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Author Topic: Intake & Exhaust Manifold Thermal Wrapping  (Read 2746 times)

EShepherd

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Intake & Exhaust Manifold Thermal Wrapping
« on: April 02, 2021, 01:04:55 PM »

Hey guys, so I was just out in the garage attempting to knock all of the flaking black paint off of my intake manifold to repaint it, when I had an idea. Instead of painting the manifold, do you think there would be any benefit to wrapping the whole manifold in that gold thermal wrap? The stuff that you can use to wrap up intake piping to help keep engine bay temperatures from raising your intake air temperatures. I was planning on wrapping up that pipe that comes out of the throttle body and goes across the valve cover with it, so why not grab a little extra and do the entire manifold? It's made of cast aluminum, so it's more susceptible to heat soak than a cast iron or probably even an ABS plastic manifold would be. I can't imagine it'll make a huge improvement, but it's not like the wrap is all that expensive in the first place. From my research, I've found that every 11 degrees Fahrenheit you can lower your intake air temperature equates to approximately 1hp more power. Like I said, a small improvement, but an improvement none the less. Also, getting this old paint off is proving difficult, and I can't imagine painting it will be any easier. Does anyone have any thoughts on this? Or has anyone done it?


Likewise, I intend to wrap up my exhaust manifold, and possibly my downpipe, with exhaust wrap. I know from past experience that it works very well for decreasing under-hood temperatures. My question here is a simple one. Does anyone know of a turbo blanket that will fit the stock Xr2 turbo? I've tried searching, but I've not had any luck. I'd like to be able to wrap the hot side of the turbo, as that is where the majority of the heat will be coming from. It's not located very far from the VAF either, so keeping the heat contained should help significantly with lowering intake temps. I also hate the look of the thin metal heat shields that surround the manifold and turbo, and would love to be able to do-away with them....which I should be able to do if I wrap the manifold and turbo.

 
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greywolf27030

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Re: Intake & Exhaust Manifold Thermal Wrapping
« Reply #1 on: April 03, 2021, 07:57:51 AM »

Interested
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Jack Byrd

EShepherd

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Re: Intake & Exhaust Manifold Thermal Wrapping
« Reply #2 on: April 03, 2021, 08:14:38 AM »

I ended up ordering both the intake and exhaust wraps yesterday, and it's supposed to show up today. Since my HLA's won't be here until Monday, there's a decent chance I'll be attempting to put them on today and tomorrow. I'll post some pictures and let you know how it goes. Looking at the intake manifold, it's probably going to be a huge pain to wrap. There are a  ton of inlets and outlets for hoses, injectors, etc. We'll see what happens. I don't want to deal with stripping the paint off of it or sand blasting it, so I definitely would love to wrap it instead. Once I've got the car running, I'll take some temperature readings and we can compare them to an unwrapped manifold to see if it actually makes any difference.

Edit:
-----
Man, Amazon has been really screwing with me. They cancelled my order of stainless steel zip ties, and now the intake wrap won't be here until tomorrow. The exhaust wrap should still be showing up sometime today, though. Looking at the little exhaust manifold, I have a feeling it'll be a real challenge to wrap. There isn't really runners. It's just sort of a blob of cast iron. I'll try to make it work...no promises that it'll be pretty, though. I still need to track down a turbo blanket, too.

2nd Edit:
-----------
Alrighty, the wrap has just arrived. While I have the turbo manifold stuff all laid out on my bench to wrap it, I figured now is as good a time as any to port out the wastegate. I don't have my measurements with me, but if I recall correctly, the flapper itself is about 10mm wider than the wastegate bore. About how much larger do I want to make it? I know I don't want to get too close to the size of the flapper, just incase I go too far, but a number to aim for would be nice. I'll try and take some pictures and make a nice step-by-step guide for anyone who decides to do this in the future. Unless there is a guide floating around on these forums that I've failed to find in my searches.
« Last Edit: April 03, 2021, 03:38:41 PM by EShepherd »
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Rocketman

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Re: Intake & Exhaust Manifold Thermal Wrapping
« Reply #3 on: April 03, 2021, 06:17:28 PM »

I don't know that wrapping the intake manifold will make much of an impact, I can't really say I've seen such a thing on any other car, but perhaps it's an overlooked thing.

