TIM Z

iTrader: (12)

great info here but sometimes i think we overthink the system when it is ok the way it is, But if you want the best of both worlds go stainless.

vanillagorilla

iTrader: (1)

So are you guys saying go with S/S because of its anti-corrosion characteristics? I'm not worried about rust or corrosion at all. I couldn't get aluminum to corrode here if I tried. My Camaro has been bare metal for almost a year now and there's not even surface rust on it. Granted that's a different scenario, but I'm just letting you know how dry the climate is. Or are you guys saying go with S/S because of it's poor heat transfer properties. I thought about this as well. S/S might be advantageous because it's harder to heat up, but if it did, it would be a nightmare to cool off.

I do agree that the spot where it passes by the exhaust manifold needs to be adressed. I'm thinking of a heat shield as opposed to the wrap. I've never had any luck with it.

I'm going to be crunching some numbers. It shouldn't take too long to do given that pretty much everything is known.

TG02Z71

iTrader: (2)

Being that you are in Arizona I don't think you will have nearly the issues I have had with corrosion. My system has been through two winters here now and they salt the roads as well. The isues I had were the wrap and the heat reflective wrap getting damp and touching the pipes, hastening the corrosion process even more. I think I'm just going to make a heat reflector for the pipe close to the passenegr exhaust manifold instead of directly wraping the pipe.
You could even glue your reflective wrap to some type of sheet metal to keep it from even getting the shield warm too.
Just some thoughts.