thermal coatings
 

Has anyone here heard anything about internal thermal coatings for engines? I saw an advertisement from www.techlinecoatings.com that claimed you would get a power increase of you coat your pistons and combustion chambers with this thermal barrier. Has anyone had any experience with this stuff? Thanks for any input.
-jeremy-

Re: thermal coatings
 

I think i have heard of this... Does it keep the heat in the cylinder? That would make sense, reducing the external temperature of the engine through insulation. I don't know if this works in real life though, or whether it is worth forking out the money... probably can be spent else where

Alan, Australia

Re: thermal coatings
 

I went ahead and bought the kit for the coatings. 26 bucks can't hurt anything

Re: thermal coatings
 

I thought it would cost a crap load, hell i'd try anything if it only cost 26 bucks. Let us know how it turns out

Alan, Australia

Re: thermal coatings
 

HPC & Jethot (among others) do ceramic coatings for various mechanical components.

I say 'various mechanical components' as the coatings were first developed by NASA & the like for the aerospace industry.

You can have pretty much any parts done - valves, piston skirts, sumps, manifolds, etc etc. See http://www.hpcoatings.com for some more info.

Re: thermal coatings
 

is it worth it though?

Alan, Australia

Re: thermal coatings
 

have a read of the site & then ask the question again [img]/w3timages/icons/smile.gif[/img]

I'm going to get my exhaust manifold done, & probably the pistons & valve heads.

Re: thermal coatings
 

www.zbuild.net has built a L28 turbo and gone nuts on HPC engine coatings. I have read the article on his Z in Zoom magazine a mag we get in Australia very interesting and he's extracting alot of power from that engine. Anyway have a read and if not for the performance side of it consider the extra life from the engine and how good everything looks coated in it.


Gavin,
1973 Datsun -=240z=-
1975 Datsun -=260z=- (Totaled by WRX)

Re: thermal coatings
 

The whole point of thermal coatings is to not only reduce internal engine temperatures which wear on internals themselves, but also to reduce the overall coeffecient of friction which increases hp and reduces wear also. If you think about it, heat and friction are the number one and two enemies of your engine. The less friction in your engine, the more hp and less wear, while a reduction in heat also reduces wear. Such coatings on the valves will reduce the heat transferred to the intake charge thus upping hp. These same coatings on a pistons will reduce the friction between the piston and the wall itself which keeps clearences tighter for a longer amount of time and adds to the hp also. It is definately a job that a proffesional should complete for you. Their ovens reach baking temperatures which our home ovens are not capable of reaching. These high temps ensure the complete baking and longevity/efficiency of these coatings. Hope this helps. If you are curious, visit www.zbuild.net and check out Simon's HPC coatings which are used on just about every part of his engine.-zbg

Re: thermal coatings
 

that is what I did. My motor burned oil so I rebuilt it with the coatings.
-jeremy-