Informational - Science / History Behind In Situ DLC Coatings for ICE and Transmission / Gearbox Applications

[Awirez]

It sounds very promising. I've read quite a bit about it. I'm going to give it a try in my 2012 Fusion that has some oil leaks.

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[Lion77]

 

[Lion77]

 

[Lion77]

It sounds very promising. I've read quite a bit about it. I'm going to give it a try in my 2012 Fusion that has some oil leaks.

Just to be clear, there should be NO expectation that would have any effect on oil leaks at aging / failing gaskets as it has no seal condition effect.

But it CAN reduce oil consumption through the cylinders / valve guides by enhancing the seal of piston rings and valve guide bushings, it can also restore lost compression by building a DLC film around the lower edge of the ring to promote better seal between the ring and cylinder wall.

This has been proven several times now in engine tests and ensuing tear downs (one of which I posted the microscope images after 15k of use, the engine was torn down on the piston ring was analyzed under a microscope, you can see the DLC film formation at the bottom edge where most of the wear occurs).

 

[Lion77]

All of this information is in the posted pdf attachments of the research, development and testing in the first few posts. I am only providing some snippets for those who are interested, but skeptical, so they can gain some understanding of it at a base level that may show them it's worth some time to actually read the material end to end and decide if it something they might benefit from.

If you have read through this thread, you can see the ignorance of some that lead to jumping to erroneous conclusions about something they did not understand. If you don't think it's worth the money / time / investment, that's perfectly fine, but to say it's "snake oil or slick 50" is not only absurd, it's incredibly ignorant.

My aim is to destroy the ignorance with sheer volume of proof to put any skepticism to rest for those interested in real world application.

 

[Lion77]

 

[Lion77]

Look at 250N and 300N of force range particularly, there is a fluid film formed where in the base oil without TriboTEX, the base oil (PAO) film collapsed, resulting on metal-on-metal contact.

The initial period where the friction force with TriboTEX is about the same as the PAO base oil is the initial Formation Period, where the lattice structure is self-assembling molecule by molecule, followed by the final diamond capping that results in super lubricity and a massive reduction in friction force down to super lubricity levels.

As the forces REDUCE, you can see the parasitic friction losses are almost entirely from the fluid film shear forces. But the fluid film WITHOUT TriboTEX collapses after the force increases from 200N to 250N. With TriboTEX the film is robust enough due to the enhanced oil adhesion that it is still present at 250N and 300N of force. So, there is a 50% INCREASE in loading bearing capacity of the fluid film on the bearing surfaces.

Now tell me that is not beneficial in an internal combustion engine or gearbox (automatic, diffs, transfer cases) etc.! Increasing your factory oil's load bearing capacity by enhancing adhesion to the bearing surface is going to enhance durability under severe operating conditions, especially as oils thin out due to shear induced heating which is one of the main reasons oils must rapidly be cycled through bearings during operation (constant flow).

It is also why flooring a cold engine is the dumbest thing you could do for longevity. When oil is cold, it's 5x to 6x higher viscosity, all grotor positive displacement oil pumps have a pressure bypass, in Fords its about 100 psi, to avoid damge to the system when the oil is cold.

That bypass bleeds off excess pressure, so the oil pump, despite being positive displacement, isn't actually flowing the full oil volume when on a cold engine. Without proper oil flow rates, the oil film in the bearings overheats locally, inside the bearing, the film collapses, and you get metal on metal contact!

Same thing happens if the oil gets too hot, the hydrodynamic wedge of oil collapses and you transition to mixed mode or boundary layer (direct metal on metal contact) as the film thins and eventually collapses.

TriboTEX not only enhances the oil films robustness, but it also provides a wear layer that is replicable should the film collapse or thin out during severe operation. The In Situ formation is key, you don't have to rebuild an engine to re-apply it like carbon base layer deposition methods used currently during manufacturing.

 

[Lion77]

Again, what is my reason for doing this? Simple, I'm passionate about engineering. Any design engineer who is good at their job has some level of passion for technology, but it goes beyond just liking it, it goes to the point of understanding the details behind it.

When you gain that knowledge, you want to share it with those who are like minded. Not so different than people on the forum wanting to share their Raptor mods, be it tire and wheel setups, break in procedures, power adders, suspension mods, overlanding gear, driving techniques etc.

