I want my intercooler to be black for steath purposes. Any suggestions.....

 

My suggestion is don't do it. Black absorbs heat and is a step backwards from the original purpose of the intercooler. Put some grill mesh in front of it and paint the grill mesh black.

 

i agree

 

I don't think it being black would have any noticeable effect on the cooling (it won't be in the sunlight much at all) but, having it painted might not let it cool as well, though if you coated the backside of the intercooler and endtanks you might be slightly better off, since it wouldn't absorb any heat from the engine/radiator.

 

I know this post is old........but, Doesn't someone make a radiator paint you could spray your intercooler with? I want that stealth/sleeper look (with the black intercooler) and I would think if you used something like that it would not affect the cooling of the air. What do you guys think? Thanks, Evan

 

i dont think painting it black would affect the cooling. i mean why would stock ic's come black from the factory i.e. skyline gtr

 

Painting the intercooler will not hurt any cooling. All an intercooler is is a big heat sink. The air will still flow through it and the metal will still let out the heat. I even read it in the Spearco manual I have......Mike

 

You could send it to Swain to have it coated with this black stuff that actually helps with heat dissipation. It costs around $150.

 

there was a topic on this before, i cant find the thread though. the guy ended up painting his ic black, it turned out looking really good. every mod has its pro's and con's, in the end its really all about preference. to each his own.

 

get it anodized black.

 

dont they have heat resistant paint?

 

or paint it black and get nitrous express...

 

If I'm not mistaken, powdercoating is a bit different from paint, the main difference being that it's thicker. I do believe this will act as a heat blanket and keep some of the heat in. However, anodization is a great option since all IC's are aluminum.

Anodization is a process in which the outer layer (very thin, around .003" I think) of an alumium surface is oxidized into Aluminum Oxide (go figure). In this process, dyes can be added to the aluminum to give it a colorful, yet still metallic sheen. Aluminum "billet" shift ***** which are blue and red are a result of anodization.

 

Also, take note that most heatsinks are annodized black. This is another indication that this is a good idea.