Just throwing ideas around with some guys today and we got to thinking about hard coatings on the side housings. Other than the factory coating has anyone tried or heard of someone trying chrome or nicasil. Side housings usually out last the other components so the benefit would be small but it's fun to theorize. Nicasil is supposed to have a lower coefficient of friction though so....

 

Would be pointless and add weight to the engine.My opinion.

 

But after a rebuild which involved skimming the hardened surface, something like this could be worth it.

Not sure about what would be a better coating though

 

Aren't stock side housings already gas nitrided?

 

The stock housings are gas-nitrided. Racing Beat's custom housings are aluminum and are flame treated of some sort (the type of which escapes me at the moment). Hard coating it with ceramic has bennefits (reduced friction and better thermal-efficiency of combustion), but if you're talking about just "hardening" the metal, then why would you need to do so? The "devil's marks" on the combustion side aren't really bad; usually a nice lapping takes them out.

to impregnate (re-cast and induce alloy) the housings with another alloy is complex and not very worth-while. If you have the means to do so, then that time and resources would be better spent on aluminum/titanium-ceramic rotors.

The better coating is ceramic. More accurately, PTFe. PTFe impregnated (mixed into the casting metal to form an alloy) would be the best. Since We're talking about just a coating, it may be prone to flaking-off and other not-so-nice metallergic reactions. Same goes for Chrome. I've not heard of Nicasil, so no comment.

To chrome-plate the end housings... The most efficient method is ABC. Aluminum casting, Brass intermediate, and chrome plate the brass. Same as the rotor-housings. To Chrome-plate the steel is simple; just electrolosys. I don't know how prone to flaking it is though.

Since we're dealing with a lateral-direction of motion (no changes in geometry or depth), the only accomplishment of an external or impregnated alloy would result at best in slightly better thermal efficiency (except for aluminum) and maybe some extra longevity. Good thought though!