View Poll Results: Do you coat these parts
Thermal coating on turbo housing
4
50.00%
Thermal coating on exhaust manifold
6
75.00%
Thermal coating on downpipe/midpipe
5
62.50%
Thermal coating on piston tops
2
25.00%
Thermal coating on combustion chamber/valve faces
0
0%
Thermal coating on exhaust port
0
0%
Friction coating on piston skirts
2
25.00%
Friction coating on valve stems
0
0%
Oil shedding on crank, rods, cylinder block
0
0%
Heat emitting on radiator, oil coolers, intercooler
1
12.50%
Multiple Choice Poll. Voters: 8. You may not vote on this poll
Do you use coatings in your engine?
Thread Starter
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 1,953
Likes: 51
Do you use coatings in your engine?
Lots of engine parts can be coated. This is from a post on a Supra forum:
There are many coating options. For a car with forced induction, there is obviously an advantage to coating the turbine housing and exhaust manifold; it is offered with nearly every turbo kit. Coating the downpipe can also keep heat out of the engine compartment. Coated bearings and piston skirts are often done to reduce friction. Thermal coatings keep heat out of the pistons and cylinder head both putting both more energy in the combustion and less in the coolant. Coated intake ports can reduce heat transfer to incoming air. Coatings can also be applied to engine blocks, and piston undersides to assist in oil return. There are coatings that improve heat transfer that can be applied to intercoolers, radiators, oil coolers, and brake calipers.
There are many companies that do this. This is Swaintech's descriptions of their coatings: Race Coating Descriptions | Swain Tech Coatings | Industrial Coatings | High Performance Racing Coatings. This is Techline, which supplies coating firms: https://techlinecoatings.com/tech-li...gine-coatings/. This is Polydyn's descriptions: http://www.polydyn.com/
Mahle pistons ship from the factory with a thermal top coating and a friction skirt coating.
Do you use coatings?
I had [Swaintech] white lightning coating put on for my downpipe, manifold and heat shields, and TBC put on the combustion chamber, exhaust ports and valves. The white lightning stuff is ridiculous, underhood temps are down a lot and I'm no longer worried about burning myself on anything in the engine bay. After a few hours of driving, I can touch the downpipe for a second or two and not come close to burning myself.
I love my ceramics in my car... Back in 1998, when I built my engine, that I am currently running today... I coated the top of my pistons, bottom of my valves, exhaust header and turbo housing, Intake runners and upper, valve covers and etc. All Black or Polished, to dissipate as much heat as possible.
Another thing I did while at the coater, I had them moly coat the side (skirts) of the pistons and valve stems... My car runs between 50-60F degrees cooler than most other MKiv cars with similar setups (750whp)... I also have over 45k miles on motor. No oil burn or compression loss.
I have always been a supporter of Coatings especially Ceramic and Moly.
Another thing I did while at the coater, I had them moly coat the side (skirts) of the pistons and valve stems... My car runs between 50-60F degrees cooler than most other MKiv cars with similar setups (750whp)... I also have over 45k miles on motor. No oil burn or compression loss.
I have always been a supporter of Coatings especially Ceramic and Moly.
There are many companies that do this. This is Swaintech's descriptions of their coatings: Race Coating Descriptions | Swain Tech Coatings | Industrial Coatings | High Performance Racing Coatings. This is Techline, which supplies coating firms: https://techlinecoatings.com/tech-li...gine-coatings/. This is Polydyn's descriptions: http://www.polydyn.com/
Mahle pistons ship from the factory with a thermal top coating and a friction skirt coating.
Do you use coatings?
Joined: Aug 2016
Posts: 1,154
Likes: 183
From: US129 Maryville, TN
Ceramic coating never goes away unless your physically damage the part.
There are different types on piston skirt coatings. Many of them are just break-in coatings. Majority of the ones ive seen like on weisco and the like will wear and show base metal of the piston. Swaintechs is a lot thicker.. up to .0016" if i remember correctly. Both serve a similar purpose, reducing friction.
I have a set of CPs out at swaintech now for ceramic tops and pc-9 skirts
There are different types on piston skirt coatings. Many of them are just break-in coatings. Majority of the ones ive seen like on weisco and the like will wear and show base metal of the piston. Swaintechs is a lot thicker.. up to .0016" if i remember correctly. Both serve a similar purpose, reducing friction.
I have a set of CPs out at swaintech now for ceramic tops and pc-9 skirts
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 4,805
Likes: 15
From: St.Petersburg/Tampa, FL
Anything that involves friction causes wear or a breakdown of some sort sooner or later. I am very curious in this, and wonder what racing teams using this technology and on what items they apply it too
Thread Starter
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 1,953
Likes: 51
Calico's CT-1 and CT-3 dry film lubricants are "sacrificial" in nature and eventually wear out. But rather than wearing out the engine part, the coating absorbs the wear — saving you time and money on expensive engine parts. It is also possible to re-coat and further extend the life of the coated parts at a fraction of the replacement cost (i.e. pistons, etc.).
PVD/PECVD coatings are highly corrosion resistant and virtually permanent. It has been proven that the actual part will wear out long before the coating does. These coatings extend your tool/part life and can help your company realize significant savings in replacement costs and in helping your mean time between occurrences."
The descriptions of their coatings are here: https://www.calicocoatings.com/coatings/. Another article on the topic is here: Scratching the Surface: Coatings and Treatments for Engine Components - Engine Builder Magazine
Note: many classes of racing have specific rules on what can and can't be coated. Many S2k FI cars have the intake in the engine compartment, probably making them more sensitive to heat reduction. While none of the S2k cars here seem t have worked on this, heat management (making less from reduced friction and pushing more to the exhaust rather than the coolant) can result in the cooling system creating less drag and allowing more downforce.
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Registered User
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 535
Likes: 8
From: Melbourne
Has anyone Ceramic coated their turbo housing and use a Turbo Blanket over the top?
My engine bay is still bloody hot even with the Ceramic Coating (Black 2000 degree) so I am about to buy a PTP or DEI Turbo Blanket.
My engine bay is still bloody hot even with the Ceramic Coating (Black 2000 degree) so I am about to buy a PTP or DEI Turbo Blanket.
Thread Starter
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 1,953
Likes: 51
Joined: Sep 2012
Posts: 3,301
Likes: 213
From: Greenwood, AR
I've used SwainTech and regular ceramic... I don't do that anymore as I don't think I really does much but lighten the wallet. I'll use cheap local ceramic if the hot side is not stainless and can rust, but then follow up with a turbo blanket. On the pipes, I like to use Inconel shielding to control heat in the engine bay.