Painting an FMIC

Hey guys, I have a quick question about painting an FMIC. As some of you probably know, I am going for the "stock appearing" thing in my Talon and because of this (stock appearing = 16g or 18g turbo so it wont need a whole shit ton of cooling power, plus supra SMIC setups are cheap) I wanted to stay SMIC. Well, I already have a FMIC core so fabbing pipes for the FMIC wouldnt be much different than fabbing up pipes for the SMIC. The FMIC core isnt huge and I am pretty sure its just an eBay core, but remember the big 16g on E85 isnt exactly going to need a nuts ton of cooling power. So my question is, if I want to keep it covert will painting the core take a huge cut out of my cooling power? Obviously I wouldnt put it on thick, it would just be a thin coat of probably flat or matte black just so that it wont stick out when you are looking at it, and hopefully people that dont know what they are looking at will just think its the radiator. I do realize that it'll most likely have a negative effect, but I just am unsure as to whether it'll be a big effect or a basically negligible effect. I'm less and less concerned with being super hardcore about the stock appearing, but I'd still like to be unassuming. Also, if this core doesnt hold air (I'm going to test it over spring break) I most likely will just go supra SMIC. Thoughts?

Dont do it, there was a big thread about this on tuners. The paint f*cks with the heat transfer and actually somewhat insulates the core. If you want to change colors then your suppose to anadize it.

Then again you could do it anyways and compare data to see if intake temps are even effected.

I saw some "anodizing spray paint" once, does that really work or is it just a anodized look?

If its going to mess with temps then fuck it, I'll just be more obvious what I've got. I do like your idea about testing it though... the thermodynamics part of me wants to put a temp sensor after the filter, after the J pipe, before and after the IC, and in the middle of one of the intake mani runners and then REALLY find out the difference between the stock SMIC, eBay FMIC and name brand FMIC. I dont have the extra money to care, but I wish someone did.:)

The anodized spray paint just gives you the look. Where does your car measure the temp of the air at? Is it at the maf or on the manifold? You could always test the painting with the stock SMIC and just use a logger to see the intake temps. But this only would work if your sensor is after the IC.

:1: i wouldnt, especially black, that will get really hot in the sun... just put a dark mesh infront of the IC if you really wanna hide it. i have mesh infront of mine, and its hard to see if you dont know what your looking for...

http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x104/DSMtuner646/freshwashandwax001.jpg

their may be better pics on my really outdated cardomain... check the sig

Dude you love showing that pic don't you.

For the temp can't you just use like thermomitors? Like to take your temp? Probably not the best way, but should be able to rig something up like that.

Dude you love showing that pic don't you.

For the temp can't you just use like thermomitors? Like to take your temp? Probably not the best way, but should be able to rig something up like that.
And I really like masterbating to it. :)

I suppose you could Dave, but the IC isnt going to do anything unless there is air moving over it and I sure as hell do not want to have to read the thermometers while someone else is driving.

And I really like masterbating to it. :)

I suppose you could Dave, but the IC isnt going to do anything unless there is air moving over it and I sure as hell do not want to have to read the thermometers while someone else is driving.

You do it to that pic because 1Gs don't get you off.


But I was thinking,... wiring the LCDs to someplace where you can see. All you need is the sensor in the piping, so tear it apart, run the 2 wires to the sensor in the piping, and keep the rest of the unit in the car or where ever. Sure no recording, but keep a video camera on it if you're doing a pull.

Nah, fuck that... my purple 1g is my #1 but sometimes I have to go with a black 2g, silver evo, or Brian's mom to realize how lucky I am to have the Purple People Eater.

Nah, fuck that... my purple 1g is my #1 but sometimes I have to go with a black 2g, silver evo, or Brian's mom to realize how lucky I am to have the Purple People Eater.

Damn you do it to Brians mom too? That's like Dejavu

I seriously doubt that a little bit of spray paint on the FMIC will make any noticeable difference in cooling efficiency, but thats just my mentality.

BTW: Ive never used any type of thermometer or whatever to check the efficiency of my FMIC, but ive drove the car, then shut it off and grabbed the IC piping before and after the FMIC, and there is a huge difference in temperature.

I have done that to. The hot side will almost burn your hand sometimes and the cold side would still be chilled.

I think, and of course Thor I am a little on the weird side of things, that the e85 and sidemount should be able to handle your cooling needs. A friend of mine ran 13 flat with a small 16g and larger sidemount with regular 93 octane. I doubt you couldn't do better.

for the record i will be painting my fmic and using a grill to protect it. What I've researched is a painted ic does not affect efficiency by more that 1-2% which is more than acceptable.

Yeah I definately plan on going SMIC if the FMIC is popped.

I think Sleeper is on the righter side on this one. The paint would insulate it to a point, but the vast majority of cooling is going to happen between the front and back of the IC, not much will happen on just the face I dont think so a thin coat of paint shouldnt hinder too much. I guess the other thing I'd have to worry about though, is clogging the fins with the paint. I'll pull the core out in a couple weeks when I am home and pressure test it... if it holds pressure or its just a small JB Weld-able hole I'll use it, otherwise a supra SMIC will be in order. Either way hard pipes will be fabbed up this summer.

