Painted intercooler???

[Robzone0911]

Riddle me this... why would anyone paint an intercooler?? I understand it looks nice, but doesn't it reduce thermal efficiency?? I would think this idea is a comments are welcome.

 

[007jimmy]

http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/newbie-forum/392559-black-intercooler.html

 

[Robzone0911]

http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/newbie-forum/392559-black-intercooler.html

Excellent. Thanks for the link. This is exactly what i was looking for.

 

[obsidian]

I painted mine to help with the sleeper look. I didn't notice any loss and I'm willing to take the hp hit to keep the sleeper look going.

 

[dsmcurse]

Why is every single radiator in the world painted black? Why is every single intercooler on a diesel truck painted black? I think its cause it doesn't matter enough at all to make any kind of real differance. I'd paint a intercooler and wouldn't think twice about it.

 

[boost97gst]

Yet ANOTHER mod i MUST do now. Thanks OP . My 2g would look so much better with the black IC. I hate not being able to hide it. The only thing that gives my car away as a screamer is the IC and the big muffler in back. Oh, and the sound at idle ive been told... hhehehe, i llove pulling up to a POS ricer honda and just listening to that terrible raspy, tinny sound. What dummies. I digress, picking up my wheel black and some flat black tomorrow for the IC.
Thin layer wont hurt performance. I dont buy it. If you caked on 3 layers plus clear coat and did it on both sides well then that may be an issue.
Cool thread

 

[bastarddsm]

You can paint the tanks good, and I'd personally mask off the fins, just paint the tubes good. Then un mask it and give the whole thing a light coat. The heat transfer happens inthe fins. Not on the front of the IC.

 

[dsmcurse]

I can garentee there will be no negative effect to paonting it black. There will be no loss of performance at all. I think a flat black intercooler would be sick.

 

[ArmyGSX]

I agree with DSMCurse and know for a fact that it does not impact intake temps enough to matter.. It does however make a big differance on how that car looks IMO..

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[Phil1320]

Another vote for paint it. I ran my 11.4 on the stock turbo with a black painted EVO fmic........

 

[lookinfor400hp]

I have pulled logs from before and after and I painted mine.
No negative results for me at all.
Everything looks the same for me.
FYI, I used a few light coats of flat black spray paint, duplicolor.

I know I am not running a very large IC, but it works for my needs with this car.

I love the sleeper look

Before,

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After,

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[DSM Jeff]

My brothers old car he had anodized black.

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My winter car, I run fiberglass black screen mesh in front to help with sand and rocks being kicked up and clogging/ruining the fins. Works rather well and helps hide it.

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As for painting, the paint is probably reaching the first set of fins. Its not like you're soaking the cooler in paint. As long as air can pass through, I'm sure its going to cool just fine.

 

[PieEyedPiper]

Why is every single radiator in the world painted black? Why is every single intercooler on a diesel truck painted black? I think its cause it doesn't matter enough at all to make any kind of real differance. I'd paint a intercooler and wouldn't think twice about it.

I can garentee there will be no negative effect to paonting it black. There will be no loss of performance at all. I think a flat black intercooler would be sick.

Thank you. I've seen the data first hand on small-scale tests in controlled environments. The difference is negligible but there's always someone who claims it demolishes the efficiency.
Anodizing is better but a little paint won't make a difference.

 

[warren]

dam i think i might paint mine too

 

[Edogg6565]

After reading this I'm definitely going to paint my intercooler

 

[DSMbabyy]

Yup, just coats the front, but there a ton of finnage that still cools like normal that is untouched by paint. Its not really a noticible thermal differance painted vs unpainted...

Paint it and make it a sleeper!