This operating temp thing is just the reason I don't care for wrapped ex. pipes. Peak temp in a combustion chamber (on gasoline) can be as high as 1400º F, when a lean mixture is run. A lower temp of about 1250º is much better, though and signals that your fuel mixture is about right.
While making heat makes power, there certainly are limits. One thing I played with on my old front engined dragster (Small Block Chevy) was coated piston tops, combustion chambers, and intake and exhaust ports. It was easy to do with a can of VHT white header paint. (I "baked" the heads in the wife's oven before installing them.) Yup, the engine ran rather cool.
My idea was to keep as much heat in the chamber as possible, to maximize the expansion/push on the piston top. Learned this trick from a Formula 40 racer (old stock 40 hp VW powered open wheeled race car) in the mid '60's.
