ... looks great ... and is supposed to really help with the heat. Will have to wait and see how well it holds up.

Deuce I am of the same opinion you are in that the up keep of the SS would not be feasible and that the ceramic coating is the avenue to travel. So if the Jet Hot coating does in fact reduce the heat and keeps looking great that is the BEST of both worlds. I'll make sure I use the right connectors to fit in with the ceramic coated exhaust pipes and mufflers. Before I mount the body after the frame is powder coated and everything is mounted I will post some pics. Thanks,

Mine was all ceramic coated but I changed mufflers & tailpipes to polished stainless.
So now- it's half & half. Ceramic coated from headers to muffler inlet & stainless from there back. Someday I will change the front half.

One more thing to consider. IMO, using V-Band clamps are "the only way to go". They are only about $45 each (in stainless) and I was able to do the system using only two V-Band clamps and also keep it under my five foot per piece limit. I have the shorty headers flanged with copper gaskets to a single piece welded X-pipe, and then two tail pipes with the mufflers welded to the tailpipes. I have also used V-Band clamps on my sons race car and they come apart easily and go back together without leaks without any gaskets or sealer. Always easy for me to spend your money, LOL.

Here's pics of both a stainless band clamp used where the header pipe is split roughly half way between the block hugger collector and the muffler, and then a ball and socket arrangement (standard exhaust components) that's used on both ends of the muffler. The tail pipe is one piece with the socket at the muffler end. The ball and socket allows some flexibility in alignment yet seals very well.

This system was coated by Russ Meeks in Portland.

I have stainless on both of my cars and it has been worry free. A friend of the family who has his own shop did both of my cars for about $200 each. Only week point is the mufflers, didn't use stainless mufflers. Used Smithy's. They will probably have to be replaced every 10 years or so, even when garaged kept.

A heartfelt thankyou goes out to Bob, John, Dave, Deuce, Steve, & Bob for your assistance and pictures. I will try and go with two V-band stainless steel polished clamps and hopefully I can still be under the 6 ft. maximum distance for the ceramic oven. I will use the V-band on the front section from the headers to the muffler and have the rear welded because I'm positive that will be under 6 feet long.

Deuce I was trying to see from your picture what muffler/exhaust hangers you used, but could not see them. I am searching for a billet or polished type of hanger. I've had NO LUCK hunting for what I want on the web so far. I will know it when I see them...guess I'm anal about wanting everything to fit together like a doctor's latex glove.

We have a Jet Hot shiney silver exhaust on the jeep. It absolutely keeps the heat down...the headers are stainless that also has Jet Hot coating. The only problem with the Jet Hot is when oil or grease gets on a hot pipe. For instance, some grease from a u-joint slung on the pipe....the stain will not come off even when I shout "Out, damn spot!" Be careful of grease and oil and you should be OK.

mike in tucson