Mikronite gears, save a bunch of horsepower

[ptownTSI]

Guys they are doing this to the rear end gears on mustangs and camaro's and netting 6-10hp at the wheels!

the process can also be done to transmission and engine parts. I have seen camshafts, crankshafts and tranny gears done.

great write-up on Carcraft.com http://www.carcraft.com/techfaq/116_...ent/index.html

i really like car craft because they are essentially the "GrassRoot Motorsport" of the domestic v8 world. down to earth, do it yourself type write ups and builds, no gimicky stuff, not a lot of chrome.

[Farbin Kaiber]

Cryo?

[ptownTSI]

Just to clear this up, its NOT cryo. cryo does not improve hardness or lubricity of the part like mikronite does, it does not "add" horsepower like mikro does either. (it actually just reduces drivetrain losses, although it appears like it has added hp)

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa4078/is_200507/ai_n14823010

retail link (Vinci High Performance)

http://www.vincihighperformance.com/MIKRONITE%20MAIN%20PAGE.HTML

Mikronite uses a technique that appears deceptively simple. You put an object -- most often some kind of metal tool, but ceramics and plastics work too -- into a cylinder filled with a mixture of crushed walnut shells and silicon carbide. The cylinders are then rotated at tremendous speed, often more than 250 r.p.m., or at about 37 Gs of force. When they're done, out comes a highly polished object.

By smoothing the surface of an object, friction is dissipated, and the object works more efficiently, Hoffman said. The immediate subsurface is solidified and strengthened, while the inner core remains more flexible, which keeps the tool from becoming brittle.

"Heat is the result of friction," said Hoffman, who serves as Mikronite's chief technology officer. "It's wasted energy."

**What Mikronite® is NOT**

Mikronite® is solely a mechanical action process. It is not a coating, and it does not involve an active heat process nor caustic chemicals of any kind. To find out more, visit:

[CarsSuck]

So applying this process to all friction surfaces of an engine should be of great benefit. Less friction throughout = less heat/wear/resistance. Do they do this to things like cranks and rods and cams and stuff to?

[ptownTSI]

yeah some of the guys who are sponsored by Vinci High Performance and crane cams are doing exactly that, i'm sure there competitors must be doing it as well.

there was a thread on honda tech where a guy will mikronite an entire transmission, and give you a rebuild for $1495+ shipping. he was based out of Daytona, FL just like mikronite is.

[FredK]

Reducing frictional losses through polishing processes has been around for a while. Ever hear of REM?

[Farbin Kaiber]

I saw cryo-rem in the back of grassroots motorsports IIRC. I thought the same thing. All the way down to the walnut shells.

[nando]

So applying this process to all friction surfaces of an engine should be of great benefit. Less friction throughout = less heat/wear/resistance. Do they do this to things like cranks and rods and cams and stuff to?

uhm, bearing surfaces are generally polished to a much higher tolerance than what you'd get from crushed walnuts shells. if you did this to a crank don't expect your motor to last too long :p

looks like it would work well for things like differentials and transmissions though. Since I have 3 differentials it would probably make a bigger difference, but actually doing it is something else altogether.

[FredK]

I don't actually think the REM or Mikronite dimensionally changes the gears--instead it peens the surface, work hardening the surface and reducing surface roughness.

[TwoJ's]

I don't actually think the REM or Mikronite dimensionally changes the gears--instead it peens the surface, work hardening the surface and reducing surface roughness.

[ptownTSI]

uhm, bearing surfaces are generally polished to a much higher tolerance than what you'd get from crushed walnuts shells. if you did this to a crank don't expect your motor to last too long :p

looks like it would work well for things like differentials and transmissions though. Since I have 3 differentials it would probably make a bigger difference, but actually doing it is something else altogether.

the process works on things like cranks and camshafts they already do that with NHRA teams. the walnut shells and carbide are traveling at 70x the speed of gravity, which is 9.8ms^2, so its pretty damn fast.

[ptownTSI]

I saw cryo-rem in the back of grassroots motorsports IIRC. I thought the same thing. All the way down to the walnut shells.

cryo rem is cryogenic treatment and a rem chemical process, you must have been reading about mikronite!

[E30 Cabrio]

I would venture that the guys getting a 6-10 HP gain are also putting out 300+ HP, so realistically, we're probably looking at about a 3% gain in HP which would translate to about 3-4 HP on a E30 with an "i" motor.

Not sure what this process costs, plus the labor, but I think there is cheaper HP to be found.

[FredK]

rem chemical process, you must have been reading about mikronite!

REM isn't purely a chemical process, as it still uses ceramic media to reduce surface roughness.

[xLibelle]

theres an article in all the Grassroots Motorsports Magazines quoting "Cryo-REM" from Evans Performance Products, LLC in Atlanta.

They say they first cryo and then REM (Isotropic superfinishing) which promotes reduced friction, lube temps, wear, vibraiton, noise, metal to metal pitting, while extending part life.

https://www.evansperformance.com