I'm looking into wrapping my downpipe. I was originally going to get the thermal exhaust wrap as pictured here:
http://www.designengineering.com/exhaust_wrap.html

Then I started talking to a friend of mine who said that he had replaced that thermal wrap with this one:
http://www.designengineering.com/cool_tape.html

The reason he had used the Cool Tape vs. the Exhaust Wrap was that the Cool Tape does not soak up oil. At one point he had apparently gotten an oil leak from the turbo and it dripped down onto the Exhaust wrap and soaked in essentially turning it into a big wick.

This makes sense as I have a slight leak around the turbo area as well. What are your thoughts? Which one should I get?

 

well the oil leak probably wont leak onto the downpipe. oil will be blown backwards when driving but there shouldnt be any soaking and will get dirty. ihave mine wrapped and it did not seem to soak any oil when my turbos died last year. i dont know much about the cool tape. i wanted to get some to wrap the intercooler plumbing but its expensive.

 

I thought about doing this to my dp and exhaust side of the turbo but decided againist it after reading warnings from some of the manufactures that it may cause your pipe to develop cracks etc from the extreme temps generated underneath.

 

potatochobit - expensive? its under $15 a roll.

Ni5mo180SX - nah, doubt it. this stuff has been proven over time. i know some people with 50k miles of use on this stuff on downpipes. don't know about turbos.

 

The 'cool tape' looks to be just a fancy,hi-temp duct tape.
The 'exhaust wrap' has some real insulating value and would be the better choice.

 

i have the exhaust wrap on my dp and it made a big difference. the factory pre-cat was reaching external temps in the high 300f range after an average drive according to my laser thermometer. after installing the dp with wrap, i get readings in the mid to low 200f range after the same type of driving. i used two rolls and bought them locally for about $30.