Engine Which header is better? Ceramic or Chrome?

Which header is better? Ceramic or Chrome?

I've heard the chrome ones crack, flake and turn colors over time. Are there any benefits to the ceramic ones?

Its all for looks, they are the same.

If one is better than the other peformance wise its going to be the ceramic, but any gains will be minimal at best or not noticable

i would go with ceramic

ceramic i believe stays cooler than the chrome ones...

I think you should look at who makes the header before what the finish is. I had a ceramic one that sucked cause the flex pipe was connected poorly. I now have a chrome one which has turned rainbow color but it's working much better.

chrome usually doesnt stay chrome for very long. Especially on a daily driver.

I have to agree with getting cermanic cause they stay cooler and also who you get it from.

So who are the good manufacturers for the 93-97's? Are Pacesetter or any of the brands on ebay any good?

Out of what I've seen pacesetter and focuz motor sports are no good. The OBX ones seem to be good for most people but they are chrome not ceramic.

chrome ones are just steel tubing that have been chrome treated..... the chrome on my ae92 header (i didn't want chrome... they were cheap) has discolored, but looks better than the chrome IMO..... however, if the car has been sitting and i start the car to pull it into the driveway i have to let the car sit before i do work around the header.... it heats up fast

Anybody have any flex pipe issues? I don't want to buy this fucker and then have to have it repaired 2 months from now.

ouch running solid.... cut a small hole in that downpipe somewhere and put a flex pipe in!!

I got mine just ceramic coated since the sterling isnt as good performance wise supposedly...

they diudnt coat the inside of your pipes did they?? I heard itll actually peel off if they do inside the pipes.... and can damage your turbo if a big chunk goes....

not trying to scare ya but when I was reading about them and calling companies this is what I heard...


Also ceramic ones are better performance wise because they keep the heat in the pipe hotter and thus flowing faster (gas laws... take lotsa physics)

however if its too small a layer of ceramic it wont do much... but supposedly it does gain hp in turbo applications and can make them stronger... and it reduces engine temps and is a lot better then wrapping the manifold..

yeah ceramic coating mine was best thing I did too... the under hood temps are a lot different while running to!

I think the chrome ones you guys are talking about are the stainless-steel header. I got the focuz ceramic one that sucks balls and going to get a stainless-steel one soon after I fix a few problems with my car. I think the best brands for headers for like the 93-97 corollas are hp and obx. I like the stainless-steel better then the ceramic cause the ceramic starts chipping later on and mine right now are horribly chipping. The stainless ones just change colors, which I think looks cool, and doesn't chip at all. Only thing you have to worry on both kinds is cracking.

Any more thoughts on the long term durability of the Ceramic? I'm trying to get all the angles here.

wow im a huge nerd for answering in this fasion, but here we go....

ceramic coating has much much better insulating properties than stainless, but is significantly harder and therefore more brittle and more prone to cracking and chipping.

I would go with ceramic coated just based on insulation properties that keep the exhaust gases hot and flowing but the rest of the stuff around it cool, and really look around for a good reliable maker.

school actually pays off, wow

not only do they crack they rust like crazy when they are warm and wet...chrome SUCKS

Well, ceramic it is then.

We should put this in some sort of FAQ.

I don't get why everyone is bashing on chrome so much when as far as I've seen the only decent headers out for the 93-97 are the obx kind which happen to be chrome and work fine for me.