So I’ve discovered that my 1998 Rev 5 MR2 Mk2 has had a tubular exhaust manifold fitted at some stage in the past (which would account for the struggle getting it through it’s emmissions test as the Lambda sensor has been looped out).

I’ve heard that wrapping said manifold and the connecting pipe with thermal bandages can work wonders for performance. Anybody done this and noticed any difference?

my brother’s got it on his VTech Mini, it bloody stinks still, hundreds of miles in once the manifold’s hot. Smoked for a while too after initial fitting.

He did it for performance reasons though, good for Turbos. No idea what it does to emission though sorry

I was going to do the same on my old celica but read about manifolds failing from increased heat. This may not be true as I read it on the internet 🙂 Couldn’t be bothered in the end and the wrap I bought now languishes in the garage somewhere.

If its not a 3sgte engine eg turbo d won’t do a thing. It barely makes a difference on that unless you ve fitted a massive turbo which creates a lot more heat than standard.

Also if its a stainless tubular manifold check it carefully for cracks, they fail regularly and can cause your immissions issue. As lambda sensor thinks its running lean so puts more fuel in

I wonder if the benefits on something like an MR2 are more about reducing overall engine bay temperatures by keeping the heat in the exhaust system than anything else?

Wrapping your manifold will void it’s warranty. You cannot see any cracks, and the wrap will hold moisture making your manifold rust quicker. As for performance gains I would imagine it’s not much.

I’m sure there is a ceramic paint you can spray on, which should be better. I’ll be doing this to the track day car when we get the 4-2-1 manifold, but this will be to keep engine temps down, not for performance gains.

I’ve heard that wrapping said manifold and the connecting pipe with thermal bandages can work wonders for performance.

The hotter the exhaust gas stays the faster it travels, the more inlet charge it pulls into the cylinder. On a well tuned car with a well tuned exhaust, it’s well worth doing. On a standard car with an off the shelf (i.e. not in any way tuned) manifold and system, I reckon the trouble would not be worth any gain. The bandages deteriorate and need replacing regularly. Ceramic coatings have now largely replaced thermal bandages.

Don’t ever go by rolling roads claims. I can get 20bhp on any car just by replacing the washer fluid. 😉

Use 1/4 mile terminals speeds, very repeatable and reliable, there is a calculator out there somewhere.

TuckerUK – Member

I’ve heard that wrapping said manifold and the connecting pipe with thermal bandages can work wonders for performance.

The hotter the exhaust gas stays the faster it travels, the more inlet charge it pulls into the cylinder. On a well tuned car with a well tuned exhaust, it’s well worth doing. On a standard car with an off the shelf (i.e. not in any way tuned) manifold and system, I reckon the trouble would not be worth any gain. The bandages deteriorate and need replacing regularly. Ceramic coatings have now largely replaced thermal bandages.

Don’t ever go by rolling roads claims. I can get 20bhp on any car just by replacing the washer fluid.

Use 1/4 mile terminals speeds, very repeatable and reliable, there is a calculator out there somewhere.

^This. I used to run it on my racers, because every little helps. It does keep engine bay temperatures lower too. We also used to have the engines out all the time, so it was never a hassle to replace it. Get yourself some lockwire pliers.

Cheers chaps, looks like I won’t be bothering because it’s not a turbo, just a UK spec 3SGE.

Wrapping your manifold will void it’s warranty. You cannot see any cracks, and the wrap will hold moisture making your manifold rust quicker.

TBH, I’ve no idea how long the manifold’s been on and who put it there. It isn’t stainless, so I think a cermaic coat will probably be the easiest option.

The guy I bought it off was a bit of well-meaning nobber, I think he liked bolting shiny things on it without really giving any thought to how it should be set up – it had a JapSpeed back-box on when I bought it which made it run like a sack of shit because he’d probably never had it tuned properly. It’s run 100% better since I replaced it with a more or less standard unit.