does anyone use copper IC piping?
 

is there any cooling benefits with copper over alloy with IC kits? just curious

Positives: looks good before it oxidizes.

Cons: heavy, weaker and alum alloys, enbrittles with heat and vibration..

I would call that a NO

hey cheers for that

not cheap!
would look cool!
clear powder coat it, wount oxidize

copper is heavy

Copper is also very expensive compared to aluminum.

Why not just get your IC and pipes copper plated? I wonder if that would tarnish? Well you could clear powder coat over that i guess. That would be dope on a black car.

A copper coating will cause galvanic corrosion of the aluminum

I believe copper heats up faster and retains heat unlike many other alloys or was it the other way around? Can't remember from chemistry classes in high school lol

Copper transfers heat better. It just needs a colder area to displace it.

probably would be a better idea in theory than in use. Copper is obviously a conductor which means it absords and the temp of its enviroment faster compared to other metals with a higher insulating properties. The problem is engine bays are hot and the copper would kind of simply soak it up. if the IC piping was copper than it would heat the Air charge faster. Coating your engine bay however might not be a bad idea it would pull heat from the engine. I doubt that the amount of heat it would pull from the engine bay would justify its price tag. just my 2 cents:scratch:

You guys need to look at Julian's posts.

The copper WILL become brittle after numerous heat cycles in the engine bay.

Copper CAN handle several heat cycles that is why it is used in boilers and tankless water heaters as the heat exchangers. The copper is exposed to the natural gas flame every time the unit turns on. They only fail over time because water becomes corrosive when you heat it to high temperatures. I am a plumber, I work on that crap all the time...

And I thought plumbers only needed to know that shit runs downhill.







I couldnt resist, I come from a family of carpenters.

That and, hot water is on the left!

no


later

Copper is NOT used on offshore rigs and in ships due to fatigue cracking induced by the high vibrations along with elevated temps; kind'a like a big engine bay.. Very high dollar titanium or copper-nickel alloys in heat exchangers yes, copper piping no way. Copper pipingr is used in drinking water lines and that is it. Fire mains requiring, smooth flow and reliability will use copper-nickel.

So the copper heat exchangers in all the tankless heaters and boilers are really not copper. Thats wierd... cause most of them sure aren't titanium. And I guess the water hammer, water flow in a domestic water system, nor the blower fans on the intake and exhaust of a boiler cause any vibrations.
Why does the National Fire Prevention Association requires ALL medical gases like oxygen and nitrous oxide to be piped in copper? Because the copper tubing protects it from the temperatures it is exposed to in a hospital fire....

ah yes just as I thought :D

But.......... If you airbrushed the statue of liberty's head on the UIM and let that shit oxidize, it would come with so much gangster.
:)

john ny