Ferritic Nitrocarburizing

SteveSRT8 · Jun 19, 2013

Has anyone noticed that GM is doing this on brake rotors now? Their new magazine says this improves the durability of the rotors.

Are any other manufacturers in on this? It could be really beneficial especially for you guys up north in the frozen tundra...

Trav · Jun 19, 2013

First I've heard about it but it is sure interesting. I wonder if they will use this process on their replacement parts line.

http://www.woodworthheattreating.com/UltraWearPlusFNC.aspx

A_Harman · Jun 19, 2013

I've wondered for years why rusty brake rotors have been tolerated by manufacturers all around the world. Certainly there are materials available that are corrosion resistant, but cost is a big driver for OEM's, and cast iron is a very good material for brake rotors. (Except for corrosion.) It's nice to see GM doing something about it.

sciphi · Jun 19, 2013

Hmm, might be a reason to stick with OEM rotors. The OEM rotors on my Cruze are showing slight corrosion after 2 NY winters. Whatever GM did to those, it's working well.

SteveSRT8 · Jun 19, 2013

You guys with rust issues might want to check out R1 concepts. Their premium rotors are some of the nicest I've ever seen and are fully finished inside and out, excepting of course the swept areas.

I just noticed that buzzword in the new GMC magazine I get. It also says the new 5.3 has 355 hp and 383 ft. lbs. of torque! That's well north of a normal 6.0 powerplant excepting the HO ones of course.

morepwr · Jun 19, 2013

Interesting stuff. When I saw the title on the thread I had no idea what that was!

dailydriver · Jun 19, 2013

Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
I just noticed that buzzword in the new GMC magazine I get. It also says the new 5.3 has 355 hp and 383 ft. lbs. of torque! That's well north of a normal 6.0 powerplant excepting the HO ones of course.

Did they give ANY hint, or clue as to the power levels of the higher performance variants of the LT1 in that article by any chance??

dailydriver · Jun 19, 2013

Do any of the better "very high carbon content" aftermarket rotors resist corrosion any better than the lower carbon/more ferric ones?

SteveSRT8 · Jun 19, 2013

Originally Posted By: dailydriver
Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
I just noticed that buzzword in the new GMC magazine I get. It also says the new 5.3 has 355 hp and 383 ft. lbs. of torque! That's well north of a normal 6.0 powerplant excepting the HO ones of course.

Did they give ANY hint, or clue as to the power levels of the higher performance variants of the LT1 in that article by any chance??

No, but you can bet that it is headed NORTH!

tom slick · Jun 19, 2013

That's interesting. Brake rotors seem like a good application of that process. I wonder how it affects the friction properties, although it probably wears off of the friction surfaces.

It's the same process, "Melonite", that that gun makers, including Glock, uses on their steel parts.

Another article:

http://www.acdelcotechconnect.com/pdf/MarApr_2012_TechCONNECT_R1.pdf

SteveSRT8 · Jun 20, 2013

Originally Posted By: tom slick
That's interesting. Brake rotors seem like a good application of that process. I wonder how it affects the friction properties, although it probably wears off of the friction surfaces.

It's the same process, "Melonite", that that gun makers, including Glock, uses on their steel parts.

Another article:

http://www.acdelcotechconnect.com/pdf/MarApr_2012_TechCONNECT_R1.pdf

Thanks for that post. A lot of tech tidbits.

I loved the mention of bedding and their list of do's and don'ts about rotor replacement.

Kestas · Jun 20, 2013

Ferritic nitrocarburizing is more for corrosion resistance than for a braking surface. The coating is rather thin and would wear away quickly. But the remaining rotor surface would be protected from rust. The coatings I've seen are under one millimeter thick.

If it provides virtually no wear on the rotor, then I could be wrong, but considering all the abrasive road debris, I doubt this is the case.

SteveSRT8 · Jun 20, 2013

It is also for wear, not just corrosion:

Application of the FNC technology involves an additional manufacturing process that heats the rotors at 560 degrees C for up to 24 hours in a giant oven. Inside the nitrogen-rich atmosphere, nitrogen atoms bond to the surface of the steel rotor,
hardening and strengthening the rotor. This hardened layer allows the rotor to wear slower and reduces rotor corrosion.

It's supposedly ten microns thick.

Tempest · Jun 20, 2013

Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
It is also for wear, not just corrosion:

Application of the FNC technology involves an additional manufacturing process that heats the rotors at 560 degrees C for up to 24 hours in a giant oven. Inside the nitrogen-rich atmosphere, nitrogen atoms bond to the surface of the steel rotor,
hardening and strengthening the rotor. This hardened layer allows the rotor to wear slower and reduces rotor corrosion.

It's supposedly ten microns thick.

10 microns is 0.000039". That will probably get worn off in the bedding process.

I think it's a good idea for rotors but how much will it add to cost?

SteveSRT8 · Jun 20, 2013

Nope, the whole point is it HARDENS the surface.

FNC rotor technology was first introduced on the 2009 Cadillac DTS and Buick
Lucerne Super. Currently, it is featured on the Buick LaCrosse and Regal as well as
on the Chevrolet Impala, Malibu and Volt. Plans call for it to be featured on more
than 80 percent of GM’s U.S. vehicles by the 2016 model year.
GM is the only company that has found a way to effectively treat brake rotors
with the FNC process and has several patents pending on the technology.

SteveSRT8 · Jun 20, 2013

Take a minute to read Tom's post. It's really informative on the details!

gonefishing · Jun 21, 2013

Originally Posted By: Tempest
Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
It is also for wear, not just corrosion:

Application of the FNC technology involves an additional manufacturing process that heats the rotors at 560 degrees C for up to 24 hours in a giant oven. Inside the nitrogen-rich atmosphere, nitrogen atoms bond to the surface of the steel rotor,
hardening and strengthening the rotor. This hardened layer allows the rotor to wear slower and reduces rotor corrosion.

It's supposedly ten microns thick.

10 microns is 0.000039". That will probably get worn off in the bedding process.

I think it's a good idea for rotors but how much will it add to cost?

Actually 10 microns would be 0.00039" (one too many zeros in there). Just the machinist coming out in me!

threeputtpar · Jun 21, 2013

They've been putting these rotors on the Impala all the way back to 2006 MY? I have three in the family and one I have replaced the front rotors with parts store ones. Wish I'd have know, I would have kept them in the garage to see how well they held up.

I'll have to take a look through the spokes on the other two Impalas to see what they look like.

SteveSRT8 · Jun 21, 2013

Originally Posted By: threeputtpar
They've been putting these rotors on the Impala all the way back to 2006 MY? I have three in the family and one I have replaced the front rotors with parts store ones. Wish I'd have know, I would have kept them in the garage to see how well they held up.

I'll have to take a look through the spokes on the other two Impalas to see what they look like.

The General is funny about what they publicize, sometimes they simply do not crow enough about the stuff they give us.

I recently discovered they use a PATENTED algorithm in their torque converter lockup programming to dampen driveline vibrations. Never seen or heard of it before now!

SwampSurvivor · Jun 21, 2013

This would be neat if it works as expected!

I've never had to replace a set of rotors because they were worn out or warped - it's ALWAYS been due to rust.

Ferritic Nitrocarburizing

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