[Ecky]

I have two rolls of high temperature exhaust wrap left over from an older project, and would like to know, what would the benefits and downsides be to wrapping my Insight's exhaust?

Some thoughts:

The Insight goes in and out of lean burn to keep the catalytic converter warm. As I understand, there is no temperature sensor in the cat itself, it's a programmed routine, so wrapping the cat shouldn't reduce how often it drops out of lean burn.

Is wrapping the cat safe? Is it possible to overheat it? Or should I skip it and wrap before and after it? Do I have to worry about anything else getting too hot, considering the header is watercooled?

If I wrap all the way up to the engine (the header is part of the block), I imagine this might have a negative effect of lowering air temperature under the hood. On the other hand, it will keep the pipes warm, which might help with keeping the engine warmer longer after parking, or warm up more quickly.

What effect will keeping the exhaust gas warmer have on the tuning of the exhaust system? Will this likely help, hurt, or do nothing f or economy?

Will wrapping the exhaust help prevent it from rusting out, or will it make rust worse? I'm probably going to leave my car with my folks up in Vermont while I travel abroad, and I'm thinking it might help keep the salt away, though it might also trap moisture and cause it to rust out faster. What actually happens? If I wrap it, I can probably safely cover it with coroplast, so how does that effect the rust equation? I've read that fiberglass wrap can make rust worse, but I don't think the Insight's exhaust will get nearly as hot as with larger engines - why exactly does fiberglass wrap cause rust? Is it heat or moisture?

Any other thoughts on uses for exhaust wrap? Maybe go around the engine a few times with it? How about using it to wrap coolant lines?