WPC coating

[AintGotNoGasInI]

Curious if anyone has had any experience with WPC treatment, It seems to be "affordable" insurance for parts longevity. especially on parts like cam towers and bearings. There doesn't seem to be any down sides to it other than cost and time, that being said no one advertised anything as a down side

Hopefully some experienced engine builders could possibly chime in

https://www.wpctreatment.com/

[EauRouge]

The WPC treatment is not a coating. It is a treatment via something akin to micro-shotpeening.

[mepstein]

Like rem polishing?

[00 Scrub]

I recently got my 8:32 ring and pinion WPC treated and DLC coated to help with wear and longevity.
I think the only downsides are cost. It seems that many folks in the Japanese engine building and BMW world use it without issue.

[JoeMag]

Read an article in some magazine ( do not recall which ) that bimmer world has their rod bearings WPC treated because it makes them last longer.

No long-term experience on Porsche Parts however, I did have my 993 rockers converted to solid pad WPC treated. I would like to have had them DLC coated but risk on used parts.

[stownsen914]

Interesting they'd do that do rod bearings. WPC is similar to shot peening. I'd have thought that would destroy a rod bearing, but I just googled, and sure enough I found WPC treatment of rod bearings on the price list on wpctreatment.com.

[AintGotNoGasInI]

Seems like a viable option for 4 bearing cam tower as they are becoming more rare, if the can treat the bearing surface in the tower might be able to get some more milage out of them

[mikedsilva]

Originally Posted by AintGotNoGasInI

Seems like a viable option for 4 bearing cam tower as they are becoming more rare, if the can treat the bearing surface in the tower might be able to get some more milage out of them

Do camtowers wear out?

[stownsen914]

They haven't generally been considered a wear item, but I've heard from at least one builder that he's seen some that he would not put on an engine. Perhaps some builders can offer their experience.

[JoeMag]

There is a cam tower spec, right? 46.967 to 46.993mm. Wear limit of 0.1mm. You would definitely want to to see if Izumi can plug the oil hole holes. Guess it could help to reduce the hole wear. The prices are very reasonable.

[stownsen914]

Is there a suggestion to do WPC on cam towers? I guess some coatings like Calico can apply could be used. Can WPC be used to build up a surface to bring it back to spec though?

[JoeMag]

Not additive process…. Try picking your favorite AI engine and start asking questions about independent test results for various materials or applications.

[Zuffenwerker]

WPC treatment is pretty cool, I've tried it out on various Porsche parts. It's an old technology first developed in Japan to help manufactured parts release from their molds. The media they use to "blast" parts is a similar consistency to baby powder.

I've got a steel plate at the shop that is half micropolished and half wpc treated. It's used as a demonstrative piece to show customers the benefits of WPC... you spin a bucket style lifter on both sides... its easy to see the wpc side has les friction.

They've done engine parts for all the big dogs like Moto GP, F1, Nascar, etc. The WPC shop is also paired up with Cryo treatment shop.

FYI usually what kills the cam towers is debris in the oil that scars the journals or abusive mechanics who damage the rocker bores.

[00 Scrub]

Anyone here have experience WPC treating syncros? Seems odd to treat something so dependent on friction to function, but it's listed as something they do.

[JoeMag]

I saw that listed to in the independent studies that came up. I wasn’t sure if I was talking about the synchro itself or the polished cone / dog teeth that fit on the gear. If you race and you use steel synchros you can actually burn/score the cone. Might be opportunity there. …next time in tranny will probably look into it along w getting R&P done.

[EauRouge]

Originally Posted by 00 Scrub

Anyone here have experience WPC treating syncros? Seems odd to treat something so dependent on friction to function, but it's listed as something they do.

I heard a story (unverified) that Compass Racing did a comparison between their 2 Grand-Am Civic racecars, where one received the full WPC treatment (i.e. engine, transmission, etc) and the other didn't. The WPC treated car was consistently faster.

[00 Scrub]

Originally Posted by JoeMag

I saw that listed to in the independent studies that came up. I wasn’t sure if I was talking about the synchro itself or the polished cone / dog teeth that fit on the gear. If you race and you use steel synchros you can actually burn/score the cone. Might be opportunity there. …next time in tranny will probably look into it along w getting R&P done.

When I spoke to Izumi at WPC he said they treat the cone in addition to the teeth. They only treat metallic syncros and not carbon fiber ones. I'm having my transmission re done right now and trying to decide if I want to send the syncros and shift rods and forks out as well.
It would be nice to treat the 4 point bearing, but I kind of don't want to risk taking apart the bearing so it can be treated. Has anyone done this before?

I heard a story (unverified) that Compass Racing did a comparison between their 2 Grand-Am Civic racecars, where one received the full WPC treatment (i.e. engine, transmission, etc) and the other didn't. The WPC treated car was consistently faster.

I've heard of several places treating the entire transmission, but I would like some before and after experiences with having the syncros treated just because it feels a bit more dicey to do than all the other load bearing components.

[AintGotNoGasInI]

I pulled the cam towers off my current engine rebuild that had some VERY dirty oil in it, it chewed everything, my cam towered have a lip in the bearing surface

[snbush67]

I have an engine with WPC surface treatment on the rocker faces and cam lobes and cam bearing surfaces. It was reasonably priced and quick turnaround. There is less than 1000 miles on those parts, visually there is a very faint shadow on the cam lobes from break in, the shadow appears less than usual. The rocker faces show no wear. .

[Anothray099]

My rings, engine bearings, and oil pump were WPC treated. Its awesome!