THis will be my last post in this thread, since there was a question asked earlier that I said I would address. I just don't have time or desire to get into any kind of sword fight, as evidenced by my relatively low post count. But due to some communications I have received, I apparently need to address some issues. First, I'll start out by saying that I recognize most people are reading this thread to learn about nanotechnology as a lubricant, most of you in oils. I am here to try to help educate folks. I recognize that new technology (e.g. NT in oil, yellow-metal-friendly EP additives yielding a GL4/GL5 oil) can be disruptive to the status quo, and that will inherently bring about those trying to discredit it, and I apologize if any of my comments have fanned any of those flames. It took hot rodders decades to move from things like carbretors and blowers to fuel injection and turbos. But the upper echelon of racing embraces it much earlier, as has been the case with the NT in oils, reference some of the awards it has received ,and its use by some teams under confidentiality, but I'll say that the IndyCar team here isn't the only major open wheel series with intercontinental reach to use it.
I have not been back here since my last post. I have, however, received a few communications from other readers about it, and apparently, among other things, my claims of my credentials have been called into question. Like I said, I have not been back, if I misunderstood the fellow who called me or the couple of PM's from others, then I apologize for the confusion and you can skip to the next few paragraphs.
My claims are quite easily verified. Ford will verify that I worked there as an engineer from 2000-2007, this can be verified by calling (800)248-4444. You can also find a picture of an older business card of mine, laying down with the former director of V-Engine (now VP) on my Photobucket site:
Business card It is a very old one, just one that I found, though Bob's (name hidden) is newer. I was doing a similar job, but with more responsibilities, on the 2011 S197 (5.0L Coyote) when I left.
You can call Georgia Tech's bursar's office (I think that's the one to call) to verify that I have two degrees in Materials Engineering, 1997 and 2000, at (404)894-4618. If they can't deal with alumni info, I'm sure they can direct you to whomever you need to call.
You can contact the national PCA and verify that I am an instructor, my number ending in 8293. Or you can read this thread from one of my students. It also has pictures of my car in there, the white and gold 944. You may notice it is not out on the paddock with most of the rest of the cars. It is in the tech shed......because as I mentioned, I'm one of the tech inspectors.
Student mention with pictures of my white/gold 944T..
Here are a couple of shots of the shop where we rebuild Leda dampers/shocks/struts, or whatever you prefer to call the devices that damp the spring inputs (and in reality, this is more than just oscillations, as the adjustable ones are used to control the rate of weight transfer, which is an extraordinarily useful tool). I stuck a liter of the Millers oil up there since apparently I've been accused of making up stuff. The stuff in the apple juice bottle is oil for said dampers. We get it in 5 gallon buckets, so it is easier to transfer it to a bottle where we can pour it in the bodies.
Rods and other parts
Remote resivoirs, bodies, bushings, etc.
And to show that I do have a sense of humor, I also have a picture of a device used to dampen springs:
Dampening a set of KW's
And here is a folder you can go to to check out pictures of the race car at various points of the build, mostly the last 2 pages:
Track car
Anyway, on to the question about applying the NT at the factory. I don't think this is practical or a good idea for a couple of reasons. The biggest is that it isn't a coating like DLC, or any other type of PVD/CVD coating. The bonding of the NT is much weaker, primarily van der Waals forces. It is kind of like ester or ZDDP, it is attracted to metal surfaces, but doesn't form a durable bond. It will stay in suspension until it is put in a crankcase, at which point it becomes attracted to the metal. Complete "coating" is time/temperature dependent, we typically say 15 minutes at about 115C for the race oils. It also primrily fills the low spots moreso than an entire surface, so it makes the asperities much smaller. It will, however, stay on the surfaces after you drain the oil, but if the oil used to replenish it doesn't have the NT additive, it will eventually become depleted. Now I believe, but am not certain, that it would drastically slow down the time it takes for the rings to seat, meaning you really would not want to have it in the engine when you first start it up, or at least you wouldn't want it on the cylinder walls. It may prevent the rings from seating (which in reality is the process the peaks from cross hatching being worn down appreciably). Now, it could be that the feature size of those is large enough that the NT wouldn't be able to fully protect it, but I would still think having it running through the engine during break-in would be detrimental, for the same reason you generally don't want ANY friction modifiers in a break-in oil.
Seems I recall a question about putting it in fuel. I can't comment due to confidentiality, but the friction reduction is most prominent in the cylinder bores, where the majority of boundary lubrication occurs (although as oils get thinner, some is occurring in the cranktrain). That said, there isn't an engine guy in the world who wants to wet cylinder walls with fuel, as it will wash away the oil, and lead to premature bore wear. It does happen occasionally with open valve injection (OVI), though at least at Ford, OVI was typically avoided, though occasionally used (there is a small benefit to charge cooling under high load conditions).
Anyway, I apologize again for any ambiguity caused when I used more engineering type terminology rather than general usage. Note I will probably call transmissions gearboxes as often as not, too, and expect most folks to know what I mean. I apologize for letting external factors get in teh way of a discussion. Will try to keep my eye on other threads, and hope to avoid further urinating contests.