i just had a thought and weather its good or bad i wanted to see what you guys think
I was reading a while back that some company back in japan used a copper core radiator because it offered better cooling on there time attack z and im well aware that alot of companies use cooper in there ac units as well as portable ac units like the ones iv seen while in the corps. so my question is when it comes to the piping from the ic to the manifold why not use copper piping? does aircraft aluminum have better cooling and heat dispensing properties than copper? or am i totally in off the ball with this train of thought

 

Copper charge piping would be SICK. I've read that copper dissipates heat a little bit better than aluminum, but even if that weren't the case, I would do it just for the look.

 

hmm I never seen Copper pipe up to 2.25/2.5 inchs..

altho this gives me a good idea on copper spraying the fins on a radator, wonder if that would make any difference...

 

Copper is heavy as fawk (if you are refering to your regular plumbing copper) , compared to aluminium ofcourse.

 

That would be mighty expensive.

 

There's a reason thieves go around stealing copper plumbing, wiring, and AC stuff. It's EXPENSIVE. Low pressure 3" copper tubing sells for about $30 a foot. It's also three+ times as heavy as aluminum.

 

it cant be that heavy of course aluminum weighs nothing but whats an added 5-7 pounds on a charge pipe is you get superior cooling

 

the copper piping would oxidize and look like ****... that's why plumbing pipe is always
wrapped up with insulation.

 

just make sure to keep it polished put a coating on the inside of the tube that would keep it from oxidizing if there such a thing

 

Several pounds mounted high up right over the front wheels can't be good for handling.

The thermal conductivity of aluminum is several times that of steel and about half that of copper.

 

come on through on a mount if its that heavy but but what say like five feet of copper piping can b more than 7-10 pounds heavier than alum plus its spread out over the length of the chargepipe

 

I thought about making a copper-cored intercooler for 300ZX TTs a few years ago. Porsche used to use copper cores for their radiators - it's not new technology. Copper about 2x the heat transfer as aluminum, so it would be much better in that respect. We use it exclusively (aerospace) since cost is no object (generally).

Work the math. Calculate the volume based on the length and assume a wall thickness. Tell us what you get.

 

It will also absorb engine temperatures 2x faster than aluminum. I woudl bet that any gains would be minimal at best.

 

Copper cannot compete. Aluminum for weight. W/M injection for cooling.

 

You're an idiot. Copper pipe is not insulated to protect from oxidation.

Either way copper piping wouldn't be cost effective or practical. You would almost need a hybrid copper material to get the bends correct. Normal Type L and Type K copper would either be too stiff and heavy or too flimsy to hold it's shape through the bending process.

It's a good idea in theory, but not practical.

 

It's heavier and it would corrode super fast and if any water got inside the IC, your engine would be F'ed

FTL

 

Whipple makes something similar already: http://www.whipplesuperchargers.com/...sp?ProdID=1180

 

Yes, but my idea was to coil and braze copper tubing around it and run chilled water through that outer tubing to cool the air charge itself. It all just started to get too expensive to even make the first one.

 

also did anyone think of the fact that a charge pipe isn't built for cooling? it's smooth on the inside so when you push air through it as fast as an FI car would the air woudn't be in contact long enough with the metal to make a difference.

The only way this would make a difference is if it was an intercooler or radiator in which there is sufficient surface area able to exchange the heat. THEN you have the fact that the charge pipe is sitting right above the headers on the car under the hood. What is cooling that charge pipe down to allow it to cool down the air inside of it? NOTHING.

Also, you're forgetting that the air outside of that charge tube will probably be higher temp than inside therefore if there was any exchange of heat (which there won't be due to surface area) then it would absorb the heat from the engine bay and dissipate it to the cooler air inside the charge tube. Negative effect.

Leave the thinking to the engineers that have obviously decided that it's pointless to change the material of a charge pipe.

 

The best option IMO would be a copper only Intercooler to cool the boosted pressure more efficiently then have the rest of the tubes be aluminum or steel and have them insulated to prevent them from soaking in in the engine bay temperatures. May be a new R/D project on the rise...