has anyone done this? it would look alot better (IMO) black, since i painted the cover black.

but if no one has done this, i'm not going to be the guinea pig

i'd prefer it black, but its not a big deal at all.

if anyone has though, please post pics.

 

here's the cover btw

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...i/DSCF2761.jpg

 

If I were to paint my cooler, I'd go with somethong more noticable like red, blue or yellow. The cover looks very nice.

 

thanks.

im going for an all black theme though. slowly blacking everything out (ALL chrome) so i figured id black things out in the engine as well. i want EVERYTHING black. headlights, tails, reverse light, third brake light, fogs, chrome, interior is getting all black too. painted all the little airvent rings black, etc..

 

Once you go black...

 

hahaha

 

You mean painting the coil itself? Not sure that would be to good for heat transfer?

 

thats why im checking if anyones done it.

i dont want to do it unless its been done before on a MINI and with no problems.

 

I found this site a while ago that has different colored intercoolers... http://www.racers.jp/mini . There's a thread on m|u about this http://www.motoringunderground.com/f...631#post295631

 

thanks for the info

 

painted mine black with the caliper spray paint, doesnt seem any warmer after a good spirited drive

 

pics?

 

sorry i totally forgot but ill post pics up in the afternoon

 

not fully painted ...
But this is what I did .

 

I did my OEM (stock) I/C in red. Looked really nice with the stock black cover.

Why not blue to match your car Josh?

 

This was my engine bay in 2004

 

^^ Nice, That red looks very well done.

 

what kind of paint did you use?

 

Instead of painting it has anyone thought of getting their intercooler anodized? MMmmm... anodized red, Toasty!

 

don't forget about side markers, handles, gas cap, and the chrome stripping around the windows

 

i already blacked out the chrome trim around the windows

 

beautiful

 

this is as it sits now

 

anything that comes between the bare metal and the air flowing over/around/through the intercooler is going to decrease the amount of heat the air carries away from the metal fins... including bugs, dirt, oxidation after a period of time, anything, including paint.

whether or not your particular paint job affects it enough to hurt anything is up for grabs. the piece was probably designed with some overcapacity in it (so it still works sufficiently after a few years/bugs/dirt/etc.) so you might not notice any change right away.

strictly speaking though, anything on those metal fins will prevent the intercooler from doing all it could do.

personally, I wouldn't mess with it.

 

im not. ill just leave it alone