[Aussie Mike]

As far as the heat goes... With the pipes ceramic coated the surface temp is a lot cooler plus they cool down a lot faster. The danger window from turning the car off to the pipes being cool enough they won't burn isn't too long.

As Dave says, the type of material used for packing the baffles will also have a direct impact on the surface temp of the pipe. Gav has found some great fiberglass matting used for lagging pipes that works a treat.

Stainless or chrome plated pipes are another story. Stainless steel as a material inherently retains heat. That's one of the reasons it's popular for cookware. You also notice this when welding it as it takes a lot less current to weld as the heat stays around the weld area rather than being conducted away. It must be something to do with the chromium content in the metal.

It would be interesting to do a side by side comparison between a set of stainless side pipes and a set of ceramic coated steel pipes. Bring bith engines up to temp and let them run for 20 minutes or so then shut them off. Measure the surface temps of both types of pipe and graph them over time.

Cheers