What are the pro and cons on Ceramic coated headers?

Which one can I buy besides the expensive TTI headers for my 70's Satellite with manual steering and a 440cui? It has ported heads and a mild cam.

I was think about 1 3/4 tubes and a 3 inch collector.

Any thought?

Whatever coating you go with, spend the money on TTIs. I have "saved money" on headers before and have been nothing but disappointed in the end. I bought TTIs for the Hemi swap.

Ceramic coating will help keep the heat inside the header, which is usually sought-after.

I have been very disappointed with the ceramic coatings we have received from multiple manufacturers as well as the local powder coaters.
Even if they look good initially within a couple of years rust starts appearing between the tubes etc. They also sometimes discolor near the ports if idled for more than 5 or so minutes. We received a set from hooker last week that were so bad I sent them back and did the VHT thing.
If a customer wants the ceramic coating we order the non coated headers in, test fit them and then send them to Jet Hot. PITA but the quality speaks for itself.
Otherwise strip and coat with VHT.

A pet peeve of mine is why they don't offer the non coated headers with a hi temp paint. The cr-p they use burns off immediately. Stripping it off to repaint is a time consuming PITA!!! I would gladly pay 50.00 more for black headers that didn't have to be stripped and redone

I got a pair of TTI polished ceramic headers for my 472 Hemi,and they are like jewels!

Dougs makes a good header and ceramic coated. I think the PN is D452

Look at Autozone with a 20% off discount code. Can be bought very reasonable.


There a bunch of members that have used Dougs and like them. tti isn't the end all for headers on a mopar, unless you like to spend $. Nice product, just out of sight on pricing, IMO. Dougs are a good alternative that fit well.

The coatings also seem to stay nice forever, unlike most paints. Most header manufacturers offer the coating option, though some may be better coatings than others. I always cut the head flanges - to avoid warping, allow better plug access, and better appearance - which complicates that and means I need to have them coated after working on them.
Some of the guys here with Hookers, Hedmans, etc will likely post their experiences & recommendations. The smaller tubes generally are easier to install, of course, and for a street car 440, 1 3/4" primaries should be fine.
Some other considerations are spark plug & wire clearance, how close to the valve covers (gasket life), & starter clearance. I once bought some Hedmans for a 440/early B swap that placed the collector high enough that I had to use S-bends to clear the torsion-bar crossmember and use a mini-starter. That was a false economy, like Goody said.

I used these on my current 70 Challenger build and were some of the easiest best fitting I have ever installed.Need to use a mini starter and fit with no dings,car has power steering also and are tucked up nice so no dragging.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Hedman-78030-383...s-/162036327139

I wish they would just skip the coatings and make them in stainless instead. Cost would be more, but worth it I would think.

I bought raw steel TTI headers as back during that time frame people on here were having issues with the coating getting toasted during engine break-ins - timing/jetting out of whack and no airflow. Figured it would be easier to just break them in raw on the engine test stand and coat them before going into the car. I also wanted some color other than the silver that everyone else has as well.

I can tell you a non coated thick quality steel holds up better than the thin low quality steel. For example- the
"Black Jack" header type el cheapo steel we all know of looks like brake lines on a 15 year old MI car after like 18 months. But the thick steel headers doesnt swell up with rust and crust but rather a sound uniform surface rust. Paint coatings last and perform better on the higher quality steel. My brothers Duster has 11 year old Schumacher shorties- raw steel. Yes their is rust but surface only-metal is still strong with no compromises.

The ceramic coating looks nice but it's brittle like paint, don't expect it to hold up like powder coat or chrome. It will scratch off easily.

I bought them both,tti's are a perfect fit for me anyway.The ceramic one's rusted a little after about 4 years,the chrome which I have now do run hot but with the insulation I have inside the car not to bad.I might have these coated though.

Get the heat barrier inside the header tubes, then the outside coating holds up much better. Plus it makes for a quieter, cooler running header. My TTI 340 headers are 20 years old last year and are holding up well. I drive the hell out of that car in extreme conditions. On my 3rd motor, same headers.

Is the ceramic coating on the outside perfect after 20 years?, hell no! But the coated headers is one of the best investments I have ever made on my car. They would not have lasted 20 years without the coating.

Edit...my headers are 30 years old now. Installed in 1986.

TTI will custom bend headers out of stainless steel.

That's great, I did not know that, is the cost increase within reason?
I had a set SS headers on my Tacoma coated, the coating lasted over 200K miles.

I have TTI's and I did not get them coated. I bought them just as they are without any coating. I believe they are Nickle. They been on my car since 2008 and have dulled a little but they are not to bad. Course not as nice as the coated ones but they were cheaper. Ron

I have had good luck w/ the TTI headers and their ceramic coating.
After having a set that's coated, you'll never want anything else...except stainless if you have the money.

If you get bare steel headers, some of the makers will not give a warranty, TTI is one, I think.

I bought a bare set of TTI headers for my car. There was a little surface rust on them. I welded the O2 bungs in and shipped them off to Swain Tech for their white lighting coating. Super durable coating. Painted it with high heat paint and perfect so far

I have the coated D-452 Doug's on my 70 Satellite. They fit with no modifications and after almost 7 years and 15K miles still look good. They have dulled down some and show some rust around the collectors but this gets driven in everything but snow. I'd buy them again with no hesitation...