Glowing red headers

[Jakez989]

Hello All,

I've been working on converting an 85 corvette (SBC 350) to full sequential EFI with the MS3X with coil near plug. I've got the car running and driving and even have the engine broke in but I'm fighting a few issues that I'm having a hard time with. The primary issue I've struggled with is getting engine bay heat under control. When watching the car idle after roughly 5-10 minutes I can see a faint glow to the header. I've done some research and found that this can be due to either retarded timing or lean condition. As per my data logs I'm not running lean and bumping up the timing really does not appear to be doing anything overall.

The other issue I'm having is with vacuum at idle which might be related. I'm pretty consistently at the high 70's low 80's simply at idle. I've read some posts that say this is normal and other that say this is on the low side. Could this be related to my heat issue, I've put a smoke machine on the engine and cant find any leaks. Using the build in MS3X MAP sensor.

I'm attaching my current msq file as well as 2 data logs. The longer older log is an example of me putting a few miles on the car. I do overheat in this run due to a blown off radiator hose which has been resolved in the newer data log. In the smaller newer data log I'm simply idling the car attempting to confirm my temps are back under control but the headers began to glow in this log for sure. Let me know if any additional info is needed, thanks in advance.

Build specs:
SBC 350 (bored 60 over)
Comp Cams 12-415-8 276/288 duration .602/.520 lift
Hydraulic roller lifters
SBC Pro Flow XT intake manifold
Forged rotating assembly

[shiftin04]

Something else to think about is you're not moving so there's no air flowing over the headers to cool them off. I've seen it before and been told not to worry too much. Unless they're like bright cherry red and ready to melt.

Is that a pretty rowdy cam? It looks like it is to me. If it is that will cause the engine to idle in the higher kPa's. As long as it's not trying to die and everything seems in check I'd imagine you're good to go.

I'm on my work computer so I can't check your log or tune. Sorry.

[Jakez989]

Hey shiftin04,
Thank you for the response, I was wondering if this could be considered normal as I do see some thin walled stainless motorcycles report this same behavior.
I know my logs will show I'm hog rich which I'm also wondering if this is part of the issue.
I've read some posts that being super rich will cause part of the burn to happen in the header and also cause this. I'm going to pull some fuel out and see how it goes.
My old iron headers didnt glow but they had a leak which is what prompted the change.
I'm pretty new to tuning overall and honestly dont really know what I'm doing haha.

[Keithmac2]

I was going to mention I've seen this on a few motorcycles with stainless headers.

Nothing was wrong with the bikes, as said above more than likely lack of air cooling due to not moving.

[jamies]

have you confirmed the balancer tdc mark is accurate vs piston tdc?

[Jakez989]

I'm starting to that this is "normal" for this build for sure. I did a bunch of playing around with AFR and timing and absolutely nothing makes a difference.

@Jamies, thats actually a good point, I have not confirmed this. I'll make sure they match but I know before I installed it when I put the harmonic balancer in place it was correct.

Thank all for the responses. I'm going to take it out for a run today and make sure all my temps stay under control. It mostly runs at ~180 at idle which is cooler than it ran stock. I can say I had a bit of spilled coolant under the car and its getting hot enough to create steam from that coolant.