BlownV8

It's difficult and expensive to get custom match pistons to work in an aluminum bore. As mentioned by arsupisemnet, the custom pistons and rings from Kolbenschmidt or Mahle are uber expensive. Much less guess work on expansion coefficients when using an iron bore and aluminum piston than using the aluminum bore and a coated aluminum piston. The iron cylinder liner has a much higher chance of longevity in a boosted engine since it won't deform like an aluminum cylinder will.

arsupisemnet

There is no significant benefit of Alusil or Silitec process rather than cheaper and easier production for manufacturer. Some say they have 30 percent reduction in friction - however to get an idea - it is not a 30 percent whp increase. Just friction between piston and cylinder walls less, which has 2 components - friction between rings and cylinder walls and surface tension between oiled piston skirts and cylinder wall. Can be minimized in regular aluminum piston iron sleeve pair by using racing oil shedding coating on piston skirt.
It is all ways of marketing. Sound better, doesn't benefit much end user - especially the one who has to rebuild engine at 70k miles mark.

arsupisemnet

I am just waiting for the moment then all 450hp 4 cylinder users will start crying. Like a pleasure for my soul...

arsupisemnet

Silitec, Alusil, Nicasil and so on is not a coating. It is cylinder liner made from polycrystal silicone suspended either in aluminum or nickel. Nanoslide is a coating of aluminum wall with thin iron layer.

chassis

Agree with @arsupisemnet as usual.

Cylinder and piston lining and coating chemistry makes no difference to the customer. It doesn't result in higher hp, better mpg, better reliability or lower price. It helps the manufacturer's profit and also helps them get 0.0001% better emissions and fuel economy to meet the regs.

The way these things affect the customer is when they fail the engine catastrophically, as in this thread.

High specific output engines are MB's specialty, with results as we are seeing in this thread and others. Agree that the AMG high specific output 4 bangers should start showing up in threads like these in a couple of years.

arsupisemnet

Why regular is good? This little banger has outside diameter of 3.860 inch, which makes 0.1 inch of finish wall made from ductile iron. It will easily take 1000 whp on your 4.6l. As a matter of fact your stock pistons and connecting rods will give up faster than this one.

BlownV8

Nicasil/Nikasil is a coating. It is an electrodeposited lipophilic nickel matrix silicon carbide coating used mainly in piston engine cylinder liners. Some choose to run a nicasil coated bore so they can use a standard aluminum piston. BMW did this for some time and also had issues with it. Low quality fuel would cause the coating to fail.

Electroless Nickel Coating - NicasilThe electroless nickel coating is a well known chemical system with the medium level of phosphorous that is suitable to obtain on all kind of processed surfaces a uniform and constant layer, porous-less, adherent and big resistance against the corrosion and friction. The resulting coating is a nickel-phosphorous alloy obtained by an auto-catalytic bath.

The industrial usage of the electroless nickel coating has had a big increase starting from the seventies where, with the advent of specific brands how Niploy and Nicasil, has established an important technical position in the field of surface treatments. In detail, this technological process, have always captivated the customers of the engineering sectors and so on by their chemical and physical features. The electroless nickel coating is as well suitable to protect all sorts of metals and their derivatives, then it is useful for decorative patterns because of the amazing aesthetical impact.

Nikasil Plating - NiCom Nickel Silicon Carbide - U.S. Chrome (uschrome.com)
NiCom (Nikasil) plating is an electro-composite coating – consisting of a nickel metal matrix with hard particulate dispersed uniformly within it. The process involves electroplating nickel in the presence of hard particulates, such as SiC, under conditions allowing the hard particulate to co-deposit with the nickel. The result is an electroplated composite material where engineering thickness can be achieved for both original equipment manufacturing (OEM) or overhaul and repair (O&R).


Electro-composite materials, such as NiCom, are viable alternatives to hard chrome plating due to their excellent wear resistance. Superior sliding wear characteristics are achieved due to the hard particulates dispersed within the metal matrix. Mating components ride on the hard particles, which can vary from SiC to BN to diamond depending on the wear condition application, resulting in wear 5 to 10 times better than Chrome.

Max Blast

Wow, interesting how this turned out - certainly a lot of food for thought for someone looking to graduate past the x164 and maybe into an x166.

What is patently clear, and does not change regardless of generation is (as someone else commented on first),

1. Get a PPI
2. There are only two ways to own a Mercedes
2a. Fully covered under factory or extended warranty
2b. Viciously DIY everything that needs doing and defer the rest.