stainless steel and aluminum conduct heat 2, and 11 times more rapidly than titanium, respectively. So, unlike titanium, these metals draw heat very quickly...

What am I saying? Get some intercooler pipes made out of titanium...haha

 

Ok so I just got of the phone With Kevin from Nisei and I got the weights for you.
Alum Lower ic pipe 1.50 lbs
Mild Steel lower ic pipe 3.50 lbs
Now for the hole Upper and lower Alum. pipe kit 3.88 lbs

The only other lower ic pipe that would be close is the AMS pipe

 

I run the Nisei Black Pipe kit with an ARC intercooler. I had the Nisei intercooler, but it was a big hunk of crap strapped to the front of my car. Choose any Al lower pipe but take some time on the intercooler. Look for the smallest end tanks that you can find along with cast and rounded end tanks.

 

No offense, Kevin.

 

man that is harsh Kevin makes one of the best IC for the money....

 

if you still have your Nisei let me know

 

I got this from one of the Japanese Magazine. The stock intercooer weighs 4.2 kg = 9.45 lbs and the ARC intercooler weighs 6 kg = 13.5 lbs.

A little off topic but I think it's interesting. The ARC oil cooler is only .1 kg = .225 lbs heavier then the stock and I think it's way bigger.

 

I do. Kevin has it at his shop repairing a leak and polishing it up. I'll let it go for cheap. Yes, he does make top quality products, I have most of his stuff, but the intercooler is too big and too heavy and it felt like I had a big hunk of crap strapped to the front of my car. Too laggy compared to stock.

 

If you are trying to save weight on the car the IC would be the LAST place I would be adding weight. It is about as far forward as you can get and adding weight there on a car with such a poor frt/rr weight distribution is last on my list.

I think the real answer depends on what the car will be used for, if the owner likes to turn I can totally appreciate his quest for a lighter FMIC.

 

It's only a bad thing if the air in the pipe is cooler than the surrounding air. If the air in the pipe is warmer than the air outside the pipe the heat transfer would help. For the LICP, the air inside just came out of the turbo so it's probably quite a bit warmer than the surrounding air so the better conduction should help. FWIW, it's only in there for an extremely short time, so it might not make a huge difference either way.

Also fwiw, if you're looking at losing weight you might want to look into water-air ic. They are denser and heavier but more compact and so can be placed in a more suitable spot for weight distribution.

 

Is the weight of your intercooler piping going to make that much of a difference? LOL!

 

Agreed. However, the weight you can save from one fmic to another is unlikely to be much. If you have a larger turbo and the stock can't cool the intake charge enough, then the adverse effect will outweight the slight ill-effects from having a slightly heavier fmic. Besides, a min radiator can lose you weight at the front also to counteract this.

 

turbo xs!

 

Good point about turbo sizing and required cooling for the IC. Other weight loss places are removing the OEM radiator fan and steel shroud and replacing with a plastic slimline, this is worth about 6-7lbs. Swapping to a tubular exh manifold will also net around 5lbs weight loss too. Then there is the ever popular AC removal, still haven't made a case for this one myself, yet. If the car has HID headlights they can be swapped to the halogen models and there is something like 15-30 lbs right there.

 

Never condone this directly although removing the front crash beam will save you some more weight.

A battery relocation to the trunk or a mini-battery is a very smart way to go.

Lighter brake rotors as saw in a Buschur post can also help unspring weight.

A lightweight crank pulley can help unspring weight also. This is also for more debate as I know how people feel about crank pullies on here; even though there are no proven facts.