Damn JB! Looks like you went full retard on that wrapping job lol Great work as always! Quick nub question: what is the beit of wrapping catback section of exhaust and are there any measurable gains from that?
Really awesome progress, can’t wait to see this thing do work at the track.
Looking good jimmy. How much will this lower temps? Plan to measure somehow 
My friend that helped me wrap the whole exhaust with header wrap said that exact phrase once he saw the Header Armor and Heatshield Armor.
The catback should stay hotter since it is wrapped. So in theory the exhaust should scavenge better and the X-pipe should be more effective. Then the other components near the exhaust should stay cooler like the transmission, axles, rear differential, and rear suspension. The center bearing of the driveshaft already has heat shielding from the factory so that shouldn’t be affected much.
I still have my intake manifold and intake air (from the MAF) temperature readings from before so I will compare those. Also want to compare how hot the exhaust tips on my car are to another local S4. If I can see a 20-30 degree hotter temperature reading at the exhaust tips then I will be happy with what I have done. There is one more thermal barrier that I need to add but I will keep that close to the chest for now.
EDIT: The real test of how well this heat shielding works will be when I go to the tracks, both the dragstrip and road course.
The hope is that when I am at the drag strip that the intake air that goes into the engine will be cooler while I am sitting in line waiting to make passes and then of course while I am making the pass. In the past I have seen the intake air temps skyrocket from sitting in line waiting. Especially if I have to wait for a long period of time. To combat that I usually start the engine to move a few feet forward, then shut it off, wait, and repeat the cycle until I get up to the burnout box. Kind of like sitting in rush hour traffic since there is no air movement and the engine keep sucking in hot air that radiates off the block and exhaust. That is actually one more way that I want to test these thermal barriers before I go to the track.
Then on the road course I am hoping that the exhaust stays cooler and puts less strain on the other components in the engine bay and the other components under the car. I will be closely monitoring the exhaust during road course events since it will be subject to higher temperatures for sustained longer periods of time. I highly doubt that the headers will have an issue since they are still made out of really nice material like 321 SS. However the FI catback I believe is only 304 SS and under those conditions I have to wonder if the resonator and muffler baffles will get overheated and start to deteriorate. Even though I am not a big diehard road course guy like some of the RS4 road race superstars and a few of the B8 S4 guys, it is still fun as a hobby a few times a year to go way above the speeds that I can reach at the dragstrip. Plus it is like a tiny vacation because the events are a few hours away from the house and the normal daily grind.
I am soooooooooooooooo close now to getting everything done. We have made a lot of progress and are reaching the end of this long repair work. So lets get this recap started.
Installed my JHM lightweight battery and relocation kit.
Here is the battery area behind the cowl wall:
http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_0538_zpsmtjtionh.jpg
Where the battery is mounted in the spare tire well of the trunk. I have a battery trickle charger/maintainer hooked up to make sure that the battery is fully charged for when I have to crank the engine.
http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_0539_zpsiutmf1vs.jpg
Got the engine and the transmission reinstalled in the car.
http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_0534_zpsj5rzhddq.jpg
Then reconnected most all of the hoses, sensors, electrical connectors, shift linkage, driveshaft, SC brackets, supercharger, and other parts. Along with all the rest of the engine work I installed the newest SC rollers that have a tapered lip on the back to prevent the belt from slipping off along with an automatic belt tensioner. Also I cleaned my K&N air filter and changed the SC oil.
http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_0535_zps9hmecls1.jpg
With the engine and transmission back in I got to see how much room there is with the V2 headers to access the transmission components. Needless to say I really like how much room there is when compared to the V1 headers!
Driver’s side:
http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_0537_zpse2z19xhm.jpg
Passenger’s side: This is really close to the body of the car but it doesn’t hit.
http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_0536_zpsyi2zqtin.jpg
Then with some help, I wrapped my FI catback with the same Inferno header wrap that I had left over.
http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_0540_zps7r8nflek.jpg
Today I broke out the Heatshield Armor and went to town wrapping the header mid-pipes and the FI catback over the header wrap that is already on there. The install instructions for the Heatshield Armor say to leave a 2-3 inch gap on the bottom of the pipes for air flow if your application is force inducted so that is why there the Heatshield armor doesn’t go all the way around the pipes.
