Heddman Elite disclaimer

[prg machine]

I just bolted up the new thermal coated Heddman Elite headers , and i read this disclaimer they come with that they shouldn't be used on an engine that requires break in since there are higher temps during break in that can ruin the coating on the headers.. ( SAY WHAT????!) They reccomend using the stock cast manifolds until engine is broke in for an hour or so and then installing the headers ( YEA RIGHT!!!!!!) (Just what we want to do huh?, instal and remove and instal a set of headers..... DON"T THINK SO) They do tell you if you absolutely have to ( THE ANSWER IS YES!!!) run them with a break in..... to set up fans to keep them cool.

what do all of you think about this??? Is this another way to say i did it wrong when the coating fails????? Do engines realy run that much hotter upon break in? i don't follow the logic here.

[kenm78]

Engines do run hotter when break in but do to all the initial friction but not that much hotter. If you want to verify that, buy a thermal gun and take a temp of each header tube and write it down and after break in take anouther reading that will verify your concerns. But unfortunantly if they put that in there instructions and us as the consumer do not follow that and the product fails that is there excape goat to get them from repairing or replaceing faulty product!!! good rule of thumb always follow the instructions

[jlaird]

I just had an engine built and asked the builder the same thing because I also just purchased the hedman elites. He told me to just put a fan on the engine. For break in, he said to run the engine about 20 min at 2000 rpm. (I think those were the numbers??) Yeah, but I know what you mean about the whole thing being a real pain in the butt. I want to run my entire exhaust system before I fire the engine up. Can't really do that if you can't run the headers during break in. I'll be interested to see what others say.

The other option is to have the engine broke in out of the vehicle like at a engine shop or dyno facility. But who wants to spend that unnecassary money? Not me.

[jlaird]

Originally Posted by kenm78

Engines do run hotter when break in but do to all the initial friction but not that much hotter. If you want to verify that, buy a thermal gun and take a temp of each header tube and write it down and after break in take anouther reading that will verify your concerns. But unfortunantly if they put that in there instructions and us as the consumer do not follow that and the product fails that is there excape goat to get them from repairing or replaceing faulty product!!! good rule of thumb always follow the instructions

The thing is if companies like Hedman know there is a slight possiblity of failure, they will go ahead and write the disclaimer just to cover their butts. How slight the possibilty is up for discussion. Only they really know. I wonder what they would tell you over the phone? Probably the same thing...

[haysonj]

I always leave the thermostat out until I break the motor in. the only reason to run at 2000 RPM is to run the cam and lifters in after that just drive normal and you won't have a problem. I've done 10 motors like this including the supercharged one in my boat never had a problem. I've got about 600 miles on my Hedman headers and no problem so far.

[70GMCer]

Just not Hedmans, but even Jet Hot says that in their info. I would think that other header companys say the same thing.

[suville]

When you consider the parameters of TBC or thermal barrier coatings you will discover they have a temp range that they are compatable with, that being said on a new break in it is not uncommon to experience very high exhaust temps especially if carb, dist timing ect is equally new so yes if you want to protect your investment follow procedure. The best way is to buy your headers uncoated break in the new engine then send them out to be coated. You may spend more but on job shop coating you get higher quality, most header companies send batches of headers to be coated and they are a production run big difference in quality! I've also worked in the plateing industry and know this for a fact. All job shop or individual customer jobs always had more care put into the job. Hope this clears the waters a bit. and BTW the satin black will withstand more temp than cermachrome, I've run both on my 86 inch shovelhead Harley.

[ElGracho]

I discolored the coating on a set of Summit (I'm pretty sure they are reboxed Dynomax headers) coated headers by using them for break in. I had a set of the exact same headers that never discolored when I put them on an engine that already had 30k.

It didn't totally ruin the coating, it just turned a dull grey rather than shiny.

[whatnow123]

how do the look? I'm trying to decide between those and the ceramics

[SactoJim]

I broke in my engine with a set of old header, then put on the new ceramic coated ones and they still discolored!...piss.

[racin69z]

Back when I used to run flat tappet cams in the camaro, I noticed the headers would actually start to glow during break in. I used to advance the timing to more than normal to keep the heat out of the headers. Also if you have a helper you can keep pumping the accelerator pump a little to cool it off.

I think the problem is that carbs are not able to give a proper mixture to the motor at 2000 rpm with no load. They wind up running lean.

[Arad68]

When I put together my 383 for my 68, I broke it in with my new ceramic coated Flow Tech headers. It discolored two cylinders, numbers 6 & 8.

I didn't know what it was at first until I checked the temp on the header tubes with a single point laser thermometer. Those two cylinders were consistantly at least 150F hotter than the others. The temp guage on the truck got as high as 205 F. Normal exhaust temps at idle should be 450F (Rich mixture) - 650F (lean mixture). The temps at 3000-4000 rpm or so should reach 1100F-1400F.

I backed the timing off about 5 degees and I kept an eye on the temp. After about 3 mins or so it cooled off significantly down to about 170 F on the temp guage. The thermometer showed even temps on all the header tubes at the exhaust ports as well. (575 degrees F).

Many things will affect your temps such as altitude, mixture, compression ratio, induction, etc. When I first fired my engine up it was 40 degrees F, 9.7 to 1 compression ratio,16 degrees initial timing, 34 degrees total at 3200 rpm and 2001 ft altitude above sea level.

My cam is a Comp Cams 262H extreme energy hydraulic flat tappet cam. It has aluminum edelbrock performer heads with 60 cc chambers. Each piston is dished 19ccs for this compression ratio with 6" eagle steel connecting rods. It has an edelbrock performer manifold with a Barry Grant 750 cfm carb.

My end result was those two tubes are now permanently discolored at the exhaust port bends. No shine at all. I'm not really worried about it though. Just keep your mixture rich and retard the timing during the break in period. Resist the urge to put your foot in until after about 2500 miles or so and you will be fine.

Look at this url for some references.
http://www.ifamilysoftware.com/news6.html

[prg machine]

Originally Posted by SactoJim

I broke in my engine with a set of old header, then put on the new ceramic coated ones and they still discolored!...piss.

Exactly what i figured!
I guess if it was a show truck.... i would be worried..... but this is a daily......with some grunt!!

[Arad68]

Even discolored it still beats ugly uncoated rust headers. You might get lucky though.

[racin69z]

I would advance the timing, not retard it. Retarding it will put more heat into the exhaust.

[Johnnyreb]

i must done something wrong with mine because they have surface rust all over the bottom but the rest of em is fine who knows


johnnyreb

[bigsnookmaster]

I bought a set of Hooker super comps and put them on a used 406.The headers started rusting shortly thereafter.I ran them for about a year.I had them re-coated locally,along with the rest of the exhaust,and they have held up real well.I think the quality control goes out the window in mass production.It costs more,but if you buy painted headers and have them coated,they will probably be nicer and last longer.Good luck

[dadsbrew]

That is normal with any ceramic coating. Performance coatings has the same warnings. You dont have to break the cam in all at one time. Let it run for 10 min and shut it off and let it cool down, then run it another 10 min and let it cool down. You will achive the same break in without the high heat created by a new tight motor. And keep in mind the longevity of the coating depends on the enviroment that it is introduced to. Roads with lots of gravel on them are going to basically sand blast the bottom of your headers, and the collector area or any place on the headers that touch are considerd hot spots and the coating will fail there first.