# 88-89 Front ends...Intercooler paradise.



## Converted (May 28, 2003)

I just picked this up to put on my 90 240....holy crap thats a huge intercooler inlet!!! Not only that but the front will completely cover any view of the fmic!! I never knew! (when I got my car it had some cheesy aftermarket bumper).

The paint is crunching off in different places, but the bumper itself is solid, and has no scratches. Time for some bodywork!! 

-Jake

(anyone else ever notice russian junkyards are like warzones?)


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## vsp3c (May 15, 2003)

nice  it's a sleeper!!!!!


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## drift240sxdragqueen (Oct 23, 2002)

buy a black intercooler, even more of a sleeper :asleep:


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## azRPS13 (Jun 7, 2003)

where do they sell black intercoolers?


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## Sil-8zero (Sep 8, 2003)

couldnt you just powdercoat it?


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## Converted (May 28, 2003)

You dont want to clog any of the cooling effect of the fins on the intercooler, so I dont know about painting it in any way.

I know a lot of guys that use a thin pair of pantyhose and stretch them over the front of the intercooler. :banana: 

-Jake


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## BlueBOB (Jan 29, 2003)

Sil-8zero said:


> couldnt you just powdercoat it?


 yes, that would be the best way to do it without taking away any effects of the FMIC, of course, black is a color that doesn't handle heat very well...


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## jonpowell (May 27, 2003)

There is some black aerosol for radiators you could use....powdercoating is a bad idea though.


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## Joel (Jun 11, 2003)

BlueBOB said:


> yes, that would be the best way to do it without taking away any effects of the FMIC, of course, black is a color that doesn't handle heat very well...


It handles heat very well! Its why radiators are black, intercooler --> same practise.
The trend has been to leave them silver because it looks cool. Most factory intercoolers are painted black.
Make sure you use a thin matt radiator paint though so you dont clog the fins up.


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## Nizmodore (May 9, 2003)

Joel said:


> It handles heat very well! Its why radiators are black, intercooler --> same practise.
> The trend has been to leave them silver because it looks cool. Most factory intercoolers are painted black.
> Make sure you use a thin matt radiator paint though so you dont clog the fins up.



The reason they are black is because black radiates heat better than silver....  The only reason people keep them un painted is due to the rice factor me thinks......oh well.....


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## 180SX-X (Sep 21, 2003)

um...black absorbs heat...when u have a big FMIC and its in the sun, u dont want it black...i say just get a mesh screen and cover the bumper holes...no harm done...


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## Kelso (Apr 29, 2003)

yea true.....i mean its an interCOOLER ....if its black it will get hot quicker so i think 180sx's idea of the mesh is the best idea....or just put that intercooler out there where everybody can see it and be like yea....my car actually IS bad, it doesnt just look it :thumbup:


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## 93blackSER (Feb 1, 2003)

180SX-X said:


> um...black absorbs heat...when u have a big FMIC and its in the sun, u dont want it black...i say just get a mesh screen and cover the bumper holes...no harm done...


unless you have your bumper off and you're driving around, an intercooler wont see the sun. it'll be in the shade of your bumper. and black will absorb more heat out of the air charge going through it so the intercooler may get warm but the air will still get colder.


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## Joel (Jun 11, 2003)

Kelso said:


> yea true.....i mean its an interCOOLER ....if its black it will get hot quicker so i think 180sx's idea of the mesh is the best idea....or just put that intercooler out there where everybody can see it and be like yea....my car actually IS bad, it doesnt just look it :thumbup:


Ill spare explaining the laws of thermodynamics except for one. Black surfaces radiate heat faster than light coloured surfaces. If it radiates heat faster, it means it will exchange heat from the air inside it faster, which means it will cool the air from the turbo more efficiently.

A radiator is exactly the same as an intercooler except it cools water instead of air. An oil cooler is the same in principle too. The term for all of them is a heat exchanger - and heat exchangers work better when painted black.


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## 180SX-X (Sep 21, 2003)

Joel said:


> Ill spare explaining the laws of thermodynamics except for one. Black surfaces radiate heat faster than light coloured surfaces. If it radiates heat faster, it means it will exchange heat from the air inside it faster, which means it will cool the air from the turbo more efficiently.
> 
> A radiator is exactly the same as an intercooler except it cools water instead of air. An oil cooler is the same in principle too. The term for all of them is a heat exchanger - and heat exchangers work better when painted black.


oh...I see now. I just learned sumthing new...but, if a intercooler is PAINTED black, then how is the IC going to cool. IC's are made of aluminum, wich radiates heat pretty quick, especially when cooled by air, but if its painted black, cool air wont touch the aluminum, thus wont cool it as fast, if at all. Am i correct on this theory, or is it just me?


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## Joel (Jun 11, 2003)

Painting it black just adds to the efficiency of the cooler. It cant be huge though because 99% of aftermarket coolers are left unpainted.


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