Valve Covers | Which Color do you Prefer?

I dropped off my set of valve covers and upper strut bars to get done in wrinkle red.

Anxiously awaiting to see how it came out 👍

butte2butte wrote

I should have specified, I'm in Tampa (jic you're in Miami)

I’m in between. Where in Tampa did you have it done?

Ccieszyn wrote

butte2butte wrote

I should have specified, I'm in Tampa (jic you're in Miami)

I'm in between. Where in Tampa did you have it done?

AB powdercoating in St Pete.

After having mine powdercoated red a year ago, I don't love it as much as I would have thought.

My vote is stock.

Photo of my engine bay for reference:

Johal E32 wrote

After having mine powdercoated red a year ago, I think it looks tacky/ricer.

My vote is stock.

Photo of my engine bay for reference:

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50767866718_5f86ed145f_b.jpg

I hear what you're saying. But it does look nice. Not tacky. Subtle. Especially with MR paint to blend it in

I’ve got lemans blue m3 and am thinking of going with a red one. Blue was tempting but I’m liking the red contrast.

ATLIEN wrote

I’ve got lemans blue m3 and am thinking of going with a red one. Blue was tempting but I’m liking the red contrast.

How 'bout yellow? Just a suggestion.
.

DrFerry wrote

How 'bout yellow? Just a suggestion.
.

I thought of yellow. I’ll have to think that one through. Could be striking.

NRW VCs in OE gray for engine bay, block 'color uniformity'...
Let'n CF do the talkin'

IMO, the red valve covers look the best and scream 8600 rpm raised redline!

I did the NRW blue, but sadly they look a little too Coyote blue to me. At least they aren't leaking any more.

ATLIEN wrote

I’ve got lemans blue m3 and am thinking of going with a red one. Blue was tempting but I’m liking the red contrast.

I have Lemans blue as well…went with blue NRW and like the results.

zstone wrote

I have Lemans blue as well…went with lue NRW and like the results.

That looks nice!

smokinjoe64 wrote

NRW VCs in OE gray for engine bay, block 'color uniformity'...
Let'n CF do the talkin'

Man that looks good. What’s your intake setup?

ATLIEN wrote

Man that looks good. What’s your intake setup?

Intake assy by Infinity Design out of UK

smokinjoe64 wrote

Intake assy by Infinity Design out of UK

Wow. Thanks for the link. I might have to put that on my wish list. Any seat of the pants performance increases?

ATLIEN wrote

Wow. Thanks for the link. I might have to put that on my wish list. Any seat of the pants performance increases?

Depends...

> Going from OE intake yup, no doubt that plus sweet induction 'noise' that cannot be had from stock airbox with just cosmetic CF covers like virtually all AM versions.
> Replacing AM intake elbows [ie Dinan, MS, aFe etc] performance difference likely not as much/discernible by 'seat-of-pants' measure.

Pairing ID CF intake + CF plenum absolutly 'sings' with even stronger induction growling...for my set-up balances aggressive Supersprint system under load/WOT.

Some good reference Posts on ID intake.

Everyone’s been sharing the colors they went with on their valve covers…
For me, this was an easy choice. Gold hard anodize on billet valve covers.

I’ve done powder coated valve covers before too. They look good… but side by side, anodizing wins every time.

A big reason for that is these are billet, not cast. That makes a huge difference visually. With billet, you actually get to see and enjoy the machining lines through the finish. Cast covers always look a bit dull to me the color stands out more than the part itself.

Anodizing really brings that out. It lets the billet machining lines show through, giving it that raw, high-end finish you just don’t get with powder coat. That detail alone makes it pop on a completely different level.

Abdul wrote

Everyone’s been sharing the colors they went with on their valve covers…
For me, this was an easy choice. Gold hard anodize on billet valve covers...

...gold makes quite a statement

Red

It’s not always just about the color. It’s about how that color is applied. Powder coat vs. hard anodize is something I get asked all the time. Figured I’d share a side-by-side to show exactly why I always recommend anodizing over powder coat.

This cast cover was only on the car for a few thousand miles and you can already see the scuffing and wear.

That’s the reality of powder coat. It’s a surface layer, and once it goes through heat cycles, debris, and normal engine bay conditions, it starts to break down.

Hard anodizing is completely different.

It’s not something sitting on top. It’s an electrochemical conversion of the aluminum itself, which makes the surface significantly harder, more durable, and much more resistant to wear, heat, and chemicals.

A friend of mine just swapped out his cast covers for our EPM Billet Valve Covers after seeing how his held up. He actually bought the car with those covers already on, so thankfully he didn’t have to pay twice to learn the lesson. Made the right decision.

NRW blue FTW!