Exhaust wrap - Thermo-Tec

I am considering wrapping the exhaust on my ST (it gets rather warm, esp. in the summer) with something called Thermo-Tec. It was developed over 14 years ago by Thermo-Tec. Exhaust Insulating Wrap is suppose to be an innovative way to create more horsepower and reduce temperatures under the fairing. Wrapping headers maintains hotter exhaust gasses that exit the system faster through decreased density. Increased exhaust scavenging is produced along with lower intake temperatures. It is also suppose to give the bike a slight boost in performance.

Has anybody tried it and are there any drawbacks in using it?

It doesn't look real pretty. I doubt that on a bike like the ST you will see any appreciable power gains. You see this mostly in racing where they are trying to eek out every last ounce of possible perfomance gain. There are many places that do ceramic coatings of pipes/headers. It has the same effect as the wrap, but it looks much better and is very durable. I think Jet Hot is the name of one of the more popular companies. Just Google ceramic exhaust coatings and you should find tons of info. It might help with the heat a little. I know it was a popular mod on VFRs because of the heat coming off the down pipes from the rear cylinders.

There is a guy at work that had his pipes coated w/ ceramic and he said it helped bunches with the heat.

We have run exhaust wrap on our 2 stroke roadracers for years and had great results last year when we rebuilt the motor in my wife Miata the factory heat sheild mounts broke off when I tried to remove the bolt so I replaced it with thermoTec works great! the only down side I have heard of is that it may increase the likely hood of rust and cause pipe to rust through quicker, but I have'nt seen any problems like this
SRAD

I did it on my SV that wore GSXR body work. Otherwise the rear pipe boiled holes in the fiberglass. Not pretty.

With the wrap, no problem.

Can't say it gave any more horsies, but that wasn't what I was looking for.

I have/do use Thermo-Tec wrap on some of my exhaust systems.. I also have used Jet Hot to coat a few headers. My spare VTR headers are there now $140 to do those. If it is an exposed pipe,, I would use Jet hot coatings. If it was in a protected spot (inside a fairing) I'd consider the wrap.. Though.. personally,,,, I'll be using nothing but Jet Hot from now on. Unless it's just a temporary thing.

Tourmeister said:

It doesn't look real pretty. I doubt that on a bike like the ST you will see any appreciable power gains. You see this mostly in racing where they are trying to eek out every last ounce of possible perfomance gain.

Click to expand...

The good thing is the wrap is under the tupperware, so it is not visible. I may drill a few holes in the wheel cowling to create more airflow to expel the excess heat in addition to adding the wrap.

Although with days like today with 30 degrees and freezing drizzle, excessive heat engine sounds good. But as with all things, "this too shall pass" as we give way to warmer weather soon.

Red