Top of the header mid-pipe:
http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_0541_zps145vvhxc.jpg
Bottom of the header mid-pipe:
http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_0542_zps2aziisy6.jpg
Top of the three FI catback sections:
http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_0543_zpswnjsugwa.jpg
Bottom of the three FI catback sections:
http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_0544_zpsqi74jsne.jpg
In addition to the wrapping job today, I also reinstalled the whole exhaust on the car and rear O2 sensors, put in a new engine oil filter and filled a bunch of fluids like engine oil, power steering, transmission, and rear differential. Tomorrow I should be able to put the front end back on. Then eventually start the engine for the first time in months! Yay, I can’t wait!
Lookin great! Nice work!
Damn JB! Looks like you went full retard on that wrapping job lol Great work as always! Quick nub question: what is the beit of wrapping catback section of exhaust and are there any measurable gains from that?
Really awesome progress, can’t wait to see this thing do work at the track.
Looking good jimmy. How much will this lower temps? Plan to measure somehow
My friend that helped me wrap the whole exhaust with header wrap said that exact phrase once he saw the Header Armor and Heatshield Armor.
The catback should stay hotter since it is wrapped. So in theory the exhaust should scavenge better and the X-pipe should be more effective. Then the other components near the exhaust should stay cooler like the transmission, axles, rear differential, and rear suspension. The center bearing of the driveshaft already has heat shielding from the factory so that shouldn’t be affected much.
I still have my intake manifold and intake air (from the MAF) temperature readings from before so I will compare those. Also want to compare how hot the exhaust tips on my car are to another local S4. If I can see a 20-30 degree hotter temperature reading at the exhaust tips then I will be happy with what I have done. There is one more thermal barrier that I need to add but I will keep that close to the chest for now.
EDIT: The real test of how well this heat shielding works will be when I go to the tracks, both the dragstrip and road course.
The hope is that when I am at the drag strip that the intake air that goes into the engine will be cooler while I am sitting in line waiting to make passes and then of course while I am making the pass. In the past I have seen the intake air temps skyrocket from sitting in line waiting. Especially if I have to wait for a long period of time. To combat that I usually start the engine to move a few feet forward, then shut it off, wait, and repeat the cycle until I get up to the burnout box. Kind of like sitting in rush hour traffic since there is no air movement and the engine keep sucking in hot air that radiates off the block and exhaust. That is actually one more way that I want to test these thermal barriers before I go to the track.
Then on the road course I am hoping that the exhaust stays cooler and puts less strain on the other components in the engine bay and the other components under the car. I will be closely monitoring the exhaust during road course events since it will be subject to higher temperatures for sustained longer periods of time. I highly doubt that the headers will have an issue since they are still made out of really nice material like 321 SS. However the FI catback I believe is only 304 SS and under those conditions I have to wonder if the resonator and muffler baffles will get overheated and start to deteriorate. Even though I am not a big diehard road course guy like some of the RS4 road race superstars and a few of the B8 S4 guys, it is still fun as a hobby a few times a year to go way above the speeds that I can reach at the dragstrip. Plus it is like a tiny vacation because the events are a few hours away from the house and the normal daily grind.
Yes.
Jimmy all the hard work is well thought out. Im excited to see the car up and running again and also very excited to see the results of the exhaust wrap
Great progress as always. How much weight is all that wrap adding? Not much right?
hahahaha
The exhaust reminds me of the kid on A Christmas Story in his snowsuit.
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/9c/81/4d/9c814d8206dc2ef03086a288a9254e2e.jpg
the kid is the x pipe
Yes.
Jimmy all the hard work is well thought out. Im excited to see the car up and running again and also very excited to see the results of the exhaust wrap
awesome job!
Great progress as always. How much weight is all that wrap adding? Not much right?
hahahaha
The exhaust reminds me of the kid on A Christmas Story in his snowsuit.
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/9c/81/4d/9c814d8206dc2ef03086a288a9254e2e.jpg
the kid is the x pipe
Jimmy, if you want, you can bounce the difference of temps between my exhaust and yours when my Avant is up there for service…