Bonneville America Forums Forums Technical Forums Custom Corner Thermo-Tec wrap questions

I decided to wrap my pipes with Thermo-Tec to give it that hot rod look and maybe increase performance a bit. Never used this stuff before so bare with me if these are laymen questions.

On the way to work today (first time out with my new wrapped pipes) the wrap was smoking something awful and smelled terrible. My second time out on the bike the smoke had gone away but it still smelled pretty bad. This caused me to research the stuff some more on the internet. I found information that led me to believe the smell is normal. I also found some articles saying that this wrap and others like it will melt your pipes over time and can cause damage to other parts of your engine.

Does any one here use Thermo-Tec wrap or something like it on their bike? If so does the smell ever stop? Should I be concerned about it causing damage to my bike?

Thanks

-md

The instructions (they were written on that piece of paper you through out ) warn you about the smoking, but fail to mention the smell. My pipes have been wrapped for a while now and it took a while for them to stop smelling.

nuthin,

I barley know you and yet, you know exactly how I a started my little project

thanks for the feed back

I started the same way, but I did read the instruction after my bike started smoking! I don't think the wrap helps or harms your bike. I just think it looks good!

Yeppers, they smell awful for a while. Also, I'd strongly suggest you spray 'em down wiht an enamel -- mine are wrapped and I DIDN'T coat them, and now they're deterriorating -- especially where my left foot occasionally taps the left header pipe, and it's starting to fray.

As for performance, as I've said in other threads, I've been pleasantly surprised! It does make a modicum of difference -- I'm running TOR longs and the wraps changed the air flow (had to rejet) and the sound.

--Jaeger

I've never been a fan of pipe wraps, except for turbocharged race cars. Wrapping keeps the heat in the pipe, which is what you need to keep your turbo spinning. But, keeping that heat will tend to deteriorate your pipes, especially if you live in damp country, and....be harder on your exhaust valves. It's this latter problem that puts me off.

If one gets a performance advantage from ex. pipe wrapping, it would seem to me that his engine is over exhausted, and the extra heat increases the exhaust volume. The extra gas volume has a harder time getting through the same sized pipes and mufflers, creating more back pressure. Increasing back pressure to get better perf. says that your overall system is in need of attention, as it is lacking somewhere other than the ex. system.