Do the intercooler end caps (I'm talking stock oe tmic here - 02 STI) lose or gain heat from the engine bay ?

The scoop and skirt guide all the air through the fins, so obviously this is where the main air/air heat exchange takes place. However, the end caps sit nicely out of the air flow -

I'm wondering whether there would be any benefit in trying to heat shield them off (e.g. use reflective heat shield material) from the rest of the engine bay, but this depends on whether they absorb heat from the engine bay, or actually lose heat into the bay.....

The material I have in mind is sticky backed aluminium floor/exhaust shielding.

Mark

 

if the engine bay is hotter than the ally end tank then it would take up heat from the engine bay, on the other hand if it was cooler than the end tank it would disopate the heat to the engine bay.