Quote:
Originally Posted by David
As an engineer you should know that the emissivity of the black intercooler (assuming the paint is thin) is higher than a silver or polished intercooler so the heat transfer through radiation would be higher. Assuming the intercooler is hotter than the surrounding area, the higher emissivity would cause it to cool faster.
And the turbo-lag of a larger intercooler is virtually imperceivable, especially when it's only about twice the size.  |
That's a good point as far as black-body radiation, but the trade-off also would be that is also provides a soak from the engine bay, so it's somewhat a give and take. How "thin" is the paint in regards to the surface area, versus your earlier comments...I don't know if it was heavily researched by the supplier and Porsche working in conjunction for maximum payoff, or simply was just painted black, and that's that. The black paint will absorb like you say, but the duration of how quickly it them dissipates to the surroundings? I seem to remember in Thermodynamics class, the prof stating that there was no better transfer than direct, with no medium/buffer in the way.
My guess is, Porsche painted these as a corrosion barrier for the world market, since aluminum is susceptible to corrosion from elements(natural and man-made)
I think I want to stay stock on the intercooler...it's the one that was designed for this application by the factory. Maybe if the car one day goes to a twin-turbo beast, but I am very happy with it right now.
Thanks for your response.
