To answer the question of Stainless Steel vs. Aluminum I found a quick table with these thermal conductivity values.
Aluminum 117 Btu/sq ft h F ft
Carbon Steel 26 Btu/sq ft h F ft
From these very basic numbers, it appears that Aluminum will transfer more heat per square foot than carbon steel. This would mean in an intercooler the alumnum pipes would cool down hot air faster than steel( hence all radiators are Al) This also means Al pipes in an engine bay would be more suscpetable to heat soak.
For an exhaust manifold, this means a steel pipe would stay hot longer since it cant disspate its heat as fast. It would also mean, it would take longer for an intercooler pipe to be effected by hot engine compartment temperatures.
All of these is VERY depandant on the alloy of the steel and aluminum. Since I dont know what kind of piping he is using and dont know what kind of aluminum piping CAI are made of, we cant really draw an exact (number) conclusion.
I like your idea of the FMIC, it does look like it could use some cleaning up and reduce the amount of welds needed. That should make it easier to produce and reduce the price. Do you consider this the prototype or is this the final product.
seat of the pants performance is not a way to sell a product!
