Written by Rich Rish

Lubricated Thermal Barriers, Dry Film Lubricants, Thermal Barriers, Ceramic Coatings. These are all things used on the Space Shuttle and these things are also being used by your competition on Saturday night at the track. When I first heard that statement, my first response was "yea, right". Boy was I wrong! The more I investigated the subject, the more it made sense.

It's one thing to research something and try to believe statements about a product, but I can tell you from actual past experience, these coatings actually do work. I have used them in everything from 5hp Briggs & Stratton go kart engines to 600hp Late Model engines. The results were shocking. Internal parts wear went to almost nothing with efficiency increasing in every application.

In this article, I won't go over every different type of coating as this would turn into a book and there are already several good books covering this subject out there. If this subject does interest you, I would recommend visiting a web site of a reputable company that could actually explain the processes and benefits better. A very informative site I found is http://www.vanillagorillacoatingsystems.net/index.html. They are located in Carol Stream, IL and offer a wide selection of services that cover everything from performance coatings to custom color powder coatings.

One of the first coatings I experimented with was a ceramic coating on the headers. Not only did the coating keep the exhaust heat INSIDE the pipe increasing thermal efficiency, it also extended the life of the pipes by protecting them from the elements causing rust. There are several color options for the process. If you do go with this, be sure to have the pipes coated inside and out. This will maximize the effects of the coating.

The next coating I tried was the thermal barrier. I used it on the piston tops and the under side of the cylinder head. It is used to keep the heat generated in the cylinder from being absorbed into these parts and lost. It has been documented that over 70% of the heat produced in an internal combustion engine is lost through absorption. Anything that can increase the thermal efficiency will add power.

I also coated several parts with a Dry Film Lubricant. These parts included the piston skirts, piston pins, camshaft, lifters, and valve stems. While I saw no actual power gains from this process, the part life was extended, in some cases, 8 - 10 times. I found the piston skirts showed no wear at all. This was well worth the cost alone.

There are several other coatings available that will help the performance of your engine. Do your research and determine which process will help you the most. Don't forget the whole other world of coatings as in Color Powder coating, a great alternative to paint.

Like I said, I'm not an expert on these coatings, that's why I did my research and talked to professionals like Tiger Ray at http://www.vanillagorillacoatingsystems.net/index.html. Being a former racer himself, Ray has the knowledge and the equipment to get you on the right path to more power and less overall expense. Also ask about warrantee and estimated time to complete your project.

There are getting to be quite a few companies that claim to offer these coatings. Take it from me and my past experience, check out their references. I had the RaceStar Pace Car headers coated by a new company a couple years ago and you can see in the picture, the coating did not hold up. The second picture is from the finished re-coating from Tiger Ray. It goes to show what the proper equipment being used by the proper people can do. Turn around time was very quick.

You be the judge!

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See me at the track…

Rich Rish