so instead of buying one of those $200 intake manifold thermo spacers my friend says that painting the under side of the manifold white will do pretty much the same thing... i am personaly going to buy the thermo spacer anyways, just wonderin if anyones heard of this working.

 

I think your friend drank too many ....

 

buy it anyway, the thermo spacer is not the same as paint. Your friend should know that drinking will lead to ideas like that

 

I've heard of a lot of "tricks"...painting parts of your engine white to keep heat out, paint other parts black to disperse heat better, etc. For our car, I suppose every little bit helps, but I'm sure you won't notice any difference.

 

the only time color matters is when its exposed to direct sunlight. black will absorb more solar energy, white will absorb less. unless you're driving with your hood up, i dont think changing the color will do anything beyond adding another negligible layer of insulation. however, there are certain types of coating that do help change the thermal characteristics of certain materials, but its not just paint. and they are typically pretty pricey and very fragile (think ceramic coating)

 

Paint won't do anything. Heat is being absorbed from the head, so you need to seperate the IM from the head, which is what phenolic spacers do.

 

see thats what i told him too but "apparantly" white paint will bounce the heat off of the IM. stupid UTI graduates think they know everything haha