Regarding porting the wastegate, I used to have pictures somewhere but they are long gone. I think the OEM port is roughly dime-sized, and you want it to be roughly nickel-sized. Actual measurements in mm would be handy. Post the pics here + a separate thread when you get there, and I'll sticky the thread as it's a common enough topic.
But yeah, you want to open it up to flow better but still seal around the edges, the flapper can move a little so some overlap is still needed.
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EShepherd

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Re: Intake & Exhaust Manifold Thermal Wrapping
« Reply #4 on: April 03, 2021, 06:58:18 PM »

I don't know that wrapping the intake manifold will make much of an impact, I can't really say I've seen such a thing on any other car, but perhaps it's an overlooked thing.

Regarding porting the wastegate, I used to have pictures somewhere but they are long gone. I think the OEM port is roughly dime-sized, and you want it to be roughly nickel-sized. Actual measurements in mm would be handy. Post the pics here + a separate thread when you get there, and I'll sticky the thread as it's a common enough topic.
But yeah, you want to open it up to flow better but still seal around the edges, the flapper can move a little so some overlap is still needed.

I'll definitely do that. So while I was digging through old threads on here trying to gather information, I had seen that you commented on another post about knocking the bridge section off of the exhaust manifold in an attempt to reduce the stresses on it, with the ultimate goal of attempting to prevent it from cracking. Or cracking worse, as is often the case. I do believe that is something I'll be attempting to do tomorrow as well as porting out the waste gate. Tragically, my Dremel just died. I've got to wait for my replacement to get here. I used it as a nice excuse to get a kit that comes with a flex shaft, though. I'll be modifying my exhaust manifold tomorrow, trying to experiment with strengthening it. I don't think mine is cracked by the O2 bung, and I'd like to keep it that way. It is cracked on that bridge section, so cutting that out definitely has its merits. It really does strike me as a pretty awful design.

I eventually am going to need to make an entire exhaust for the car, and I've been toying with the idea of trying to make an exhaust header for it as well. Something with some longer runners, to try and increase the low end torque. I think that's how that works. In all likelihood, I won't be running a catalytic converter. I'll still be running a resonator and a muffler, probably with a cut out before the muffler for track days. I can't stand the drone and volume of a totally straight piped car, but I do enjoy the power increase of it. I'd have to assume that you've experimented with all sorts of exhaust setups. Any insights you can share?
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Rocketman

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Re: Intake & Exhaust Manifold Thermal Wrapping
« Reply #5 on: April 03, 2021, 10:43:24 PM »

Regarding the manifold:
The tiny volume of the OE manifold will cause quicker spool. I'm not sure how drastic the effects would be with a different design. Something to keep in mind.
Also, if going through the effort, just replace the whole turbo with something better, since you won't be limited to the proprietary flange anymore.

Exhaust, I've made a few. I think 2" or 2.25" would be sufficient and easy enough to fit. 2.5" I think gets tricky to fit. As I recall it's a bit difficult to use a muffler in the OE position but not impossible. I do recall the bend up over the rear axle is a doozy if you're making it yourself from commercial bends. It's been long enough since I've messed with it that the details are foggy. Also my GTXR2 had a different rear axle with much more clearance
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EShepherd

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Re: Intake & Exhaust Manifold Thermal Wrapping
« Reply #6 on: April 04, 2021, 07:59:37 AM »

