WHY WPC?

1 why wpc ? By Mike Kojima, Engineering Editor In this present struggling economy, anything that adds cost to an engine build is a hard sell when engine builders are struggling to stay in business and racers search far and wide for sponsors to fund their programs. However, now more than ever, it is time to use value added processes that offer significant gains in both performance and longevity to your customer engine builds. WPC. is such a process. What Is WPC? confirm this but they sort of just smiled and piston rings and even plain bearings. Every WPC is not a coating; WPC is a metal said nothing.

2 Metal engine part can benefit from WPC. improvement process, developed in Japan. treatment without fear of damage. WPC is a well kept motorsports secret that is We can say that WPC, however secretive used extensively at high levels of the sport, they were about the exact process was Another big advantage that WPC has is a big such as JGTC, MotoGP and WRC. Recently generous in showing us reams of empirical reduction in friction. The WPC process WPC has been gaining popularity in North test data to back up their claims; much of it leaves an extremely fine dimpled surface on America in venues such as Pro Stock drag was from some of their OEM and high end the treated surface.

3 The WPC media is so racing, IRL, ALMS and NASCAR. WPC is racing customers that we had to swear not to fine that the surface dimpling cannot be seen also gaining acceptance from the OEM auto reveal. Coming from an OEM and with the naked eye and can only be observed and motorcycle manufacturers such as Motorsports engineering background, we can with a microscope. The micro dimpled Honda and Yamaha as a better performing assure you that these tests are very thorough surface is one of the secrets to why wpc . alternative to coatings to enhance wear and repeatable. works so well. WPC's micro dimpled surface resistance, extend service life and to reduce helps reduce friction in three ways.

4 First the friction. why wpc ? dimpling helps maintain an oil film which WPC offers many advantages over reduces metal to metal contact. Second the WPC is very secretive about their exact shotpeening. Due to the small low mass dimpled surface helps reduce contact area in process but we have been able to glean a projectiles and high impact velocities, WPC general to reduce friction. Third WPC. few important details from indirect produces a higher amount of compressive creates a slippery hard surface with anti observation. WPC is closely related to stress and an increase in the degree of grain friction and extreme pressure materials shotpeening except it is done in a very refinement to the base metal over embedded into it.

5 Different manor. Like shotpeening, WPC shotpeening. The velocities are so high that involves impacting a part with spherical in addition to shotpeening like grain These properties make WPC an excellent projectiles to produce surface compressive refinement via cold working, there is also a process for treating cylinder bores, pistons, stress, plastic deformation and grain melting and quenching phenomena going on rings, wristpins, gears and anywhere reduced refinement. Like shotpeening this action at a very micro level as well. The result is an friction can help. Test data by a major OEM.

6 Greatly improves fatigue strength and stress extremely fine grained, slip plane less nano manufacture has shown that WPC treatment corrosion fracture resistance. However WPC crystalline structure with a high degree of of pistons can reduce friction and wear of differs from shotpeening in that the peening surface hardness formed over the surface of pistons by two fold over the best skirt media is several orders of magnitude smaller, the part, unlike shotpeening which has only a coatings. Recent testing by a major forged much harder and the impact velocities are slight effect on surface hardness and performance piston manufacture has also much higher.

7 Strength. Because of this ultra fine grained shown WPC to be more effective to the surface, WPC has superior fatigue strength reduction of skirt wear and scuffing over any Although WPC will not divulge exactly what gains and stress corrosion fracture coating presently on the market. their media is made from, it resembles baby resistance to shotpeening. Due to the small powder to the casual observer. We mass of the media, the affected zone of WPC WPC treatment of pistons, cylinder walls and conjecture that the material is some sort of treatment is less than ", much shallower rings has shown to provide tremendous ultra hard ceramic whose dimensions and than shotpeening.

8 Advantages in friction reduction, life between roundness can be precisely controlled like rebuilds and ring seal. Many race teams silicon nitride. These spheres are in the low Mostly because of the smallness of the have documented double the amount of time micron range size wise and the impact media, WPC does not affect the dimensions between having to rebuild or freshen velocities are near sonic in speed. We also of a part. WPC does not damage delicate engines. This is alone a huge cost savings feel that sometimes metallic additives such a machined surfaces. WPC can be applied for today's cash poor budget strapped race zinc, tin and molybdenum disulfide are added straight to areas where dimensional control teams.

9 To the mix to add some anti-galling lubricity or and surface finish is critical, such as bearing extreme pressure characteristics to the bores, pistons, cylinder bores, camshafts, WPC treatment of plain bearings has also surface. At high velocities, the additives are crank fillets, valve bodies, cam followers, shown to be very beneficial. Even though probably inter-granularly incorporated into valve stems, valve springs, seal surfaces, bearings are made of soft metals such as the surface of the metal at a molecular level, axle splines, CV joints etc. Due to the light aluminum, lead, tin and zinc, they can be making their effects permanent and long mass of the media, WPC can also be used WPC treated with no change in dimension.

10 Lasting. We asked the folks at WPC to for fragile dimensionally critical parts such as The treated bearings show a reduction in friction and an improvement in fatigue strength to where their load bearing capacity has improved up to 20 percent! WPC treatment has proven to work well on solving problematic transmission issues as well. WPC can obviously be applied to the gears, syncros, splines and shafts. It can also be applied to cases and housings. WPC. has found that some cases of transmission gear failure in some cars can be traced to flex in the transmission case which allows the gears lash to change under load.