"black" intercoolers
TECH Addict
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 2,866
Likes: 4
Did you read any of the other posts before writing yours???
What do you have to back statement up with? Any proof?
What percentage of loss are you suggesting as well?
Reason I ask is because no else seems to think its an issue and some have done testing themselves (if you read the others posts, you would have seen this).
What do you have to back statement up with? Any proof?
What percentage of loss are you suggesting as well?
Reason I ask is because no else seems to think its an issue and some have done testing themselves (if you read the others posts, you would have seen this).
You show me a F1, prototype, or any top flight motorsprot intercooler that is painted black. You wont find ANY. They only reason to do it is aesthetics.
As for low speed heat loss, load of crap as the charge air temps will be lower than the intercooler anyway (as they are in a vacuum).
Why the F dose anyone need to test this STUPID idea? How can ANYTHING transfer heat better going though AN ADDITIONAL medium? it cant! Simple physics not rocket science. Not to mention I'm pretty sure the paints rate of thermal transfer will be worse than the alloys anyway.
You show me a F1, prototype, or any top flight motorsprot intercooler that is painted black. You wont find ANY. They only reason to do it is aesthetics.
As for low speed heat loss, load of crap as the charge air temps will be lower than the intercooler anyway (as they are in a vacuum).
You show me a F1, prototype, or any top flight motorsprot intercooler that is painted black. You wont find ANY. They only reason to do it is aesthetics.
As for low speed heat loss, load of crap as the charge air temps will be lower than the intercooler anyway (as they are in a vacuum).
Hard to argue with the video. On a street car, especially one spraying meth or running on E, this doesn't really matter much and the decision can be made on aesthetics alone.
Wait a minute... black??? You mean.. not 37 hours of grinding, smoothing and polishing to a mirror finish??? Not super shiny? I dont... I cant.. I dont get that. I have to go lie down..
The vid was fascinating I thought.
The vid was fascinating I thought.
TECH Addict
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 2,866
Likes: 4
Also they didn't stress very much that the black inter cooler was worse (by 3%) when painted black in the simulated use!
Unless you are holding the car in boost on the line you will not heat soak the IC enough.
once again if you want more proof go speak to a radiator / inter cooler manufacturer and see what they say. Cant see Honeywell / Garrett paining in inter coolers cores black myself.
I don't think the guy realized that it was worse. I'm sure that number would grow significantly larger had they fed it with 100lb/min of airflow, rather than just the output from a hair dryer. Bottom line...the gains showed were using the intercooler in a manner in which nobody uses them. I certainly didn't buy my intercooler with the anticipation of using it as a black body radiation device...
TECH Addict
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 2,866
Likes: 4
You would polish it and then anodize it anyway! How about a gold intercooler? Lol
I used a coating called "arctic black" from polydyn. They are located minutes from my home and I think it's was around $150.. Apparently they helped develop this coating in junction with NASA to rapidly pull heat out if whatever it is applied to. I don't know if it works any better than the normal polished finish as I havent ran it yet but I didn't want a shiny ricer intercooler sticking out of my grille. I also didn't want a paint chipped intercooler so this was the route I went.
LS1 Tech Stories
The Best V8 Stories One Small Block at Time
6 Common C5 Corvette Failures and What's Involved In Repairing Them
Pouria Savadkouei
Retro Modern Bandit Pontiac Trans AM Comes With Burt Reynolds' Autograph
Verdad Gallardo
Top 10 Greatest Cadillac V Series Performance Models Ever, Ranked
Pouria Savadkouei
Top 10 Most Powerful Chevy Trucks Ever Made!
Hennessey's New Supercharged Silverado ZR2 Has 700 HP
Verdad Gallardo
Coachbuilt N2A Anteros Is an LS2-Powered C6 Corvette In Italian Clothes
Verdad Gallardo
Awesome K5 Blazer Restomod Comes With C7 Corvette Power
Verdad Gallardo
10 Camaros You Should Never Buy
10 LS Engine Myths That Refuse to Die
Verdad Gallardo
TECH Addict
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 2,866
Likes: 4
In the first test the had 4 thermo couplers, 2 in the hot side of the IC and 2 in the cold.
In the second test they had 1 thermo coupler in each end and two on the outside of the IC. They said something about a mean but never confirmed what they actually meant.
So the test changed (moving the thermo couplers) and from the sounds of it how they calculated the results did to! Looks like a pretty bogus test to me! You can prove what you want when you change how you measure the results and what the results show!
In the second test they had 1 thermo coupler in each end and two on the outside of the IC. They said something about a mean but never confirmed what they actually meant.
So the test changed (moving the thermo couplers) and from the sounds of it how they calculated the results did to! Looks like a pretty bogus test to me! You can prove what you want when you change how you measure the results and what the results show!
How thick is an inner cooler? I don't have have education in thermal dynamics but I would assume that if you paint just the front leading surface of the cooler to give it the black apperiance which probably comes to 2%-3% of the full cooling surface wont impact its performance( just as long as you don't gunk up the vents restricting air flow) Which reminds me, need to get off my lazy butt and get the face of my cooler painted!
Last edited by hawk584; Jun 20, 2014 at 08:26 PM.
