Intercooler Piping | Stainless Steel vs Aluminum [TECH TIP]

I had a question come through today regarding the use of Stainless Steel vs aluminium for intercooler piping, to answer this we can take a look at the materials and their characteristics. Most of your off the shelf intercooler kits will be made from Aluminium, aluminium has a high rate of thermal conductivity meaning it will heat up quickly and cool down quickly, it’s light and easy to form as it’s soft and it’s a great material to weld if you have an AC TIG welder.

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Stainless on the other hand is very strong, heavy and difficult to form should you need to alter its shape at any point. It has a lower thermal conductivity rating so it takes longer to heat up and cool down. Stainless steel is ideally welded with a DC TIG and if purged with inert gas will create a nice smooth seam on the inside of the weld join.

Although aluminium is a better choice for intercooler plumbing I am huge fan of using what you have easy access to, I used thin wall stainless steel mandrel bends on my Hilux build because I had them lying around and I was more comfortable welding DC TIG at the time.

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About the author

Taz Quinn-Walshe

Taz is ETS’s resident keyboard monkey.
In his spare time you’ll find Taz creating some noise pollution on his WR450F, drum-kit or loudly snacking.

Comments
  • Jamie Luscombe's profile image
    Great post! Steel is best material for structuring anything .
    for best fabrication work metal and steel both are good bu stainless steel has the great quality to mold and create new design and structure.
    For reference please check : https://atssfabrications.com.au/steel-stairs-melbourne/
    - aroundtownservices Australia
    4 years ago
  • 's profile image
    I was told the steel will create hotter intake temperatures and cause knock. I simply don't believe this but I wanted your opinion.

    In my own opinion I have aluminum intercooler and intercooler piping outside the engine bay and steel inside the engine bay. I ceramic-coated the steel and I will also thermal wrap the steel. My theory was the steel will take so long to heat up that it will actually reduce the intake temperatures over having bear aluminum everywhere. Obviously if you just sit there idling however thermal silk will set in no matter what you have in there. Opinions?
    - Isaabalot USA
    4 years ago