Why not? heat transfer?

 

It was explained to me that powder coating reduces the cooling effect the incooler provides. It "seals" it vs allowing air to flow through the fins.

 

I know several people that have powder coated intercoolers and none have any issues that i know of and or recall from the actual coating itself...

side note: the actual paint or coating used might be different so technically it might not be powder coating but appears similar with a flat black finish..

 

why cant i be serious??? i really like that setup. i think its a great design. maybe if i wanna look are super bling with a one huge single core hangin out up front then the JWT cooler isnt for me, but currently i do have the super bling giant single core and i dont care for it. ive done the "hey, i lets show off my intercooler" thing back when i had my prelude, now, i wanna be stealthy

 

I though powder coating was the only route also. However I did more research and found out about SwainTech. Their BBE coating was recommend by several F/I owners I know and JWT themself.

 

That design isn't fully efficient with the Z's front... it becomes better with the stock G35 front as it has openings on the side. The cores are off to each side of the bumper. the Z's opening of the bumper hits the area the two cores meet at, not the cores themselves. Also that design results in excessive bends and couplers in the piping to and from it. Then, take a look at Robby's replacement (PVC) washer reservoir, with reduced capacity hanging off to the side.

Maybe it is just my humble opinion, but I think there are better designs in terms of look and functionality

Edit:
if you have a stock front with the oem grill still intact, there really isn't that bling factor to be had. Any core will be fairly hidden behind a fully stock bumper. If you cut the grill section out, no IC will look very stealth

 

Just a few pics for reference. Posted pics I had at my disposal.
Greddy FMIC with front grille opening cut out. Of course you will see the HUGE polished FMIC on a setup like this. Any IC will be highly visible with the grille section removed:




G35c with APS kit, front bumper is a greddy/trust with a HUGE opening that seems to be designed for the greddy FMIC. The impact beam is intact with the APS FMIC, but painted black to blend better. There is a plastic mesh covering the opening. See how much simple mesh hides things




APS ST kit with completely stock Z bumper. the oem bumper does a decent job of hiding what's behind it

 

Thanks for the pics.. The G and the bottom Z look the best..

 

Yes, regular powder coat will kill the thermal efficiency of the intercooler, but that's the wrong type of coating to use.

There are coaters out there that offer Thermal Displacement Coating, which is a powder coat that actually increases heat transfer. Call around and find someone that does TDC coating if you want to do it right. That BBE stuff that was linked above looks to be a branded type of TDC.

There are also some cheap off the shelf radiator paint cans that don't kill heat transfer. You could spray your intercooler with these but you'll have to be real careful because rocks will easily chip it off.

There are also companies around the web that do some nice black powdercoated mesh material that can be fitted to the bumper as seen above in a pic.




Also, since this thread was derailed OT on the JWT intercooler... I think it's the ugliest intercooler offered with a Z turbo kit.

 

Called the JWT ugly all you want. 1) It works for me 2) Its not seen on my car. 3) I think the Greddy FMIC is uglier than the JWT.

I didn't want my car to look like;

 

^ hahaha, that how i feel when i drive down the road with my huge "look at my bling" cooler

 

So insecure...

...but whatever floats your boat.

 

Its not being insecure. Its I don't want unneeded attention. I wanted a somewhat sleeper look. To each their own.

 

im tempted to buy a premier membership just so i can use that grill .gif file as my avatar, lol

 

unless you have an open front bumper, no IC looks like that .... heck, you say no bling for an IC, but yet polish your manifold???

If your IC is drawing too much attention, hide it behind a mesh grille, or better yet, just an oem bumper with the grille section

 

Honestly, if you have not cut your grille on the stock bumper the IC does not show all that much. I have a HUGE intercooler on my stock bumper for right now similar to the APS Extreme core and you can't even tell it's there

 

I got the V1 bumper, the center and mesh is painted black so some people barely see my APS intercooler.

 

And my manifold is underneath the hood. Also any intercooler can still be seen behind the OEM bumper/grille and/or aftermarket grille. Just not waht I wanted and I'm happy with MY end results.

Don't know why so many people get so hung up on what other people do.

 

my intercooler's painted black, but the paint is flaking off.. it looks ugly.. i got chicken wires that are painted black as well.

 

True, any intercooler can be seen behind the stock bumper, but it will be very subtle.... so subtle that it won't attract unwanted attention. It won't look anymore conspicuous than a stock radiator. Which can also be seen on a stock car through the bumper grille.