Plasti Dip Injen CAI?

[zogster]

I was reading a thread where there was concern about the aluminum tubing becoming hot very quickly and needing some sort of coating to help keep it cool for longer.

I was going to pick up some plasti dip for my wheels, because I think I will plasti dip them at some point, and wondered if it would be a good sort of "insulator" on top of the aluminum tubing?

My concerns with it are whether or not it would actually work, if it would cause any fitment issues, and if the plasti dip is safe at the temperatures that will be seen under the hood. Anyone know the answers to these concerns? I haven't installed the CAI yet so plasti dipping it would not be a big ordeal like if I had to take it off the car first. Of course I don't want a big ordeal if it doesn't work right or melts away in the heat.

[woodstock]

Why would you cover your CAI with plasti dip anyway?

[nyrfan]

Why bother? I also have a feeling the heat would have an impact on it.

[rtcat600man]

Originally Posted by zogster

I was reading a thread where there was concern about the aluminum tubing becoming hot very quickly and needing some sort of coating to help keep it cool for longer.

I was going to pick up some plasti dip for my wheels, because I think I will plasti dip them at some point, and wondered if it would be a good sort of "insulator" on top of the aluminum tubing?

My concerns with it are whether or not it would actually work, if it would cause any fitment issues, and if the plasti dip is safe at the temperatures that will be seen under the hood. Anyone know the answers to these concerns? I haven't installed the CAI yet so plasti dipping it would not be a big ordeal like if I had to take it off the car first. Of course I don't want a big ordeal if it doesn't work right or melts away in the heat.

Just paint it.

[zogster]

Well, my car is black and I've heard the plasti dip matches it pretty well.

My thought was that maybe it would act as a sort of insulator to keep the aluminum tube from getting hot from the air in the engine bay. I don't really care if the tube is aluminum colored or if it is black in color, but if the plasti dip would help it to not absorb the engine heat so quickly, that would be nice.

However, it also might prevent the aluminum tube from cooling down as quickly as aluminum does, I'm not sure.

How hot does that tube get? Plasti dip says it works well from -30 to 200 degrees F. Would the layer of plasti dip cause a fitment issue due to the slight change in diameter of the outside of the tube?

[PoorMansCamaro]

Was there a reason you didn't get the wrinkle black in the first place? it doesn't cost any more...

[zogster]

Originally Posted by PoorMansCamaro

Was there a reason you didn't get the wrinkle black in the first place? it doesn't cost any more...

Got a really good price on a used one. I don't care if it's black or if it's aluminum, the only reason I would plasti dip it is if it would help insulate the tube and if it wouldn't create any problems in terms of the intake still fitting and in terms of the plasti dip deforming/melting in the heat.

[GretchenGotGrowl]

Originally Posted by zogster

Got a really good price on a used one. I don't care if it's black or if it's aluminum, the only reason I would plasti dip it is if it would help insulate the tube and if it wouldn't create any problems in terms of the intake still fitting and in terms of the plasti dip deforming/melting in the heat.

I would think that any insulating properties would be short lived. Plastidip just isn't sold as an heat insulator. Like Catman said, just paint it. If you really want to insulate it from engine-bay heat then use something meant for that. There are companies that sell stuff just for that. When I was NA I just used heating duct insulation. It wasn't pretty, but it worked.

[jagan323]

Originally Posted by GretchenGotGrowl

I would think that any insulating properties would be short lived. Plastidip just isn't sold as an heat insulator. Like Catman said, just paint it. If you really want to insulate it from engine-bay heat then use something meant for that. There are companies that sell stuff just for that. When I was NA I just used heating duct insulation. It wasn't pretty, but it worked.

+1 I think wrapping is the only way to go. If you are rolling in the money, u can try gold wrap. I hear that's the best for heat insulation.

[zogster]

Hate to re-hash this thread, but I picked up a can of it today to try out on a spare wheel (thinking about seeing what my wheels look like with it). The front of it says "Insulates: electrical shock, vibration, heat, deadens sound"

So, any second opinions, or still a no go?

[zogster]

Just found this, some person did this on an aluminum house as a test study: http://purplemartin.org/update/CoolingHouses.pdf

The average temperature of the cavities inside the control house (without Plasti-Dip® coating or misting) was 5 degrees warmer than the outside temperature. When the same compartment was left open, the temperature was 7 degrees warmer than the outside temperature. However, the cavities in the Plasti-Dip® -coated house were only 1-2° F warmer inside than the outside temperature.

So I guess the question is whether the CAI is the same idea or not, and if the engine compartment is too much hotter than the outside of a house.

[OOLIE]

well I don't think many can comment as I don't think it has been done. If you do it and can post some results from measured differences in intake temps then you will get more responses. I have the DEI Tape on mine, hate the way it looks but seems to work. I unfortunately don't have a gauge like ultra gauge to test these things.