white intake myth!?

UnderdogGN · Dec 3, 2007

Hey all, I was watching Horespower TV this weekend and they talked about an old school racer's myth. They said if you paint the underside of you lower intake manifold white, it gives you a little power. I guess the idea is the white paint copes with heat better so you get a cooler intake manifold. Ive never heard of this until i watched the show, have any of you seen/heard this before??
what do you think?

Gearbanger 101 · Dec 3, 2007

White paint in general, I would say no. But there are several ceramic based paints out there (that just happen to be white in colour) that work to insulate your intake from heat. Its effectiveness is still marginal though and it’s debatable as to whether it’s actually worth the effort, or having an ugly white intake manifold under your hood.

ryan218 · Dec 3, 2007

black dissipates heat best.

stykthyn · Dec 3, 2007

ryan218 said:
black dissipates heat best.

Foolish meat human!!!(invader zim voice)
black absorbs heat, white dissipates.
a white ceramic coating as stated before will offer marginal protection, just likw ceramic coating headers. a painted underside to the intake an the lifter valleys fro what I have heard will improve oil flow as it creates a smoother surface that will not allow the oil to stick.

NIKwoaC · Dec 3, 2007

White (not ceramic based) paint would really only reflect heat radiated by a visible light source... since there is not a light bulb in your lifter valley (though I figure a few honda owners have found a way to make that possible ), I'd think its a complete hoax. Also, the bulk of heat transfer that goes on in a motor is by direct conduction or (forced) convection... not radiation. ceramic coatings have a higher thermal resistivity, which means they resist heat transfer better than cast iron or aluminum does, and do a better job of keeping the hot stuff hot and the cold stuff cold.

Wallzy · Dec 3, 2007

It's not going to make a difference, your intake is going to see more heat saturation thru conduction by being bolted to your motor...even if it has an isolator gasket.

Walz

Darkwriter77 · Dec 3, 2007

Black paint doesn't add horsepower, it just adds awesomeness.

niklid05 · Dec 3, 2007

ryan218 said:
black dissipates heat best.

LOL

UnderdogGN · Dec 3, 2007

yeah, i figured it would not be a noticible change at all. They also talked about black paint on the outsides of the valve covers and such. "It will make the engine more efficient" is what Joe (HP TV) said. The theory behind that statement is i guess it keeps the heat where it is supposed to be, and doesnt let the hot air heat up other things in the engine bay.

stykthyn · Dec 3, 2007

theres really nothing else in the engine bay for the heat to hurt

Gearbanger 101 · Dec 3, 2007

stykthyn said:
theres really nothing else in the engine bay for the heat to hurt

I dunno....excessive heat has been known to shorten the life of electrical components pretty drastically. I really noticed a drop in my under hood temperatures with the ceramic coated headers. But my aluminum heads and blower intake throw plenty of heat to make up for it.

LaserSVT · Dec 3, 2007

They did say it was an old racers myth and had no evedience to back it up, Joes sidekick even said that the heat insulation is due more to the coat of paint than the color of the paint. I was more amzed that they showed a 10 rwhp gain on a Stang with just a CAI, never thought those added any power. They even got 6 more rwhp with a set of mufflers, not even cat backs

Gearbanger 101 · Dec 3, 2007

LaserSVT said:
I was more amzed that they showed a 10 rwhp gain on a Stang with just a CAI, never thought those added any power. They even got 6 more rwhp with a set of mufflers, not even cat backs

I don't put a whole lot of stock into those numbers either when they're that small. I've seen that much difference on the dyno with just a good cool down.

LaserSVT · Dec 3, 2007

Gearbanger 101 said:
I don't put a whole lot of stock into those numbers either when they're that small. I've seen that much difference on the dyno with just a good cool down.

Thats why I was impressed with the numbers, the 05 GT with an auto put down 255rwhp stock on their in shop chasis dyno. When all was said in done it was at 271rwhp, so it seems the products actually work. Of course it was a K&N FIPK and they claim like 25+ hp, but 10 aint bad Dont know how hot the car was when they started but 255rwhp on a stock AOD car seems a little on the high side.

bloopbloob · Dec 3, 2007

UnderdogGN said:
yeah, i figured it would not be a noticeable change at all. They also talked about black paint on the outsides of the valve covers and such. "It will make the engine more efficient" is what Joe (HP TV) said. The theory behind that statement is i guess it keeps the heat where it is supposed to be, and doesn't let the hot air heat up other things in the engine bay.

there are NO gains to be had. absolutely none. the actual coating of paint may affect something, slightly, but the color has nothing to do with it. its a ridiculous idea. i don't want to get into a lengthy scientific explanation (ie. rant), but the color of an object affecting its temperature is only from visible wavelength radiation (NOTE: VISIBLE=COLOR). the reason something looks black is because it does not reflect any VISIBLE wavelength radiation, and absorbs it all. hence, it appears black (an absence of color). other colors absorb some wavelengths, and reflect others. hence the color you perceive is the reflected (unabsorbed) visible wavelength. radiant thermal energy doesn't care what color the material it's transferring its energy to is....

Shakerhood · Dec 3, 2007

UnderdogGN said:
yeah, i figured it would not be a noticible change at all. They also talked about black paint on the outsides of the valve covers and such. "It will make the engine more efficient" is what Joe (HP TV) said. The theory behind that statement is i guess it keeps the heat where it is supposed to be, and doesnt let the hot air heat up other things in the engine bay.

You either did not listen completely to what Joe said or you just misunderstood him. He was comparing an Engine that was completely Chrome compared to the Black Engine.

stykthyn · Dec 4, 2007

Gearbanger 101 said:
I dunno....excessive heat has been known to shorten the life of electrical components pretty drastically. I really noticed a drop in my under hood temperatures with the ceramic coated headers. But my aluminum heads and blower intake throw plenty of heat to make up for it.

well my headers have cooked several starters oh well gott pay the price sooner or later.

UnderdogGN · Dec 4, 2007

Oh, i must have missed the whole chrome part. Well i guess if you compare chrome to black it would make a difference becasue of the different coatings, right? Minimal though.

Flavadave4 · Dec 4, 2007

Interesting, but color would only work if the heat was coming from a light source.....as stated above maybe a ceramic paint would help some but its debatable.

Wallzy · Dec 4, 2007

:fairyfight:

:worthlesa

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