Coated headers/Breaking in a cam

[ScottRogers]

Hello people,

I was wondering if anyone here has broken a new cam in with coated headers installed. I've heard that it is not a good idea, because the coating needs to cycle a few times to fully cure?

I am finding that hard to believe because with the engine not under a load, the head temp. will be much cooler than if was.
And the coating is good for over 1000 F.

Any comments will be great!
Thanks

Scott

 

[Nut]

Scott.... welcome to the CAC. I have never heard of that before. I'd suggest breasking in the cam according to the manufacturer's spec's regardless of the headers.

Good luck................. Nut

 

[ScottRogers]

Hey Nut,
Hooker says not to break a cam in with coated headers because the coating can peel and voids the warranty. I am wondering if they mean don't break in on a Dyno with a load.

SCott

 

[robert kirk]

If breaking in a cam will trash the coating on a set of headers, than the coating is crap to start with. It would also make me suspect of the quality of the header under the coating. The header has no idea if the motor is braking in a cam or has 100,000 miles on it. All it knows is hot or cold. Either the coating is good up to xyz temp or its not. robert

 

[Ken]

Robert, Scott's talking, or rather, Hedman is talking about the cycling their coating needs to cure properly, I think. I tend to agree that the coating must not be of the highest quality if it can't cure while breaking-in a cam.

_ken ;stupid

 

[GerryLP]

Not only that, guys...

break-in RPM for cams is typically between 1,500 - 2,000 Rpm for approximately a half-an-hour, and although I presume the air flow across the engine would be less under a no-load (no-driving on the road; hence no airflow from the forward speed of the vehicle), it is still the average engine speed that the engine would encounter on a daily basis. If those headers can't stand for that, then they must be cr@#. So I would also find that limitation hard to believe. If the header however has a manufacturer break-in requirement (my plain or no coating ZZ4 Heddman headers didn't have a break-in period) i.e. start engine and idle for 30 minutes, then I would see a conflict on manufacturer requirements -but that is not the case. Is it?

I also can't see the reasons for it either!

 

[sscam69]

Thats a new one by me!

 

[SwaveDave]

I broke in a hydr. roller cam last summer with Jet Hot coated Super Comp Headers ; no ill effects. Just coated the headers with Eastwoods Header Paint...sticks good and looks good too.

 

[Nut]

I stand corrected guys. Thanks for the info. I had not heard that, however I wasn't breaking in a cam when I put my headers on. I'll add this to my "Lessons Learned" file.

............. Nut

 

[robert kirk]

To take this a step futher, I had the crankshaft, rods, pistons, exhaust ports, valvetrain, all bearings, and cylinders, ceramic coated when i built the motor. If ceramic coating requires heat cycles to cure or it will fail, how do you brake in a motor like this? It also has a roller cam that required braking in. This motor was built, put on a dyno and fired off. It had about 15 min of brake in time and the oil was changed. I then brought the motor up to temp and droped the hammer. No problems of anykind. I have used Hooker headers for over 30 years and never a failure. The coating they use may be sprayed on and air dryed, this might cause this problem. I use polydyne in houston, all parts are cleaned, coated, then BAKED at a high temp, the parts are cured and ready for use. Carl at polydyne does this process for several racing teams, nascar, nhra, several of the engine builders across the u. s. Any ceramic coating should be ready to use, and i mean hammer down, right out of the box or its time for a new supplier. Voids the warranty? That statement alone is enough for me to stop using thier products. If they don't take the time and effort to do it right the first time, where are they going to get the time and effort to do it over? excuses are a poor substatute for quality work and products. Ok i'm off my soap box. robert

 

[woobie1966]

swavedave,
im curious as to why you painted the headers. i got jet hot coating on mine and the chrome is great! did you go for the higher temp coating? ( i seem to remember that it did not come in chrome)
mike

 

[SwaveDave]

Woobie,

My headers were jet hot coated when i bought the car. Its not a chrome finish...its more of a matt finish that is on them. I wanted to paint the entire exhaust system since i enter it in car shows now..so, i decided to make the headers look like the rest of the exhaust system.

Dave