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Location:
Gosford
Registered:
March 2003
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What colour for intercooler?
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Tue, 04 November 2003 21:55
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Does anyone know why a lot of intercoolers are just left unpainted but nearly all radiators are painted black. Which colour transfers/removes heat faster? In other words should the intercooler be painted or not?
Does anyone have numbers/data that would show results?
Thanks
Troy
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Location:
c'town, NSW
Registered:
May 2002
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Re: What colour for intercooler?
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Tue, 04 November 2003 22:32
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shiny aluminium = for looks
black = for more efficient heat transfer
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Location:
Brisbane
Registered:
May 2002
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Re: What colour for intercooler?
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Tue, 04 November 2003 22:37
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Quite right - that's why my Supra has a black intercooler. I refuse to put any shiny bits on my car. 
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I supported Toymods
On probation
Location:
Brisbane, Queensland
Registered:
January 2003
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Re: What colour for intercooler?
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Tue, 04 November 2003 22:39
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spray painting any japaneses tuning company will give you an additional 15hp 
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I supported Toymods
Location:
Perth
Registered:
May 2002
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Re: What colour for intercooler?
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Tue, 04 November 2003 23:59
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Black all the way, doesn't draw attention either...unless that is your thing.
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I supported Toymods
Location:
Perth, Western Australia
Registered:
December 2002
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Re: What colour for intercooler?
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Wed, 05 November 2003 00:11
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Yep, I actually have a friend who's a cop, he owns a WRX with a front mount and it's painted black for the lack of attention factor!
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Location:
Wollongong
Registered:
May 2002
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Re: What colour for intercooler?
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Wed, 05 November 2003 00:39
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I always wanted a black intercooler but didn't have the heart to spray a Trust cooler 
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Registered:
March 2003
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Re: What colour for intercooler?
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Wed, 05 November 2003 01:07
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How much percent heat transfer over the bare metal are we talking here. Is it worth buying some cheap black spray paint for my Hybrid?
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Location:
Adelaide, SA
Registered:
May 2002
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Re: What colour for intercooler?
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Wed, 05 November 2003 01:33
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Don't use black spray paint - it'll probably be too thick and will look shit. Get some "radiator black" (low viscosity black enamel)and dip it - or try and find a radiator place that will dip/coat it for you.
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I supported Toymods
Location:
melbourne
Registered:
June 2002
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Re: What colour for intercooler?
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Wed, 05 November 2003 01:50
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i have thought about this a lot, and i have kinda come to a few conclusions. (still would like to do some back to back tests)
black will radiate heat better, but it also absorbs heat better.
anodised (corroded) aluminium is a very good radiator of heat, due to its high surcase area
painting something will increase its thermal resistance (heat has to go through paint as well)
from what some dude was saying, the radiant heat thing is largely irrelevant, as most of the heat from an intercooler will be conducted to the air, or something.
however, if you must paint it, a dark color will be invinitely better than a light color.
i personally wouldn't paint an intercooler
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Location:
Cabramatta, NSW
Registered:
May 2002
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 Re: What colour for intercooler?
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Wed, 05 November 2003 03:14
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I asked this question years and years ago. From what I remember is that black will transfer the heat better, but as long as the coat isn't too thick.
If it's too thick, it will just trap the heat rather than transfer it.
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Registered:
November 2002
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Re: What colour for intercooler?
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Wed, 05 November 2003 03:28
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Thumbs up to what shinybluesteel is saying. Painting will hinder heat transfer as much as it helps. Realy the only option for improving performance would be to anodise the aluminium alloy black. You can do this in your back yard with some nasty chemicals and a car battery and some pure aluminium.
Painting may cause other problems like restricting air flow and the like.
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Location:
Brisbane
Registered:
May 2002
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Re: What colour for intercooler?
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Wed, 05 November 2003 03:32
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| shinybluesteel wrote on Wed, 05 November 2003 11:50 |
black will radiate heat better, but it also absorbs heat better.
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A radiator will only absorb heat when the ambient temperature is higher than the temperature of the radiator; obviously this isn't going to happen during normal operation. Heat always moves downhill!
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Location:
cambo
Registered:
May 2002
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Re: What colour for intercooler?
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Wed, 05 November 2003 05:45
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can i just throw a few theories to you all? no? too bad.
radiators usually are black on older cars, but alot of new cars are just leaving them unpainted as you will notice. i THINK that maybe the reason why they are painted black is to make the front of a stock car look better as it doesnt draw attention to the front air passages. aftermarket intercoolers arent painted and i would say this is cause they prob cool better when they are not. i would say aftermarket companies would have investigated the heat transfer of both painted and unpainted.
also if you look at rally car intercoolers (which are quite often out of view under the bonnet) you will notice they do not have paint. just something to ponder.
and besides, the heat difference is probably minimal anyway, but i chose to leave mine black so it doesnt get noticed.
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Location:
Lost in the K hole
Registered:
May 2002
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Re: What colour for intercooler?
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Wed, 05 November 2003 06:54
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| EVOSTi wrote on Wed, 05 November 2003 16:45 |
aftermarket intercoolers arent painted and i would say this is cause they prob cool better when they are not.
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incorrect - you cannot beat the laws of thermodynamics (although acountants claim to)
| EVOSTi wrote on Wed, 05 November 2003 16:45 |
i would say aftermarket companies would have investigated the heat transfer of both painted and unpainted.
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incorrect - they spend far more time establishing what will sell, than what will work
| EVOSTi wrote on Wed, 05 November 2003 16:45 |
also if you look at rally car intercoolers (which are quite often out of view under the bonnet) you will notice they do not have paint. just something to ponder.
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i think i can only leave this to a rally car engineer to answer, as id imagine there are a 1000's of issues relating to what they run - not all being prformance oriented.
| EVOSTi wrote on Wed, 05 November 2003 16:45 |
and besides, the heat difference is probably minimal anyway
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yes, black is such a cool colour isnt it. i love leaning on a black car that been sitting in the sun...
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Registered:
March 2003
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Re: What colour for intercooler?
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Wed, 05 November 2003 07:34
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G'day,
I had my i/cooler painted black, no one knows you have an intercooler if it is sitting behind your bumper.
But it is true that black has better heat transfer properties.
but shiney coolers look awesome!
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I supported Toymods
Banned User
Location:
Brisbane
Registered:
May 2002
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Re: What colour for intercooler?
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Wed, 05 November 2003 08:30
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ARE had a good article about this on their web page awhile ago! It might still be there
But from memory the reason old radiators were painted was because they were made from a material that corroded! Most new radiators are unpainted because they are alloy!
Also on the ARE web page was comparisons between painted and unpainted.
Might be worth a look!
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Toymods Vice President
Location:
Sydney
Registered:
May 2002
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Location:
cambo
Registered:
May 2002
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Re: What colour for intercooler?
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Thu, 06 November 2003 10:46
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ok so i get shot down in flames... 
with the rally cars, i would say that the main concern would be performance, and if a black cooler was 2% cooler i reckon they would have it black.
what im saying is tho, on a road car would you really notice the difference? and if you put a temp sensor somewhere upstream of the I/C, would there be alot of difference? i dont there would be.
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Location:
Barossa valley SA
Registered:
January 2003
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Re: What colour for intercooler?
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Thu, 06 November 2003 11:01
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as the driver of an unengineered 7mgte MA61 stealth is the most important factor as performance is of little use to a defected car. 
For the small amount of performance difference there may be you might as well make the decision based on cosmetics.
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