Belanger Coated Headers--anyone have problems with them?

[Casey]

I have a friend who is looking into a Header/3" exhaust setup for his ACR. He has gotten some info that Heat is an issue and could cause serious damage to his Viper.
Now I have Belangers for a couple years now, HF cats, 3" borla on my GTS and I have never had any type of problem with them. Mine are Coated and I do NOT have Heat Sheilds covering them(they look too good!).

Anyone here have a Heat related issue with Coated Belanger Headers?
I know other headers are not coated and that can make a difference. But we are talking about Coated Belangers.

I also noticed a NICE difference in Power in my '98 when I did the belanger/3" combo. I would assume all other '96-'99 Vipers would notice a nice power gain as well.

Well, thanks for any input Positve or Negative!

 

[Steve-Indy]

Casey, Ask Brian B about peeling of "Coated Belangers"...also leaks.

 

[Neil - UK]

don't if mine are coated or not, but I've never had a problem they have been on the car for 3 years with no heat shields

 

[Stiffler]

I've had my Belanger headers and exhuast for about 3 years....NO complaints!!! Great quality and IMO the best sound!!!! NO heat issues with NO heat shields installed. The mild steel runs cooler than stainless headers.

 

[PhoenixGTS]

don't if mine are coated or not, but I've never had a problem they have been on the car for 3 years with no heat shields

Boy that is a great shot of Jerry Belanger's "pickle" in the collector. Folks should download that. The idea is that it take volume away from the collector and keeps the exhaust gas velocity higher than an open collector header. Been monitoring this forum for awhile and have never seen that good of a picture of the "pickle."

 

[EA6BPilot]

Casey,

What HP/TQ gains did you see with the headers?

Frank

 

[Doc.]

I've got 3 years on mine with absolutely no issues. I do not run heat shields and I have had no heat related issues.

Doc

 

[99 R/T 10]

Boy that is a great shot of Jerry Belanger's "pickle" in the collector. Folks should download that. The idea is that it take volume away from the collector and keeps the exhaust gas velocity higher than an open collector header. Been monitoring this forum for awhile and have never seen that good of a picture of the "pickle."

I would bet that although the "pickle" is great for keeping the flow at the lower RPM range, at the high RPM range, would't it impede flow. Especially the car that flow a lot more air than stock? I would guess that S/C cars would be better off to have B&B's or some other type of 5 to 1 header. AM I wrong? (by the way, I have B&B's for sale)

 

[Casey]

Casey,

What HP/TQ gains did you see with the headers?

Frank

Frank, sorry no dyno results from my Belanger header install. I added the Headers/Roe 3" HF/3" Borla at the same time, and without a dyno near me then, I was not able to get actual numbers.

I did notice a .3 second gain at the track though. And the car just pulled harder.

And the next time my GTS hit the dyno, it had some Heffner goodies under the hood!

I am sure others have actual dyno numbers. And I would love to see them again!

 

[Neil - UK]

PhoenixS4-GTS if you want the high res pics, shot me a email I did take some more pics from different angles of the 'pickle'

 

[Steve-Indy]

Casey, this thread has the makings of being VERY HELPFUL. While indeed there are pros and cons to any component or system, in my humble opinion, it would be GREAT if the thread evolved into a "hard data" rather than "personal anecdotes" or "subjective impressions"...just as you have suggested by asking for dyno numbers.

While there may be scattered reports of issues such as exhaust leaks, peeling of coatings, and even more severe heat related damage...it is nearly impossible to judge the frequency of occurrence of same from scattered board threads. There are undoubtedly short and long term system issues, as well as issues of the possible limitations using common "mix and match" components in the installation of mods that we do as our budgets allow...let alone the intended purpose for which we build our Vipers(street, road course, drag racing, shine&show, etc.

In the spirit of "sorting" some of these issues, I would suggest (THANKS for the tip, Sam) that one visit a site that at least lists the pros and cons of SOME of the more popular systems....I REALLY THANK Dan Cragin for his efforts in helping us all with these issues. His "D-C Performance" web site HELPS get a running start...click on each logo provided and START your own comparison list!!!

http://dcperformance.com/Nav.aspx/Page=/PageManager/Default.aspx/PageID=397354

 

[Casey]

I agree the more info the better!

The DC performance is a good start, but not much info there either. Some helpful hints.

Has anyone done any heat test for headers? Coated vs. SS non-coated?
There seems to be a HUGE differnce here, in regards to HEAT, as well as a small difference in HP.

