Just saw this video and thought I'd share it. I always heard painting your intercooler black lowers it's ability to radiate heat, but this video proves otherwise.

 

using radiator paint or anodizing, no. Using powdercoat to "paint" the intercooler black will lower the heat exchange efficiency of the fins.

But not from the color itself. You will not make anything better or worse.

 

Do we dare bring up surface area? Larger surface area will always transfer heat faster. Coating can potentially increase surface area....

 

We could. But I don't think that the OP is factoring this into the equation. And we discussed about "coatings". what you and I can get, he may not. remember?

This is a general question, about a general myth. Nothing more to really read into it.

So I'll simplify even more. "Use the wrong stuff, it WILL hurt you big. Use the correct stuff on the correct sized intercooler, it could help you. Just being the color black alone. Does nothing. THAT, is the myth."

Better?

 

I feel slightly better now. lol

 

Interesting video. I totally expected the negligible change using the fan. the no fan test shows the black working so well, but they failed to test correctly. They should have used the same paint, but in different colors. With their explanation for how black works they should have been able to gain various results just by using lighter and darker colors.

All they have done here is proved that one brand of paint does something. Absolutely nothing test related to color.

 

Nore the fact that alot of cars with shallow bumpers like civics will have the IC exposed to the sun and that thing would bake on a hot summer day. And then theres the radiator right behind it which is radiating heat as well.

 

Fact. black absorbs heat
Fact. highly polished surfaces and "shiny" colors reflect heat.

black might work on an intercooler recessed in a bumper but on.a car like a civic where it's shallow it will do nothing but cook. then you have to consider the radiant heat coming off of the road surface.

 

the first one is why i hadnt bothered arguing with kids when they said they were trying to avoid the "bling" of the intercooler showing, and only when it was someone i considered a friend did i try to tell them, theres no two ways about it or any way around it. black absorbs heat, end of story. i dont care what type of paint it is, it does.

i didnt bother with the shiny stuff reflects heat. if they dont understand that the color black itself absorbs heat, im not going to convince them otherwise.

 

I have a black intercooler. I guess it's powder coated or something. Is there any significant gains from a shiny intercooler? I know this is completely contrary to the MCM video you posted, but that seems to be the general consensus by the local HT group.

 

its not a matter of significant gains..



its how it does its job. end of story.

 

Incorrect. You need to reevaluate your radiant and thermodynamics energy theory. Black absorbs light energy. 'Light' being the operative word. The energy isn't being used, but transformed.

You're not going to convince anyone with that attitude. Haha

If you fellas are going to say something, make sure you give the real deal info.

Fact: Black absorbs all of lights wavelengths (energy) and emits a wavelength that is close to the IR range, which is where the heat comes from. That's why it appears black as well. No reflected light, so it appears dark. Just because it's black doesn't mean it absorbs radiant heat faster than something silver or even white. That's only a factor when light is involved. Put them in a dark room or a room with fluorescent lighting and everything is equal.

 

Getting into physics and thermodynamics with this crowd is like trying to convince them why ebay parts suck... it's pointless lol.

I had a Derp and said heat, if I said light then a shitstorm would have followed.

 

If you said light then I wouldn't have commented at all. Just want things to be correct since we are talking out small technicalities.

I've done a bunch of research on this very topic. Interesting stuff indeed.

 

I've been looking for coatings to increase surface area. I currently have 2 pwr intercoolers...

a 24x12x3 core for the civic and a 24x9x3 core for the accord.. I'm probably going to transition over to a more efficient verticle flow bell core on the civic and then keep the big PWR for the s13

I don't think I can find a coating to increase heat transfer as you're ultimately limited by the base metal of the intercooler, typically aluminum.

I do however think there are some efficiency gains to be had by increasing surfa area. it all boils down to the cost, availability, and durability of the coating.

 

Scuffing the polished aluminum will add to surface area.
I wonder if that would have the same effect as the paint in the video - I think it would.

 

Media blasting...??

 

It would be nearly impossible to scuff the interior of the fins. it would take an aerosol liquid based coating to reach every space.

 

Exterior surface area helps too

BUT it doesn't have an equal affect than that of the interior fins.

 

Basically what I get out of this is that a black heat exchanger will release energy easier but will it absorb energy easier as well? If not, why arent performance radiators black?

 

very simple, cost.

sometimes as much as I love you guys.. you fellas just WAY over think things way too much. :-)

 

40 degrees different with the same intercooler just paint black with cheap paint, wow, didnt see that coming

 

I know that but when you look at the surface area of the fins that make up the heat transfer portion of the core there's much more benefit there, since most heat exchange is done by the fins. scuffing the tubes will help but not like the fins will (like you said)

what kind of coatings have you considered for an air to air core? I know you're using an anti-sweat coating on your air to water with good results.

 

Pretty much. anodizing is probably the quickest method but it's not exactly the cheapest. also some places just do a horrible job.

the other issue with anodizing is that the standard coating isn't that tough... when you consider the kind of debris the intercooler gets hit with (rocks, bugs, chunks of rubber, other debris) the anodizing chips very easily.

hard coat anodizing would be the best way but the coating is physically thicker which might negate any gains. although you aren't just limited to black.

I wonder if it would be worth it to experiment with other colors, like no color hard coat, grey, silver, etc.

 

Just out of curiosity are either TheShodan or tepid1 certified in thermal dynamics / thermography? Either a Level 1 or 2 (doubtful level 3 unless a business is owned)?

I am just curious how the testing is done if you use spot radiometers or IR cameras for your findings? Thermal probes are OK but will not provide enough delta T information to be of any true use.