- My model of MX-5 is: 2006 NC Sport
- I’m based near: Scottish Borders
- I’m looking for technical help or recommendations on: Fitting an aftermarket manifold.
I’m having a stainless manifold fitted an was wondering if there is any benefit in wrapping the manifold with lagging/heat insulation “tape”? I have read that it is important to refit the heat shield after fitting the manifold. Does the stainless item radiate more heat than the OEM unit?
Also, do I only need the one sensor extension for this job?
Thanks in advance for any feedback.
Exhaust wrap may be of benefit, keeps some heat in.
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I’ve heard heat wrapping is a good idea to keep heat out of the engine bay , pretty sure I read it helps with flow due to temps , much easier to do before you install also .
Have a google .
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Whilst wraps do look cool & may keep some of the radiant heat from the mani’ pipes away from the engine bay. It may also speed up deterioration of your lovely new mani’. I have read that wraps trap moisture etc against the pipework & welds especially.
I am also about to fit an IL ss mani also & will probably just go with refitting the heat shield…just my 2 cents 
Stainless manifolds (aftermarket) won’t rust
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Sure SS really shouldnt rust, some welds might, certainlyI have seen exhaustkit sold as Ss looking suspiciously rusty. What i was really trying to get over is that a wrap can put a lot of stress & fatique on that whole area.
In the bad old days it was not unknown for wrapped mini manis to melt & even start fires. I think metal technology & qc is probably much better these days &the IL mani is certainly a quality bit of kit. My worry is that it can create a contained fatique hot spot.
Better to have the manifold ceramic coated.
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Do not wrap your manifold.
It brings very little to the party, invalidates your warranty and can play havoc with the steel. It gets wet, then gets super heated and holds moisture against the metal which will eventually wreck it if it sees enough extremes.
If you want examples then go to Google images with the term ‘Exhaust manifold header wrap damage’ or something similar.
Cheap fixes very rarely work, if you want to do the best thing for it (which isn’t cheap) then take the top heat shield mounting brackets from your old manifold and get them welded to the new one, bolt heat shield on.
Smirk to oneself when MOT inspector misses your aftermarket catless manifold because he can’t see it.
Drive off and poison some little children.
Or yeah, if you want your 1bhp at 8000rpm then pay Zircotec to coat it for a few hundred £££.
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Hi, the principal of exhaust wrap is too keep the heat within the manifold aiding gas flow, as for moisture there are sprays that you can apply once wrapped and before installing to waterproof the wrapping material. Hopeful this may help your decision.
Well I wrapped my IL manifold before fitting it, to try and keep under bonnet temps down and improve flow.
7 years and 50,000 miles later, still going strong.
I also used some heatproof material to thicken the vertical insulator between the exhaust manifold and the brake servo, and attached it with foil tape.
I also used the same heat resistant material to make a little hat for the top plastic section of the alternator, which is right next to the manifold. Again I used foil tape to fix it in place and everything is still fine.
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Looks good 
I know nothing. But that is neat.
Does anyone know whether this heat containment is about not roasting other components ( presumably the heat shields of the original car). Or, some advantage gained by keeping heat within the exhaust system for downstream advantage?
It does look neat doesn’t it.
@DuratecNC knows far more than I. But here goes…
To the best of my ,somewhat limited, understanding, the advantage goes something like this.
By insulating the manifold the already very hot gasses exiting the head are kept close to that temp. The hotter the gas, the less dense ( think most expanded) therefore, the quicker they can be flowed away from the head & out the exhaust. Also it is hoped to lower engine bay temps.
The trade off…there’s nearly always one of those
The fact that one is now “holding” all that heat in the manifold area “may” lead to stressing other localised components. The wrap material may hold moisture & help to hasten wear & tear on the manifold esp welds.
Ceramic coatings would appear to be the best, if costliest, solution.
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Have had IL 4-1 one on mine since July 2019.
Original heat shield fitted with no problems.
Never any excess heat problems even in very hot Spain.
No other issues with leaving it standard.
Actually had me head under there yesterday doing the oils etc and all fine.
Let’s be honest all manifolds are going to get quite hot anyway.
Perhaps the original one more so being cast and with the cat on also. 
Those gases are coming out at a fast rate of knots anyway…
Only have the one sensor on mine.
Enjoy it.