[Amizzi]

Hi All,

I have been considering wrapping up my 3"VRSF downpipes before installing on my 335XI with a spare roll of Titanium exhaust wrap I have.
Wanted to do it as I already have the wrap and wouldn't mind reducing heat under the hood and increasing velocity.

I know there are a million threads on this but I am mainly looking for input from those that have actually wrapped their downpipes or have attempted.
In the past I have wrapped up ss headers on my old car (Honda SiR) and my 1980 Camaro and did not have any complication or problems even after a few years, the Camaro actually still has the wrap on 8 years later....it is however driven very rarely.

The car isn't driven in the winter and is strictly a summer car so it will not be exposed to road salt here in Canada.

I've seen first hand the effects of regular steel headers with wrap on them just rot out, will I really have much issues with ss?
Does anyone have actual proof of dp's taking a crap due to having wrap on them?

Your input is greatly appreciated!

[Amizzi]

Anyone that may have downpipes wrapped for the last little while?

[WTF?]

I have the Kooks headers on my Corvette wrapped in Titanium as you suggest. Get on Amazon and order a stack of the stainless tie wraps for cheap.

They are fine, no rotting nothing. It's all positive to me.

[Amizzi]

Thanks, ya I've never really seen a good quality ss rot like some have claimed.

All I am looking for now is confirmation from anyone who has managed to wrap their pipes specifically on the XI?
I've seen a lot of posts of people wrapping their 335i downpipes but not the XI?
I know it's tight there but has anyone managed to wrap them lightly and make them fit?

I know it will be a royal pita , I just want to confirm that it can be done.

Thanks

[feuer]

Originally Posted by WTF?

IThey are fine, no rotting nothing. It's all positive to me.

Originally Posted by Amizzi

Thanks, ya I've never really seen a good quality ss rot like some have claimed.

You are in Texas and he is Ontario, completely different climates. I wouldn't recommend it unless car is track or garage queen.

[mike@x-ph.com]

OP,
I would not bother paying extra for this upgrade

[GottWhat]

Clearance is really tight even without wrap. I also wonder how beneficial wrapping the downpipes would be actually be?

[WTF?]

Originally Posted by feuer

You are in Texas and he is Ontario, completely different climates. I wouldn't recommend it unless car is track or garage queen.

I think you are completely backward with that. A daily will dry it daily. A track or garage queen would absorb moisture and sit and rot, in theory, although I think that would be fine too. That is my opinion on the subject. Either way, I've wrapped two cars, and many motorcycle headers. I have had no adverse issues, OP.

[feuer]

Originally Posted by WTF?

I think you are completely backward with that. A daily will dry it daily. A track or garage queen would absorb moisture and sit and rot, in theory, although I think that would be fine too. That is my opinion on the subject. Either way, I've wrapped two cars, and many motorcycle headers. I have had no adverse issues, OP.

Daily will not neceseraly dry them out. In TX you won't see ice build up on hot tail pipes. Also, is not only moisture. Salt and dirt will get trapped there. Also heat and wet cycles.

[WTF?]

Originally Posted by feuer

Daily will not neceseraly dry them out. In TX you won't see ice build up on hot tail pipes. Also, is not only moisture. Salt and dirt will get trapped there. Also heat and wet cycles.

[Amizzi]

Thanks for the input guys, appreciate it!
I guess I will just have to try it out and see for myself to rule out fitment.

As previously stated the car does not see winter at all, strictly a summer car!
I insure the car from June to October each year, believe it or not my annual mileage is between 3,000-5,000km which majority of that is driving to the closest track.
I'm fortunate enough that I have a work vehicle the other 99% of the time and don't rely on the 335 as transportation.

The wrap itself won't cost me anything as I have a bunch left over from a previous job I did. I was just trying to get a feel and see if wrapping the downpipes on a XI has actually been done before putting in the extra effort as I can't find a whole lot of info.

My main goal was to just improve efficiency even if it's a little while I was going to be in that area anyway, cause hey it's a project/toy car for me and every bit counts .

