Thread: Piston Coatings 101

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Is this coating on the crown or the skirt? In all reality, piston skirts do not wear significantly within the lifetime of an engine. A hard coating on the skirt would serve no benefit, it's just a gimmick.

There is another coating that is very beneficial, Nikasil. Normally, a cylinder wall and rings both last about the same amount of time. My motorcycle has Nikasil plated cylinders. The cylinder lasts through many sets of rings. Plus, it is very resistant to damage. If the engine seizes, which mine has, you just scrape the piston remains off the cylinder and everything is good as new.