John..

I wanted to get some opinions on the life of the Nikasil Cylinders in the 911 cars. I just recently had my Alusil blore Nikasil Plated in my 928 to allow running of a forged JE Piston.

Anyone have any estimates on the life of original and/ or re-coated cylinders? Millennium did the work on my V8 block.

There is this whole BMW/ Sulfur issue I have read about...but I would like to think that was a process error, because the Nikasil is still used in BMW bikes, the 911 TT, GT2, GT3 and Carrera GT (V-10).

Thanks

Steve Weiner-Rennsport Systems

Hi John:

Just to add your your list, most F1 engines, CART engines, and most Winston Cup V-8's also use Nikasil plated bores. The majority of Porsche air-cooled cylinders sold are Nikasil, as well.

I've seen these last hundreds of thousands of miles with proper oil change intervals and regular air cleaner replacement. Dirt is the enemy here,..............

The only failures of Nikasil cylinders I've witnessed are ones that have received infrequent oil changes or when the plating was defective. Amazing stuff when done correctly and treated properly.

I have no clue about what happened with the BMW blocks, but Porsche has used Nikasil cylinders since 1974 and certainly these cars burn the same fuels that BMW's use,....

John..

Thanks Steve.

I do think Bimmer had quality issues with their Nikasil engines...it is easy to blame the fuel and admit no fault. Can you imagine the bad PR if Bimmer admitted to a major process fault?

I guess my only choice is to run it, take care of it and move on. Thus far, the car runs like a freight train.

It is time to add more manifold pressure and see how good these JE Pistons really are!