In my research before my Belanger purchase, and current. I have NEVER heard of a person WITH Coated Belanger Headers that had a HEAT issue. And the only coating issue I have heard about was with Heat Shields on, which is what caused the damage to the coating, and subsequent peel.

The MORE info the better! Whom ever has some, please give it up!!

 

[radta7]

TTT. This is an VERY important thread. ESP since I am in the market for headers now.

RD

 

[FE 065]

I think the pickle theory was invented by Henri Coanda about 80yrs ago..

 

[KenH]

Coated Belangers installed for about 1 year and 6K miles with R/T 3" HF Cats and 3" Corsa catback. Not using factory heat shields. I did add heat shielding to the water and O2 sensor wires which run near the headers as a precaution. Car sees street and occasional light drag racing, but no road course racing which I would think would be the worse case condition.

No issues with leaks, peeling or heat damage to the car. I have not dyno'd the car since adding the headers (or HF Cats, VEC2 and 3:55 gears), so don't know any gain from the headers.

 

[PhoenixGTS]

Link to nice thread about headers

Here is a nice thread about header selection:

http://vca2.viperclub.org/forums/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=UBB14&Number=445961&Forum=UBB14&Words=&Match=Entire%20Phrase&Searchpage=3&Limit=25&Old=6months&Main=445930&Search=true#Post445961

 

[Steve-Indy]

Re: Link to nice thread about headers

Good info, PhoenixS4-GTS...and, in that thread tommygun raises a great point (politely !!!)...I also suspect that there is a significant learning curve with header installation (as with most other procedures), and that the DYI one time installer MIGHT net more potential problems than the same installation done by one who has done large numbers...speculation on my part, but with precedent.

Here are a couple of interesting threads from the past:

http://vca2.viperclub.org/forums/showthreaded.php?Cat=&Board=UBB14&Number=32983&page=&view=&sb=5&o=&vc=1

http://vca2.viperclub.org/forums/showthreaded.php?Cat=&Board=UBB14&Number=327636&page=&view=&sb=5&o=&vc=1

http://vca2.viperclub.org/forums/showthreaded.php?Cat=&Board=UBB14&Number=55734&page=&view=&sb=5&o=&vc=1

 

[Casey]

Re: Link to nice thread about headers

More good info!

My understanding is that there is a HUGE difference in installation time/difficulty.
Some headers will require that the engine be lifted a bit in order to have room for the headers to fit in.

I installed the Belangers w/a friend, using his lift. And if I can do it, well, anyone can! We also installed full exhaust, HF cats, including cutting the 2 1/2" section out, and opening it up to 3". I am still proud about that work! Although, he did the cutting and welding of course. lol
I know of others who have installed Belangers with jack stands.

I had called a couple local shops, Viper tuners in the area, and they quoted me $350 for the Belangers, and $500-$600 for other headers(TNT, [******]- if I remember correctly) due to the various levels of install time/diff.

Anyone else install headers personally? If so, how was it?

 

[Casey]

Casey, Ask Brian B about peeling of "Coated Belangers"...also leaks.

I spoke with Brian today. He said his headers peeled, but was unsure as to why. He mentioned that running too rich might have been the reason.?

He also mentioned that he called Belangers and told them about it and they said they would recoat them free of charge. But he decided to coat his Full Exhaust from the Headers back, and see what the difference would be.

 

[Steve 00RT/10]

I have had the full Belanger system...headers and exhaust for 3.5yrs/37,000 miles. We installed the entire package in 4 hours. Perfect fit! My muffler guy charged me $130 for the work. I have had a little peeling occur on the forward tube on the passenger side. About a 2" patch. Might have had a contaminant drop on there....not sure. I covered the spot with high temp paint. I had to change all 4 mufflers this year, although the 2 in the back were still OK. The side sill ones were totally blown out. The same mufflers are only about $40 each. I run no heat shields and am still running the original OEM plug wires with no problems. I am changing them in the spring at 44,400 miles. The car does see a little track use each season and as much autocross as I can get too in addition to several parades in lots of heat and many other miles. I am very satisfied with this exhaust set up. The Belanger sound is very distinctive. There is no other that sounds like it..or as good...IMO.

Steve

 

[KenH]

Re: Link to nice thread about headers

I installed the Belanger headers by myself with the car up on Rhino ramps and it went very smoothly with no fit issues at all. Hardest part was welding the turn-out tube to the cats and I took it to a local muffler shop for that part.