Are "worn In" And Old Intercoolers Better Than New Ones?

[Spunky Munky]

Hey fellas,

This begs the question, are old and worn intercoolers better? I noticed that some top-notch street machines, e.g. R33 GTR's out there have thousands of dollars spent on their engine exterior etc, but they're intercoolers are just simply rat-shit looking...by that I mean, they look all black, worn out and ready to cark it - but yet they're still kept on the car. This makes me curious if whether worn intercoolers are actually better for airflow etc - I mean, come on, good intercooler kits cost under $2K, surely if someone's gone out and spent $30K on their car, surely they can afford a new frontmounted intercooler? So there must be more too it?

Any answers??

[lachlanw]

"oh no , my intercooler "looks " worn out i better buy a new one " how stupid does that sound .

arn't you only allowed one intake mod in certain places in australia

who wants a massive shiny intercooler stickin out that screams "look at me "

the gtr ones acctually work quite well

if it aint broke dont fix it

what exactly happens when an intercooler "carks it" does it collapse or blow up or something?

[Basti]

spunky clean out your intercooler, then come back and ask the question

[(OO)SKYLINE(OO)]

Standard R33 GTR intercoolers all came black in colour from factory.

Standard R33 GTR intercoolers are great for over 300 kW's.

"If it's not broken, don't fix it."

[Johnny]

hey bit offtopic but talkin bout old ic im jst wondering if i should have my intercooler cleaned on the inside; degreaser flushed through? reason i ask is cause in my uni labs we use autoclaves to sterilise and we must take into account temp vs time when fats are involved.

[Basti]

hey bit offtopic but talkin bout old ic im jst wondering if i should have my intercooler cleaned on the inside; degreaser flushed through? reason i ask is cause in my uni labs we use autoclaves to sterilise and we must take into account temp vs time when fats are involved.

50/50 kero/metho. fill, shake (block the inlets of course) empty. repeat until it runs out clear. flush with water and let dry. done

[Johnny]

50/50 kero/metho. fill, shake (block the inlets of course) empty. repeat until it runs out clear. flush with water and let dry. done

madz, thanks for the recipe :-P

where can u buy kerosine from; bunnings perhaps?

[bozodos]

lol yes Bunnings or any hardware shop is a good place to start. And does anyone actually bother to clean their intercoolers?

[joeyjoejoejuniorshabadoo]

lol

[Silvia GTR]

I never thought you would have to replace an intercooler unless the fins were all munted....

lol yes Bunnings or any hardware shop is a good place to start. And does anyone actually bother to clean their intercoolers?

[Chrisrotary]

Yeah i wouldn't think it would be worth cleaning out. Oil is a good heat conductor anyway so would think an oily cooler would be such a bad thing(tho not that good). If its a good effeceint cooler there would be many reasons to change it. most coolers look very second hand quite quickly anyway eg filling with bugs stone dents branches pedestrians, whatever. I thought paint or powdercoatings would be more an insulator than anything hence why they usually come unpainted. because the idea is that you are trying get the heat out not keep it in. maybe only a minor insulator i haven't tested it myself.

[DSTROY]

I would recomend cleaning intercoolers every now and then. I took mine out after a track day and found it was coated with oil on the inside due to the factory oil breather system.

[Basti]

Yeah i wouldn't think it would be worth cleaning out. Oil is a good heat conductor anyway so would think an oily cooler would be such a bad thing(tho not that good). If its a good effeceint cooler there would be many reasons to change it. most coolers look very second hand quite quickly anyway eg filling with bugs stone dents branches pedestrians, whatever. I thought paint or powdercoatings would be more an insulator than anything hence why they usually come unpainted. because the idea is that you are trying get the heat out not keep it in. maybe only a minor insulator i haven't tested it myself.

oil insulates. why do you think fat people are warmer?

[hr32gts]

Inter coolers are painted black from factory for thermal efficiency ...

matte Black is able to dissipate heat far better than any unpainted alloy surface

Sounds funny I know but research it

[(OO)SKYLINE(OO)]

^^ From memory the R34 GTR V-Spec II Nur's Front mount intercoolers came in an unpainted alloy surface...

[Johnny]

^^ From memory the R34 GTR V-Spec II Nur's Front mount intercoolers came in an unpainted alloy surface...

was jst looking at mine last night and its not black, sorta a coarse brushed alluminium

[(OO)SKYLINE(OO)]

was jst looking at mine last night and its not black, sorta a coarse brushed alluminium

I see,

So the R34 GTR intercoolers must have came non painted.

[bipolardragon]

In my experience unless you are getting the intercooler very cheap, you would be better off with a new one.

I have had intercoolers where you just dont seem to be getting the air cold enough.

IDK maybe I just like the feel of putting new stuff into my imports.

[mralbino]

Inter coolers are painted black from factory for thermal efficiency ...

matte Black is able to dissipate heat far better than any unpainted alloy surface

Sounds funny I know but research it

My new one is painted with a super thin coat of cheap (that is more solvent than actual paint) high gloss black, do you reckon the thermal efficiency would be negatively affected?

[Beer Baron]

Hey fellas,

This begs the question, are old and worn intercoolers better? I noticed that some top-notch street machines, e.g. R33 GTR's out there have thousands of dollars spent on their engine exterior etc, but they're intercoolers are just simply rat-shit looking...by that I mean, they look all black, worn out and ready to cark it - but yet they're still kept on the car. This makes me curious if whether worn intercoolers are actually better for airflow etc - I mean, come on, good intercooler kits cost under $2K, surely if someone's gone out and spent $30K on their car, surely they can afford a new frontmounted intercooler? So there must be more too it?

Any answers??

no, a worn in intercooler is no better than a new one. and a top shelf intercooler costs a fair whack more than $2K, but having said that $2K will certainly get a damn good one.