Exhaust wrap

rewindstuff

rewindstuff

Active Member
I got an xs 500 and rumour has it that they get too hot sometimes and the head can crack. I've seen guys put in an oil cooler and other things to cool her down, but what about exhaust wrap? Will that help keep heat AWAY from the motor or will it insulate it and keep heat in and around the head? ???
 
My thinking is that by wrapping it, the air that flows over those pipes and into the fins of the head would be significantly cooler if the pipes were insulated. Yeah the pipes would run hotter. Would the contact transfer of heat be significant from the hotter pipes to the head? Would it be cooler to deflect the head from the headers allowing cooler air to flow over the fins? Get it now?
 
I think we are splitting hairs here. Will the head be hotter where the exhaust is mounted? Probably, but only slightly. I've never heard of a motor running hotter because of the pipes being wrapped.
 
I get your thinking, but the fact that it would hold more heat than insulate in that application still stands.
 
The heat the wraps are containing isn't in the engine, though, it's in the gases that are leaving the engine. It will make your pipes hotter and because the pipes are connected to the head, the head may run a bit hotter.

Something to consider though... hotter exhaust gases flow faster and faster moving gases produce a better scavenging effect in the cylinder. This, in effect, pulls more hot gas out of the cylinders.

I figure it's probably a wash, but the only way to know for sure is to test it empirically. Get a head temp thermometer like something they have at TrailTech and hook it up. Run for a week or two and check the max temp recorded. Now wrap the pipes and repeat.
 
Yup. I think Swag said he dynoed his XV920 as gaining an extra hp or two above 6,000 RPM.
 
I've used exhaust wrap on a sports car and one of the benefits was a lower engine compartment temperature and cooler air into the intake.

So yes, I think that the wrap will prevent some heat transfer to the air before that air goes over the engine.
 
El Martillo said:
I've used exhaust wrap on a sports car and one of the benefits was a lower engine compartment temperature and cooler air into the intake.

So yes, I think that the wrap will prevent some heat transfer to the air before that air goes over the engine.
Click to expand...

ya, it'll drop.0005 of a degree at 55mph before it gets there. Just saying... An engine compartment is a TOTALLY different scenario than an air cool bike.
 
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