One of the main components in extracting horsepower in an engine can be by simply freeing up power that is being used to fight friction. In these pages, I have discussed a few options to do this. The most common first step was to polish the surfaces in some fashion to remove machining marks and improve the surfaces properties of the initial part. A process called Isotropic Super Finishing (ISF) developed by REM seemed to be the most popular method.
Once the parts were smooth, we wanted to apply a surface treatment, or coating, that would reduce friction as much as possible and retain an oil film for our parts to glide across. The process I chose to try is called Microblue by a company called Microblue Racing. The theory behind it all actually makes sense. With the surface being smoother by reducing the peaks from machining, and then filling the valleys with the Microblue process, the oil film can actually fill the space between the parts running against each other, preventing actual contact between the parts. Without contact, you have no wear. Sounds simple enough --on paper anyway.
All of the parts in the engine that have a friction-type contact, potential for wear, or needed strengthening due to fatigue were sent to them for processing. In some cases, like gears, the parts are also cryogenically treated to increase the surface properties of the material and increase the fatigue life.
A transmission gear failure, and a search for methods to prevent it from happening again, is what led me to Microblue Racing's doorstep. After discussing all of the benefits that Microblue Racing had to offer, we decided to give them a try with every component of the engine, including: All gears, shafts, oil pump, pistons, rings, bearings, cam towers, rockers, and much more.
In addition to processing the parts we had, we have also ordered ceramic bearings for all the internal engine shafts, wheel and hub bearings as well. We're looking forward to seeing what kind of friction reduction we can get with all of this combined. (Photo: Cerbec Ceramic Balls)
The ceramic bearings arrived. In addition to having a better, rounder ball that is less prone to galling and deformation, the bearings were also treated with the Microblue process. The bearings spin noticeably more freely. With some of the bearings, the bearing wants to spin about 10 times longer than the stock bearings. If the manual spin test is any evidence of friction reduction, we should see a significant improvement. We should also benefit from the lesser lubrication requirements of the ceramics - even further reducing the friction.
