what type of HEADER to use??

[grasshopper]

i wanted a stainless steel for my 2.3 stang but someone said if it cracked i'd have to take it to get fixed but if it were standard steel he could reweld it. what would cause a header to crack? i've heard things like a cylinder running lean ect....what about ceramic coated, whats the advantage, and another guy said his HEADER WAS CHROME, whats the best metal to go with and why...and whats the thing about running lean and the header?????blah, i'm a girl i'm losst

[SaabJohan]

A stainless header can be rewelded with a TIG or even a MIG/MAG (not as good result).

Stainless steel or superalloys like inconel is the best materials for a header but they are more expensive compared with standard steel.

Poor weldnings, material or design can cause the the pipe to crack.

A lean running engine will have a higher exhaust temperature and this will increase the stress in the metal which can cause it to crack. But if an engine is running too lean the header will not be the biggest problem to worry about.

Ceramic coating is used on the pipe as heat isolation. For a naturally aspiranted engine the advantage will be less heat radiation in the engine bay. With a turbocharged engine the exhaust will have a higher temperature when coming to the turbine, which increase turbine power.
The downside is that stress in the pipe is increased.
Compared with exhaust wrap it's better because it don't let water come in contact with the pipe.

I guess he meant that his pipe was chromed. Chrome can also be used in the pipe as with stainless.

A good stainless pipe should not need to be rewelded, but if if have to be done it will require a little better equipment. But to find someone that can do this for a small fee should not be so difficult.