DLC Coated Lifters

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12many

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Interesting new offering coming soon from Comp Cams. Seen reference to DLC coated lifters over on Speed-Talk for BBC. Apparently nothing new regarding use on lifters, but I believe the first offerings from a major manufacturer. Looks like it’s $114.95 per lifter. Racing in a series that requires flat tappets one would assume @ $1839.20 for a set. Only for steel cores though.

https://www.compcams.com/dlc-coated-tool-steel-solid-lifter-for-chrysler.html
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A quote: “This wear resistance coating also lowers the amount of power required to run an engine’s valve train, as well as lowers friction, heat and oil temperatures”


Wonder where else the DLC coatings might be used, if the high cost process will ever come down enough to become more prevalent.

2496C404-A530-4077-BE9A-B8F89817F077.png
 
If the cam taper and lifter taper are correct there should be very little friction. The lobe spins the lifter . It doesn't slide across it.

On a mopar small block 8 lifters spin one way and the other 8 spin opposite. Due to the cam having a thrust plate there is no need for the lobe to push the cam rearward using 16 lobes tapered in the same direction. Most all of the cam grinders are aware of this some are not. beware.
 
DLC stands for Diamond Like Coating. That type of technology is not new and is in use in various industries such as aerospace, refineries, and pumps. It used to be very expensive and was used on parts that were expensive to produce and replace. It seems the price has come down enough to be offered to the more common race car owners and engine builders.
I would bet that the pro racers are already paying for it to be applied throughout the moving parts of their motors to increase the efficiency and to allow parts to last longer.
Here is some information on it if anyone is interested:
DLC Coating - Diamond-Like Carbon Coating - IBC Coatings
 
8 or so years ago I actually looked into having some custom modified rocker arm assemblies for a vintage motorcycle DLC coated and found a company in my region that would do it. I had a couple sets I was wanting to send but the cost was extremely prohibitive. Can’t recall the exact dollar amount but it was a deal killer. Would have needed a bunch more sets done to defray, eventually sell to recoup some of the cost. Sure would have been nice though.
 
It's academically interesting, however at that price point I'd just go solid roller. I guess I can understand this if you are looking for that last tiny bit of power and you're restricted to flat tappets. Otherwise I could think of better places to invest
 
qkcuda said:
I seem to remember ceramic coated lifters a few years ago.
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You may be thinking about Schubeck Lifters, later bought out by Smith (Not related to Ckay Smith.)

The lifters had some sort of a super hard composite, maybe ceramic, type puck glued to the bottom of a hydraulic lifter body. I don't recall if the solids had a "puck" or were made entirely of that material. They worked well as long as you had roller-type spring pressures in the valvetrain to prevent any type of valve float or lofting on your flat tappet cam. They allowed steeper ramps and as advertised, they seemed to polish the lobes rather than wear them. I swapped cams & lifters without concern about mixing or break-in! But I was still careful. Lash had to be kept to a minimum as well. That's because the impacts eventually shattered the "puck" and sent tiny shards of the diamond-hard material throughout the engine. That turned off a lot of people because they lost engines because of it. Others haven't had a problem. I personally ran 200lbs on the seat and near 400lbs open up to 7000 rpm in my Dart. But I'm not sure if that was good enough or if it really needed more, like some others had.

Schubeck sold the business to someone named Smith, but I don't know if Smith is still in business. I haven't heard anything about those lifters in a while. Some pop up for sale once in a great while.
 
DLC coatings are slippery as kitty **** on a linoleum floor. The cost has become very affordable. You need to find a milling cutter regrinder that will coat them as they have a coating service for the endmills and other tools they sharpen. They suck way,way,way less horsepower on a machine tool and cut way better at increased speeds and feeds and stay sharp an incredible long time. I can see why they are using this coating on lifters and other engine components. I have been using these coated cutting tools for at least 15 years. This will give you an edge over your competition.
 
12many said:
Interesting new offering coming soon from Comp Cams. Seen reference to DLC coated lifters over on Speed-Talk for BBC. Apparently nothing new regarding use on lifters, but I believe the first offerings from a major manufacturer. Looks like it’s $114.95 per lifter. Racing in a series that requires flat tappets one would assume @ $1839.20 for a set. Only for steel cores though.



A quote: “This wear resistance coating also lowers the amount of power required to run an engine’s valve train, as well as lowers friction, heat and oil temperatures”


Wonder where else the DLC coatings might be used, if the high cost process will ever come down enough to become more prevalent.

View attachment 1716040565
Click to expand...
The HD diesel engine manufacturer that I worked for had piston pins DLC coated in some high power applications. The DLC was expensive, but the other option was going to a larger - heavier piston pin to take the loading. The DLC did the trick.
 
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