Exhaust wrap?

[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?

[cowmeat]

Grrrrrrrrr Ecky, you know if you do it and it turns out awesome I'll have to do it!

Of course, that's one of those sly mods my wife would never notice

[Daox]

Wrapping the exhaust won't really do much for you. It has the possibility of slightly helping out with reducing back pressure. The reason being is the exhaust gas stays warmer, thus its less dense, thus less exhaust gas in the piping, and its easier to push out. However, we're talking a very minimal difference here that I don't think you'd ever see when filling up.

Wrapping the exhaust will definitely make it rust faster. One major reason why I wouldn't do it. It has to do with moisture, not heat.

Insulating the engine might be a better idea, faster warm up is always a good thing.

[oil pan 4]

It will cause the exhaust pipe to oxidize faster. It will "rust" faster but not because of water.
Don't bother with it unless you have stainless exhaust or a diesel.
I don't think it will help fuel economy.

If you want to do something with the exhaust on a gasoline engine to boost fuel economy the only thing I can think of is add an exhaust/coolant heat exchanger.

[Ecky]

Originally Posted by oil pan 4

It will cause the exhaust pipe to oxidize faster. It will "rust" faster but not because of water.
Don't bother with it unless you have stainless exhaust or a diesel.
I don't think it will help fuel economy.

If you want to do something with the exhaust on a gasoline engine to boost fuel economy the only thing I can think of is add an exhaust/coolant heat exchanger.

The G1 Insight comes with a heat exchanger from the factory.

Anyway, thanks! I'll scratch that idea off the list.

[cowmeat]

Yeah, me too!

I am always looking for cheap-to-free mods, though, especially if they're of the not-so-visible type like that one