brass intercooler pipe?

[arsenicpants]

has anyone ever seen brass being used for intercooler piping? anyone have any experience with brass piping at all?
how efficient would it be? is there some kind specific copper/zinc mixture of brass that would be better for heat retention?

I was just thinking polished brass piping would look completely bad ass with black engine trim and copper nuts & bolts, and I'm thinking very seriously about taking the plunge

any comments?

[truckinwagen]

I thought about using copper, would look awesome polished, transfers heat really well(as does brass) and would hold the pressure fine, but getting it in a large enough diameter to be usable was going to cost a fortune.

if you can get it cheap enough to afford it it would be very cool!

[zukgod1]

I don't see why you couldn't use it but not to sure why you would.

Brass will retain the heat from the engine compartment and hold it longer than aluminum would.

It would look sweet but still....

[arsenicpants]

if you can get it cheap enough to afford it it would be very cool!

that's my biggest concern
i've done some looking around online, haven't called anyone yet (i'm at work, HA!), but i've found a an online wholesaler selling it for roughly $130 a foot

i can't see how that could be true everywhere though, that seems outrageous

[RabbitJockey]

i heard copper lets off a poisonous gas when it gets hot.  but i dunno sounds like bull *** to me.

[theman53]

you could buy aluminum cheaper and have it plated. Just an idea. Probably would do better with the heat and be cheaper.

[GEE-BEE]

Go with carbon fiber , lighter, stronger

I have Dymag wheels 19 x 12 & 19 x 9.5 on my P car

Cf is the best next to Forged magnesium

GB

[hamradio]

I really don't think heat dissipation in intercooler piping makes that much of a difference.  Really, how much effect is a bunch of hot aluminum, copper, brass, etc piping going to have in a hot engine bay? 

I'm planning on using plain old mild steel pipe and painting or powercoating it for my intercooler setup.

[truckinwagen]

I ended up using aluminized pipe(like exhaust tubing) so that the inside where I could not effectively paint would be protected from corrosion.
I am not interested in rust getting into my motor.

[hamradio]

I doubt rust would even be an issue on intercooler piping, seeing as everything is coated in a film of oil anyhow.

[mystery3]

Brass is terribly expensive these days, I was going to use a couple 1" diameter 30" long brass nipples in an irrigation project until I found out the were $80 each. I used 1" type K copper.

Also brass is heavy. I'm planning on using aluminum parts from various junkyard cars to keep costs reasonable.

[fatmobile]

I like the idea.
 I'll check the local scrap yard's brass pile.
 I've seen some brass plumbing pipe lately, not sure it's fat enough.

[410]

I found some stainless steel pipes that were used for a waterpump on an industrial dishwasher.  I ended up with about 4 feet of straight pipe 2.25" dia and two beautiful 90' mandrel bends.  Gave them a quick sand with 400 grit and finished with a metal polish and they looked like new.  Got them for a song. 

Brass pipes would look really sweet though.  I think the key is finding pipes with a fairly thin wall and I haven't come across large dia. brass pipe.  The recyclers are pretty quick at scooping up anything that's brass or copper colored these days.

[theman53]

I am telling you if it is the look you want just get them plated. We send screws and bolts out all the time to platers so that people get what they want in colors they want. You could buy anything alum, steel, stainless, and have it plated brass no problem. It would probably be cheaper than buying the real deal and look just as nice.