Calico CT2 ceramic coating for combustion chamber

[no class]

was looking at some possible solutions to control high heat situations for combustion chambers / piston crowns  on boosted motors ..... the calico ct2 looks like a good option  . any thoughts on this or  have any experience with this product ?

[Gixer1460]

How do you actually shed heat if not through head and pistons? Small % through cylinder walls via rings and convection but guessing most via exhaust valves which will get REAL toasty! I know F1 engines are using this technology to exceed 50% thermal efficiency but they ain't exactly cheap, budget builds LOL!

[no class]

[no class]

[no class]

[no class]

[Gixer1460]

Buggered if I'm going to read that lot on my phone! LOL

[no class]

7 minutes ago, Gixer1460 said:

Buggered if I'm going to read that lot on my phone! LOL

lol….. took me 20 minutes to get my vision back !

[Arttu]

I have used Cerakote coating on piston tops once. No problems with it but hard to say if it gave any benefit either.

Based on what I have studied about this topic I think it's probably case dependent if these combustion chamber coatings do more good than harm. Seems that on professional race engines they are used quite rarely which probably tells something. On road bikes one question is also carbon build-up. I'm having hard time to believe the coating can make much difference once it gets covered by carbon layer...

[Duckndive]

We used to have the pistons in the Fuel Car coated but nowadays its not that common  

George Bryce "Star Racing" supplies some of his piston kits coated 

Edited March 6, 2023 by Duckndive
spilling

[Gixer1460]

13 hours ago, no class said:

lol….. took me 20 minutes to get my vision back !

I just read it all - Hmmmm - Snake Oil is my thinking! What don't they coat / use it on . . . . . . nothing seemingly! For example they suggest coating valve springs for longevity - but drag race springs don't get hot enough for long enough to affect their strength, they loose tension through use and generally get changed routinely every few events to prevent actual breakage.

[imago]

7 hours ago, Arttu said:

I have used Cerakote coating on piston tops once. No problems with it but hard to say if it gave any benefit either.

Based on what I have studied about this topic I think it's probably case dependent if these combustion chamber coatings do more good than harm. Seems that on professional race engines they are used quite rarely which probably tells something. On road bikes one question is also carbon build-up. I'm having hard time to believe the coating can make much difference once it gets covered by carbon layer...

At best it sounds like another one of those things that may be suitable for some race builds, but pointless if not outright bad for anything used even partially on the road.

Race engines and road engines are such different animals in many more ways than performance and power delivery ranges.

[wombat258]

I have crack tested a LOT of pistons for a LOT of race teams over the years. I have only come across one speedway sprintcar engine (methanol V8) with ceramic coated pistons. Most of the pistons revealed flaking of the coating!

I have 2 pistons from 2002 championship winning Ferrari F1 engines - no coating.

IMO if you are melting pistons you have a tuning problem, or are using nitro!

[TiZiK]

On 3/6/2023 at 2:16 PM, wombat258 said:

I have crack tested a LOT of pistons for a LOT of race teams over the years. I have only come across one speedway sprintcar engine (methanol V8) with ceramic coated pistons. Most of the pistons revealed flaking of the coating!

I have 2 pistons from 2002 championship winning Ferrari F1 engines - no coating.

IMO if you are melting pistons you have a tuning problem, or are using nitro!

I was gonna say that with all the advancements in tuning, and the accessibility of it all, tuning properly would be the best way for heat management internally.