Painting intercooler? Installing Blitz LM kit.

[Abo Bob]

Hey all,

I've just got myself a Blitz LM Intercooler and it comes with a stencil so you can paint blitz on it.

I think I'd rather use the inverse of the stencil and paint the whole thing black for stealth.

Can anyone see any problems with this?

I was just going to get some cheap arse black spray can. Does it flake off the end tanks after a while or what?

Also if anyone has installed one of these on an r34, did you have to cut your front bar?

Thanks.

[Beer Baron]

Sounds good, except that I'd used some of the high temp paint. Reason being that the inlet tank is prone to get quite hot and as you said regular spray paint may crack and peel over time. This VHT one is pretty good stuff, I've used it on my exhaust front pipe. Here's a pic of the stuff I'm talking about:

It's good sh1t

[AFRO]

i'm thinking of getting the same intercooler kit,,

keep us posted on the install and painting process,,,

Afro

[NJR 34GTT]

i'm thinking of getting the same intercooler kit,,

keep us posted on the install and painting process,,,

Afro

Thinking of getting one too. Keep us informed. Thanks.

[Busky2k]

Yeah actually today I was thinkin of puttin the blitz logo on my intercooler aswell. But if for some reason I want to get rid of it later, im not sure how without damaging the finish..

[xRHETTx]

The Intercooler will probably work better painted black, the author of the 21st centuary performance book found that his r32 gtr lost a few kilowatts when he stripped the paint off.

[Tigger]

^^^

How does that work?

I was just about to comment that the layer of paint may actually reduce the cooling properties of the intercooler by acting as a buffer between the air and the cooler elements...

Can anyone comment?

[B-Man]

Keep in mind the following :

Black absorbs heat

Silver & White Reflect heat

[(B1) MR_fanny]

^^^

How does that work?

I was just about to comment that the layer of paint may actually reduce the cooling properties of the intercooler by acting as a buffer between the air and the cooler elements...

Can anyone comment?

thats what i was thinking also. when i eventually get my front mount i want it black but i dont want to jeopardise cooling performance, well maybe just a little but not too much.

[timbar32]

Keep in mind the following :

Black absorbs heat

Silver & White Reflect heat

I reckon you're thinking of heat in sunlight, where black absorbs heat. In darkness (ie within your front bar, it makes no difference, UNLESS the layer of paint inhibits/restricts the cooling action of the air flowing through it. I may be wrong though, please correct me if so......

[Abo Bob]

Radiators are black...

and so is my intercooler now.

I'm glad I asked the paint people though. They said that the high temp paint would peel off after a while so I got some primer for use with aluminium and then put the high temp paint over that. They actually got the distributor on the phone for me to explain it all.

Anyway my cooler now says Bl!tz in cooler colour with black everything else.

[Beer Baron]

Excellent. I think even if the black does absorb heat that is no bad thing as the inside of the cooler is nearly always going to be hotter than ambient temp so if the black paint does absord heat, wouldn't it be helping draw heat out of the cooler? I dunno, but i don't think it'll cause a problem either way.

Richard

[blind_elk]

There's a trade-off when painting radiators and the like. Generally, the paint is applied for protection. It is usually black, because black radiates heat better. Yes, it also absorbs heat more, but in this case we want to release heat, not trap it.

But - and here's the trade-off - the resins that make up the paint are poor thermal transmitters. So while the black allows the heat to be radiated more efficiently, the paint itself inhibits the flow of heat from the metal surface to the surface of the paint.

[(B1) MR_fanny]

what about stock gtr intercoolers?? or is that just a factory asthetics thing??

[Abo Bob]

Oh well it's a fairly light coat that I've put on there.

[xRHETTx]

Black has a higher absorbtivity and a higher emissivity than all other colours.

This means it absorbs more heat, as well as emitting more, it has nothing to do with being in the sun or whatever.

The black colour will make it emit heat better, just as long as you dont put too much paint on and fill in the gaps in the cooler core.

[blind_elk]

what about stock gtr intercoolers??  or is that just a factory asthetics thing??

It's most likely for the protection a coat of paint gives to the metals of the intercooler.

[AFRO]

got any pics of the painted cooler now?

also how u went about doing it,,

thanks,,

Afro

[Tigger]

Wow, its like being back in science class again hehehe.

Anyway, show us some pics!

[bless_you]

i think the gtr ones are annodised and not painted

...i think though...not sure...