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The Benefits of Coating Engine Components And Why We Do It...
The internal combustion engine goes through a variation of heat and stress as it operates on a daily basis. Throw in a few track days and spirited driving into the mix and the engine will experience up to three times the amount of heat and stress! In the previous blog post we discussed the importance of maintenance and the effects of not servicing your fluids, and now we will discuss the benefits of coating certain components inside the engine when building your engine.
The most common components we have coated are the pistons, bearings, thrust washers and crankshaft journals (depending on the application). In the picture above the piston tops and skirts have been coated by Calico Coatings using their CT-2 and CT-3 options, to help increase thermal and lubrication properties. Calico offers different options for coatings depending on the application, these options are the ones that they recommend for our platform. The piston tops take quite a beating during the combustion process, so the addition of a coating that will help to resist effects of detonation, prevent corrosion and minimize thermal shock will increase their durability and reliability.
The piston side skirts receive a dry film lubricant coating along with the bearings and thrust washers which allows for a lower coefficient of friction (less drag) and increased load capacity. If we are able to remove as much drag from the rotating assembly as we can, the end result is an increase in horsepower, which is the ultimate goal when we are building an engine.
You may be asking yourself the following question: "Isn't it going to cost more to have these components coated?"
Yes it will cost more now, but if it can help prevent an issue that can be avoided by coating these components, the cost will be very minimal in the grand scheme of things. We try to emphasize doing something correct the first time, which is why we always insist on having certain components strengthened over the manufacturers specifications to allow for longevity with the additional stress that is applied in a performance engine.
The most common components we have coated are the pistons, bearings, thrust washers and crankshaft journals (depending on the application). In the picture above the piston tops and skirts have been coated by Calico Coatings using their CT-2 and CT-3 options, to help increase thermal and lubrication properties. Calico offers different options for coatings depending on the application, these options are the ones that they recommend for our platform. The piston tops take quite a beating during the combustion process, so the addition of a coating that will help to resist effects of detonation, prevent corrosion and minimize thermal shock will increase their durability and reliability.
The piston side skirts receive a dry film lubricant coating along with the bearings and thrust washers which allows for a lower coefficient of friction (less drag) and increased load capacity. If we are able to remove as much drag from the rotating assembly as we can, the end result is an increase in horsepower, which is the ultimate goal when we are building an engine.
You may be asking yourself the following question: "Isn't it going to cost more to have these components coated?"
Yes it will cost more now, but if it can help prevent an issue that can be avoided by coating these components, the cost will be very minimal in the grand scheme of things. We try to emphasize doing something correct the first time, which is why we always insist on having certain components strengthened over the manufacturers specifications to allow for longevity with the additional stress that is applied in a performance engine.