Exhaust manifold heat

[Captain. Breakdown]

Hi all,

 

I’m just looking for a bit of advice. I have a friend who is doing some work on my Esprit SE which involves fitting a SS ceramic coated exhaust manifold I bought from eBay. I’m fairly sure it’s the same one that P.U.K Esprit racing used to sell in Germany. (See pics below)

The exhaust manifold has been wrapped then installed. When the car was warmed to check for leaks with some gentle revs. It was then noticed part of the manifold that’s exposed (not wraped) could be seen glowing red hot, even at idle

1. Is the car safe to drive or I’m I likely to put too much heat in the manifold and deform it? 
2. I was wondering since that bit is exposed it that causing that section to heat up because there isn’t any wrapped there.

I really appreciate any advice and expertise offered.

[andydclements]

The gap in the heat wrap will mean that exposed section is cooler than it would otherwise be.  the wrap is making the whole manifold hotter than an un-wrapped one , as there's less heat loss to the atmosphere, but you're (or in this case your friend is ) not going to get overall a greater amount of heat energy dispensed at the exhaust area on a wrapped one , so it's no less safe to drive.

[Captain. Breakdown]

Thanks for your reply. The question I’m asking to really badly worded, so please accept my apologies. 

What I want to know is, with the exhaust manifold coated and wrapped would it be normal to glow red hot at idle or could it be a sign the car not running correctly such as the ignition timing being out? I understand that coating and wrap will keep more heat within the manifold and out of the engine bay but this seems a little excessive to me.

[andydclements]

The manifold would not normally be that hot at idle without the wrap, but it would be that hot under load, so I don't see any reason to worry.

[ragingfool35]

just my experience:  every manifold i've ever wrapped rusted pretty quick.  The wrap holds moisture from rainy driving far more than I would ever have expected.  Maybe a good ceramic coating will help, but it did not prevent rust on my buddy's 69 Camaro.  My personal preference is never to insulate but instead improve airflow and use heat shields smartly.

[Captain. Breakdown]

Thank you both for responding. It shouldn’t rust as the manifold is made from stainless. However I made the decision to remove the wrap as I was concerned about the heat at idle, never mind the increase when the engine is under load. I felt with the heat it could potentially affected the life of the turbo charger as well as having the potential to heat the manifold to a point where it looses its strength. I just didn’t think it was worth the risk.

[Roy Lewington]

I have wrap but on the chassis where it runs close to the exhaust (looks rather nice in red)!