As far as benefits of wrapping the pipes I can't speak for my 335 obviously but with other cars that I have wrapped in the past it had made a tremendous difference with under the hood temps!
Though I guess due to where the downpipes are located I will not see a substantial difference.....

[Milan]

I don't think they will fit wrapped, mine were basically touching each other

[fredcase]

Won't fit. Clearances way too tight. They are basically touching as is without wrap. You MIGHT be able to make it happen, with a hammer and flatning a few spots, but that comes with a reduction in flow.

Not worth it imo.

I have installed dp's on an xdrive btw.

[Jeff@TopGearSolutions]

Originally Posted by fredcase

Won't fit. Clearances way too tight. They are basically touching as is without wrap. You MIGHT be able to make it happen, with a hammer and flatning a few spots, but that comes with a reduction in flow.

Not worth it imo.

I have installed dp's on an xdrive btw.

This makes sense, clearance is super tight.

OP is better off with ceramic coated options.

[Tiago@VRSF]

You're better off ceramic coating them rather than using tape. There's no room down there for tape.

[Amizzi]

Alright, so after taking in all the feedback from everyone which I thank you all for btw I have decided to not waste the time and ceramic coat the pipes.

Was talking to a few engineer friends of mine as we were talking about the subject today and one friend in particular is a car guy also and had referred me to a friend of a friend of a friend LOL.
Long story short I managed to get in touch with a group of individuals that have been working with a local university on a new type of industrial ceramic coating that apparently is 15%-20% more efficient than regular coatings available on the market!


I get to fortunately have my pipes coated for FREE!
As long as they can perform a few tests for durability and efficiency, only catch is that color is limited to Gold (more like a bronze IMO) which I really couldn't care less about and the coating apparently may not last as long as regular ceramic coating.
With my little usage of the car to begin with and only driving it in the summer I decided to go for it and give it a try!

Shipping them off Friday and will be sure to provide photos of before/ after and then eventually the data recorded also for proof.

[mike@x-ph.com]

Originally Posted by Amizzi

Alright, so after taking in all the feedback from everyone which I thank you all for btw I have decided to not waste the time and ceramic coat the pipes.

Was talking to a few engineer friends of mine as we were talking about the subject today and one friend in particular is a car guy also and had referred me to a friend of a friend of a friend LOL.
Long story short I managed to get in touch with a group of individuals that have been working with a local university on a new type of industrial ceramic coating that apparently is 15%-20% more efficient than regular coatings available on the market!


I get to fortunately have my pipes coated for FREE!
As long as they can perform a few tests for durability and efficiency, only catch is that color is limited to Gold (more like a bronze IMO) which I really couldn't care less about and the coating apparently may not last as long as regular ceramic coating.
With my little usage of the car to begin with and only driving it in the summer I decided to go for it and give it a try!

Shipping them off Friday and will be sure to provide photos of before/ after and then eventually the data recorded also for proof.

Nice

[Amizzi]

Picked up my downpipes yesterday and they look fantastic!
Very impressed at how well they came out.

Going to install them just after Christmas since I have some time off.
Then we are going to take some logs of the temps on the exterior of my newly coated pipes as well as some logs from a friends car with no coating on the downpipes to compare, should be fun .

If this coating performs as well as they claim I have a feeling I will end up giving them a ton more parts from both my project cars LOL.

Please excuse the picture quality as I only had my cell phone to take a photo, in person they are greenish/bronze in color.

[mike@x-ph.com]

Originally Posted by Amizzi

Picked up my downpipes yesterday and they look fantastic!
Very impressed at how well they came out.

Going to install them just after Christmas since I have some time off.
Then we are going to take some logs of the temps on the exterior of my newly coated pipes as well as some logs from a friends car with no coating on the downpipes to compare, should be fun .

If this coating performs as well as they claim I have a feeling I will end up giving them a ton more parts from both my project cars LOL.

Please excuse the picture quality as I only had my cell phone to take a photo, in person they are greenish/bronze in color.

They look great