Black Intercooler

[liam1984]

Having watched the mcm youtube vid what are your thoughts?

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[khevolution]

got a link?

[Stephenxtr]

- here's the link, i want to try it, looks like big gains.

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[Stephenxtr]

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[FOCA]

Here you go-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1QL9veQaNg

you could paint the front matt black to improve heat radiation when the car is not moving and leave the back silver so the intercooler does not absorb more heat from the radiator / engine bay

it only makes a difference when the car is not moving if the car is moving it makes no difference (i know there is significant airflow above 40mph)

twin intercooler fans would work even better, along with an intercooler waterspray (latent heat of evaporation and all that)

ive already got a waterspray but i will be painting the front of my intercooler black too

[Hassen]

It looks very promising. My intercooler is already black I think or caked in dust from driving :P

[stevegtuk]

As FOCA says the black may end up absorbing the heat from the radiator. The water spray idea is usually the main suggestion and likely to be the best option. The fans are also a good idea,when stationary or slow speeds, but when driving at higher speeds, the fans may possibly slow the movement of air.

If you paint the I/C there will be a good chance of blocking or slightly blocking the fins, lessening the air flow through.

Even if you did manage to paint it without causing any blockages, the fins would be fractionally thicker due to the layer of paint.

Lastly, putting paint on may act as insulation, keeping the heat in.

Admittedly the paint would be an extremely thin layer, but the gap between the fins is very small so even the slightest difference could affect the cooling process.

[FOCA]

As FOCA says the black may end up absorbing the heat from the radiator. The water spray idea is usually the main suggestion and likely to be the best option. The fans are also a good idea,when stationary or slow speeds, but when driving at higher speeds, the fans may possibly slow the movement of air.

If you paint the I/C there will be a good chance of blocking or slightly blocking the fins, lessening the air flow through.

Even if you did manage to paint it without causing any blockages, the fins would be fractionally thicker due to the layer of paint.

Lastly, putting paint on may act as insulation, keeping the heat in.

Admittedly the paint would be an extremely thin layer, but the gap between the fins is very small so even the slightest difference could affect the cooling process.

About the paint on the intercooler, i used to think it was a waste of time, and it would just insulate the intercooler from the air, reducing its efficency, but if the MCM test is correct, the black paint helps the intercooler radiate heat better when the car is stationary/ at very low speeds

they mentioned it can absorb heat both ways, so i surmised painting the intercooler black might mean the intercooler absorbs heat from the radiator / engine bay - it was my idea to not paint the inside (so that it does mot absorb heat from the radiator/ engine bay) - although having things absorb heat on one side and reflect heat on the other in not a new idea

and painting the outside black should help the heat radiate better -(acording to the MCM tests) you would have to be careful not to block the airways, if the cooling was (significantly) restricted it would have shown up in thier test

Things like amplifier heatsinks are often painted black to help radiate heat - and industrial radiators etc - now you know why

Twin fans could be placed between the intercooler and radiator, this would allow the intercooler to radiate directly, and allow an unintrupted cool airflow onto the intercooler, as well as putting a phisical barrier between the intercooler and radiator helping to insulate the intercooler from the heat off the radiator/ engine bay, even whe the fans are not turning

When the fans are turniing it would help to draw cool air into the intercooler and prevent a reverse- flow - agreed this would only help at low speeds and with the car moving at above 30/40 mph probably no point in the fans being on as the airflow will do the same job - the fans could be automatic, working above a certain temp and below a certain speed (making things more complicated, i know )

the fans would add weight and complexity, but could be used instead of the main radiator fan(s)

the twin fans in-between the intercooler and radiator are not my idea, i saw this on a project/ race car when i was getting my car dyno-ed, but as an engineer i understood the significance of it, and made a mental note

Agreed about the waterspray - very effective way of cooling something - the water adds weight and has a limited supply (can run out) - the water spray could be automated as well as the fans (on the same circut, even)

im already thinking of painting the outside of my intercooler, (its a bigger intercooler than stock and can give the game away to the eagle-eyed and its supposed to be a sleeper, the black paint will make it less noticable

im going to measure up twin fans to potentially order/ fit them and figure out how to get it all wired up