Aftermarket coatings are nothing new
to the racing and performance markets, but only recently have they
begun to make inroads to the off-roading community. For the
cosmetically inclined, there are an ever-growing number of
powdercoating hues with which to bedeck and protect your parts and
pieces.
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Ceramic coating not only protects your pipes,
but they look good too. |
For the power junkies, there are the "friction
modifier" and thermal barrier coatings which will reduce drag, keep
heat where it will yield the greatest benefit, and of course, add a
bit of prestige of it's own.
Besides, it looks damn good in, on,
and around your engine. Among the thermal barrier coatings,
"ceramic" has gained steadily in popularity from both the
manufacturer and enthusiast standpoint. A prime example is among
header companies who offer high-end products with increased power
levels thanks to the addition of the wonderstuff. Coatings -
Ceramic and More
Bottom line? It protects against corrosion, plus it looks good. In
a combustion application it keeps heat where it belongs, which
creates better exhaust scavenging.
The hotter the exhaust gas is in
the pipe, the faster it travels. Hot gas moves faster toward cooler
air - the hotter the gas, the faster is moves. Simple
really.  | |
Pipes belonging to a Honda Pilot - hot out of
the oven and waiting to be sand-blasted. |
But there's more to ceramic coating than spiffing
up the stuff of headers alone. Ram Pro-Line also coats internal
engine components - from pistons to lifters to crankshafts and
more.
Coating the piston keeps the heat in the combustion chamber,
which forces the heat go out the exhaust instead of heating (and
possibly "melting") the piston. The reduced heat transfer will also
lessen the piston expansion resulting in less drag and effectively
resulting in "free" horsepower.
All well and good for
fire-breathing V8s, but what about it's little brothers?
For a 2-stroke, the exhaust port temperature reaches between 1200
and 1300 degrees Fahrenheit.
The aluminum port, which is 4-5 inches
in length creates too much heat through the rest of the engine.
Coating the port holds the heat inside and forces the hot gases out
through the exhaust.  | |
Sand-blasting removes what the oven-baking
doesn't get. |
If you're thinking the applications for ceramic
coatings are practically limitless, you aren't too far from right.
Ram Pro-Line has helped many race teams with their overheating
problems by ceramic coating the aluminum port and various other
engine components.
Some of their customers have experienced
increases by three to four horsepower - not very impressive until
you realize that this increase is on a 15 horsepower engine!!
Translation: a 25-30% increase in available horsepower. Impressed
yet? We are.  | |
Waiting for its turn in front of the ceramic
gun. Each piece is professionally sprayed one piece at a
time. |
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Freshly sprayed ceramic coating - waiting to
dry before it goes back into the oven. |
The desert racing crowd is already using this
process to improve their performance, but what does all this mean
to the Jeep and Rock Crawling community?
Good question - If you've
ever been to any one of the many Rock Crawling competitions across
the country, you know that most drivers spend a great deal of time
at high RPM's to try to get over a given obstacle. Drivers like
Chris Durham, last year's American Rock Crawling Association
champion seem to prefer the high-revving,
"mash-the-gas-and-go-for-broke" approach over the "finesse-is-best"
approach to get through an obstacle.
High RPM's and going for broke
make for some exciting afternoons on the trail, but it also
translates into extreme heat under the hood - and the best way to
deal with that added heat is ceramic coating. Some of the
components that Ram Pro-Line can ceramic coat for you - Exhaust Gas
Temp | Header Surface
Temp | Radiated Heat
(uncoated) | Radiated Heat
(coated) | Temp Drop
(Deg. F.) | | 1330 | 810 | 170 | 60 | 110 | | 1340 | 810 | 170 | 60 | 110 | | 1350 | 820 | 180 | 70 | 110 | | 1380 | 830 | 180 | 70 | 110 | | 1410 | 840 | 180 | 70 | 110 | | 1420 | 8400 | 180 | 70 | 110 | | 1440 | 860 | 190 | 70 | 120 | | 1510 | 890 | 190 | 70 | 120 | | 1530 | 930 | 200 | 80 | 120 |
OK, so now you can easily see that in the case of Ram Pro-Line's
Ceramic coating, you have a temperature drop of between 110 and 120
deg. through a normal operating range. How does that translate to
your benefit?
How about a massive drop in underhood air temps,
increased exhaust gas velocity, and as the man said, more real
world horsepower at any given RPM range. That last one is the
kicker. More power at a given RPM equates to less of the go-pedal
to maintain a given speed.
In other words, if you keep your foot
out of the four barrels long enough to take advantage of it, you'll
likely see a significant gain in fuel economy to boot.
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Time for the final bake - 550 degrees for just
over an hour. |
Power For Nothin' and your Kicks For Free
Just in case you slept through math class (like I did), the
industry accepts that engine efficency improves by 1% for every
10-degree drop in underhood temperature. Now lets suppose your
high-performance beast sports a healthy 500 HP mill under the hood.
Using the above data, it's reasonable to assume that you'd net an
additional 50 horses from the temperature drop alone. This doesn't
factor in the additional gains you'll see from vastly improved
exhaust scavanging.
It's OK to admit it. I know you're impressed
now. The Process - The entire ceramic coating process is
pretty simple really.
First, that old, corroded header is baked at 500 degrees to get rid
of any oil, rust, or anything else that doesn't belong.
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After the baking process, which binds the
ceramic to the metal, the pipe goes in for a little
polishing. |
After an hour in the oven, it cools for a while before it gets the
sand blasting treatment to remove everything else that the baking
process didn't remove.
Then, it gets coated with the liquid-form
ceramic and left to dry. Once dried, it's back in the oven for a
little more than an hour. Next, the pipes go right into the
polisher for 10 minutes to get that nice shiney-new look. Then just
wipe it dry and voila! - you're pipes are done. Once your pipes go
through this process, they will probably outlast the rest of your
rig.
The entire ceramic coating process takes about one day from
start to finish.
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After 10 minutes of polishing - this pipe is
ready to be re-installed on the Pilot. |
I spent the day at Ram Pro-Line to follow a set of pipes through
the whole process.
The pipes belong on a Honda Pilot and looked to
be worn out from years of recreational fun. Once through the
process, these pipes will likely outlast this Pilot, and the next
Pilot, and the next and ... A little about the owner:
Russell Ramsey began his operation about two and a half years ago.
As a desert racer, one of his sponsors was in the ceramic coating
business and Russell saw the potential and the benefits of the
process.
He liked it so much, he bought the company - the rest, as
they say, is history. Ram Pro-Line now coats pipes and engine
components from all over the country. What separates him from the
rest?
Most of his competitors are limited as to what they coat.
Some do only specific parts such as headers - Ram Pro-Line can coat
all engine components and more. Plus, they'll give you the personal
attention you deserve. They will take the time to answer all your
questions - you see, they're racers and they know their business.
And speaking of business, perhaps you may want to give them yours.
Be sure to check out the Ram Pro Line website for all the coatings
and applications they offer. The list is long, and you're sure to
find more than a couple ways to add a little boost to your own
high-performance beast. Click here for more photos of the entire process and to see
various pipes and engine components that Ram Pro-Line coats.
For more information,
visit Ram Pro-Line Online:
Or by phone: (702) 396-4500
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