Honestly, if that turbo goes bad or if that engine blows, that'll be the only way I go to a different turbo. At that point, I'd be more likely to swap in a K-Series Honda engine or something then, too. The size of the manifold affecting the turbo spool time is something I hadn't really taken into consideration, so thanks for pointing that out to me. As for the exhaust, if it gives me that much of an issue getting over the rear axle, I'll just dump it out the side. It doesn't really matter all that much to me, as long as I can fit a muffler and a resonator, or something similar that allows me to keep the volume reasonable. I still like the idea of an electric cut-out right after the down pipe, too. I don't mind it being obnoxiously loud, provided I can press a button and shut it up.
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greywolf27030

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Re: Intake & Exhaust Manifold Thermal Wrapping
« Reply #7 on: April 04, 2021, 09:47:39 AM »

I found a 2.25 turbo muffler from Summit that just fits in the stock muffler location and also Gibson makes round turbo mufflers in various lengths, also available from Summit.
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Jack Byrd

EShepherd

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Re: Intake & Exhaust Manifold Thermal Wrapping
« Reply #8 on: April 07, 2021, 08:52:34 PM »

Hey guys, I've got a question for you. I'm still working on both manifolds, in fact I'm about to go set up my new flex shaft in a few minutes to really get into it with the exhaust manifold. However, I've run into a minor snag with the intake side. I pulled apart the manifold, including removing the fuel rail and the fuel injectors. I figure I may as well replace the o-rings and seals while I'm this far into it. My problem is, I can't find some of the seals on rock auto for the Capri. They carry the o-rings, but not the funny little splined circles that also sit in there. Check out this link:

https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=2220292&cc=1190887&jsn=1442&jsn=1442

The seal I'm attempting to describe is the one in the top left, in the image showing all 4 pieces. Now, that set there is for a '91 Miata. This brings me to my possible solution. Does anyone know if the Miata uses the same injectors, or at least the same sized injectors? Will this kit work on the Capri's injectors? If not, would anyone know where I can get a set of four of that particular seal? I think it might be called a pintle seal, but don't quote me on that.

Thanks in advance for any help.
-QUICK EDIT: It just struck me that it'd be smart to check if the same part number comes up for a '91 Mazda 323 with the 1.6L. It sure does. I'm 95% sure this kit will work. If anyone would like to reaffirm that belief though, I'd still appreciate it.
-2nd EDIT: Okay, so now I'm looking at the injectors for the 323. They have different listings than the Capri, so I'm not as sure. However, would these injectors work on our cars? They've got brand new ones (not remanned) for only $14/each. If those work, I'm absolutely going to grab a set. That's a hell of a deal.


PS- The gold wrap on the intake looks pretty bad, I won't lie. I'm hoping it produces at least a slightly measurable decrease in intake air temperatures. If not, then the next time I have to pull the manifold off for any reason, it'll probably be getting sand blasted and powder coated.
« Last Edit: April 07, 2021, 08:57:49 PM by EShepherd »
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Rocketman

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Re: Intake & Exhaust Manifold Thermal Wrapping
« Reply #9 on: April 08, 2021, 12:43:22 AM »

You want to look for 88/89 323, the 91 is a BG chassis. It will probably show a different injector, the BG chassis 323 used the 1.6 SOHC primarily if I am remembering right.

However the injector seals you're showing should be the same.

Miata stuff should be the same or same enough to work
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EShepherd

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Re: Intake & Exhaust Manifold Thermal Wrapping
« Reply #10 on: April 08, 2021, 12:04:32 PM »

You want to look for 88/89 323, the 91 is a BG chassis. It will probably show a different injector, the BG chassis 323 used the 1.6 SOHC primarily if I am remembering right.

However the injector seals you're showing should be the same.

Miata stuff should be the same or same enough to work

Ah, bummer. I got all excited there, for a moment. Well, I ordered those seals, hopefully they work. Do you happen to know at what voltage our injectors operate? I'd like to clean them, which I plan to do by supplying voltage and spraying carb cleaner through. I'm just not sure if I should use something like a 9v battery, or if I should just use a 12v car battery. Unless anyone has any better ideas on how to clean them out really well? I guess I could probably just soak them, but that won't clean out the jets.
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