That's the purpose of this thread, to share knowledge on a very complex subject that your typical person doesn't necessarily have access to. Lubricant technology is probably one of the biggest "black boxes" of the higher performance vehicle enthusiast community there is, very little real-world knowledge exists on lubricant technology and how to optimize them, same applies to electrical circuit designs as another example.

I am just sharing information on technology that works, was well developed, that I understand thoroughly and personally use in my own vehicles. Hopefully some will find it beneficial and once they use it can add their personal experiences, even if a bit anecdotal.

There are other technologies that have similar characteristics to TriboTEX, like Hexagonal Boron Nitride used in LiquiMoly, however those technologies require much larger volume of material (hundreds of times volume), have issues with water absorption that require chemical additives to be used with them, including chemical friction modifiers that don't say in the vehicle after an oil change and are not as durable (i.e., LiquiMoly and ArchOil).

TriboTEX does not alter the oil's chemistry at all, it is suspended in a PAO base oil gel and uses your factory oil as a carrier to locations of heat and pressure where it forms in operation over about 40 motor hours (about 500 miles). Once formed it's considered semi-permanent, it will remain on the bearing surface for around 30,000 to 40,000 miles until it eventually wears off like every other factory coating (i.e., piston skirt coatings).

However, unlike factory DLC coatings used on valve stems, it forms In Situ which is VERY beneficial, so it can be applied to existing technology after manufacture and it is replaceable, once it wears down, re-apply / wear in vs. having to take the entire engine apart to replace a factory applied DLC coating. That is a HUGE advantage over the life of the engine and the scope of application!

 

[Awirez]

Just to be clear, there should be NO expectation that would have any effect on oil leaks at aging / failing gaskets as it has no seal condition effect.

But it CAN reduce oil consumption through the cylinders / valve guides by enhancing the seal of piston rings and valve guide bushings, it can also restore lost compression by building a DLC film around the lower edge of the ring to promote better seal between the ring and cylinder wall.

This has been proven several times now in engine tests and ensuing tear downs (one of which I posted the microscope images after 15k of use, the engine was torn down on the piston ring was analyzed under a microscope, you can see the DLC film formation at the bottom edge where most of the wear occurs).

It would have effect on grooves worn into metal components from seals. Thus, there is expectation that it would have some effect on oil leaks, namely around cylindrical components with seals, i.e., crankshaft, camshaft. Of course, it has no effect on gaskets or seals themselves.

 

[Lion77]

It would have effect on grooves worn into metal components from seals. Thus, there is expectation that it would have some effect on oil leaks, namely around cylindrical components with seals, i.e., crankshaft, camshaft. Of course, it has no effect on gaskets or seals themselves.

Agreed, there may be some effect there on say the valve guides. The film can form UP TO about 40 microns (0.0016 in). If the wear scars are larger than that, it may not completely seal it.

Sorry, I misunderstood what you posted to mean you were thinking it would stop seal leaks at say a pan gasket, when you meant oil seepage through valve guides and poor oil control ring performance due to wear. In that case it can absolutely help reduce it on high mileage vehicles.

 

[Lion77]

I vote the mods sticky this thread. Anyone can use this for a variety of applications that are subject to wear related issues. Cars, ATV's, Motorcycles, Heavy Trucks, Go Karts, Lawn equipment (as long as it's 4 cycle or gearbox related) etc.

 

[hand-filer]

I vote the that mods force you to become a sponsor or lock this thread.
I have never before seen this volume of propaganda from an individual who claims to have no affiliation with the product. It borders on the absurd.

 

[Lion77]

I vote the that mods force you to become a sponsor or lock this thread.
I have never before seen this volume of propaganda from an individual who claims to have no affiliation with the product. It borders on the absurd.

And responses like that are exactly why I provided the volume of information I did. I'll let the information speak for itself.

 

[RANGER/HOBB]

And responses like that are exactly why I provided the volume of information I did. I'll let the information speak for itself.

The best thing to do with individuals like this, is to block/ignore him. You can do it both ways, so he can’t see or comment to any of your posts or threads.

Simply tap on his user name and at the bottom of the page select ignore. Then click on your name, go to ignore option and check both blocks. Works like a charm.

 

[Lion77]

Done, thanks for the tip!

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