Where I work we build custom made ultrasonic cleaning machines for medical companies but we are building one right now that anodizes titanium. Now I was talking with my project manager and i asked what it takes to do aluminum. He wasn't sure off hand but he said the bath that the parts are immersed in is what you would change with different metals. I was thinking after I read this thread that if our lab has a tank big enough, it wouldn't be too much of a problem to try it out but I wouldn't do my FMIC. Maybe a radiator or something.

Let me know if anyone wants me to pursue this. I don't want it done to anything of mine but would be pretty cool to try.

I wouldn't yank mine, I believe Powdercoating was the best way to paint the FMIC to cause the least heat transfer. Just for competitions sake:


http://i259.photobucket.com/albums/hh311/90GGSX/SDXCVCV.jpg


For some reason, I think that is a dead giveaway on "hey i'm turbo, come get some!"

I'm thinking flat black on the IC lightly done just enough to take away the "teeth"

The tow truck guy thought mine was just the radiator. And that's what most people think.

coughdontuseanyintercoolerandjustusemethcough

coughdontuseanyintercoolerandjustusemethcough
LMAO... i HAVE an intercooler, and i'm still looking into meth... :smokin: then ...26psi on the 16g and pump gas...:evillol:

if he's going to run e85 though, there wouldnt' be any point to putting meth on it. If he plans on sticking with gas, it would be stinking awesome. METH is in the works on my end. Just have to find time and money. Maybe 30psi on the holset hx40......

Just thought i'd throw it out there, i was looking into doing it and figured a normal paint might not do it for me, lots of guys are using high temp engine paint, still not 100%, then a friend said RADIATOR PAINT!!! brilliant.

http://eastwood.resultspage.com/search?p=Q&ts=custom&w=radiator+paint

Like found there, I don't kno of any other companies that make it, but this is the first one i was pointed to by a few people. Doesn't stick to the fins as much and i'm thinking of leaving some paper on part of it so that you see a faint VR4 on the IC.

Just a thought for those trying to avoid getting attention.

Good call my man!

Thor!!!!!!!!

Thought: cover up the outside visible edges of the fmic jaggedly with paper when applying the paint giving the intercooler "teeth" similar to what you might see on the front of some WWII fighter planes and the a10 warthog. What do you think??

Didn't mean to hijack just thought this could prove interesting as far as input on the subject goes.

That seems very ricer IMO. And ugly.

That seems very ricer IMO. And ugly.

Says the guy driving a 2dr neon??? Jp.

Seriously. It is a galant, how ugly could it possibly get?? Besides it is dark green and has squared edges like an a10. That's most of the reason my brain started moving in that direction.

Says the guy driving a 2dr neon??? Jp.

Seriously. It is a galant, how ugly could it possibly get?? Besides it is dark green and has squared edges like an a10. That's most of the reason my brain started moving in that direction.

Hey my "2dr neon" kills, so it's an exception to that. lol. :lol:

Ha ha, I think its a cool idea but a bit ricey like Dave said.

I decided to drop the FMIC idea and stick with the supra SMIC. I did it for a couple reasons, the first being I REALLY dont want to have to rip my car that far apart just to put the damn intercooler in. Second, the supra SMIC is a lot bigger than I thought it was. Stock dimensions are 7.25" wide 8.125" tall, 2.75" thick while the Supra SMIC is 10.5" wide, 9.25" tall and 5" thick. I saw a dyno sheet of a guy that went from a stock SMIC to a supra and he picked up 12 hp on his 14b, hopefully I can get a bit more than that on a higher boost 16g. Lets see if the pics work....

http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/attachments/articles-turbo-system-intercooler/66093d1153754483-supra-smic-install-guide-long-version-photo3010.jpg

http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/attachments/articles-turbo-system-intercooler/66092d1153754483-supra-smic-install-guide-long-version-photo3007.jpg

http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/attachments/articles-turbo-system-intercooler/66094d1153754690-supra-smic-install-guide-long-version-photo3011.jpg

nice i never saw one before... that supra sidemount IIRC will still get heatsoak from the 16g... someone please correct me if i'm wrong, but i think that the best bet would be for the FMIC... and just paint it.. :2cents:

I think the TD05H turbo's are pretty much the breaking point of the Supra SMIC, I've never heard of anyone running bigger than an 18g on one. Remember though, E85 cares a lot less about temp than pump does :).

yeah e85 should eliminate heatsoak altogether with a td05. It might be the only good thing about all this "live green" nonsense. its almost a racefuel at the pump.

I think the TD05H turbo's are pretty much the breaking point of the Supra SMIC, I've never heard of anyone running bigger than an 18g on one. Remember though, E85 cares a lot less about temp than pump does :).
i thought you changed your mind on the E85... thats what i got from your thread about E85... as stated in that thread, i would be interested in hearing how it works out for ya!

I see a 2g in thors pics. I think he secretly loves the 2gs and has one but doesn't tell us.

:rolleyes: Yep, thats me, because I cant read a writeup on a Supra SMIC that happens to have a 2g in it.

I am still going with E85, just I'll have link to account for the bigger injectors.