pdxmotorhead

So its been 25 years since my 69T went down the road suffering from unaffordable corrosion in the rear suspension pickup points on the pan,,
while getting re-aquainted with the Marque, and reading all the hoopla about the IMS bearing and the Cylinder scuffing,, I got to wondering,,
What happened to the Nikasil coatings,, back in the day it was nothing to wear out 4 sets of rings and 2 sets of pistons before the jugs got
sent off to Andial for recoating.. I mean you almost couldn't hurt them,,
Seems like the new jugs and engine cases are lighter,, but maybe not as tough??

And we didn't have fancy schmancy synthetics,, Valvoline racing 40 weight was the thing..

wyovino

The M96 NA engines didn't use Nikosil.

Dryslick13

Only GT2, 3, and Turbos have the plating for those years. Totally different engines too.

Chris(MA)

Nicasil costs more $$ and porsche in 96/97 was pretty broke so they use lokasil or alusil which is not a plating. Unfortunately it reduces the strength of the cylinder walls

pdxmotorhead

Ah,, yea that makes sense I was talking 70 to 80 vintage machines,,
at the time in the late 80's to early 90's it was interesting how folks were
scared to death of AL cylinders,, (Flashbacks from the GM/Vega debacle)
I had a buddy that sent a Vega block out and got the bores done similar to how the 996
Blocks get done these days.. Was quite a screamer for the day. The car eventually got a
little Buick Aluminum V8 in it.

My 69 was a T engine so had Cast iron jugs like a VW,, they actually seemed to last forever as well...

NuttyProfessor

Not adding much to this discussion, but cylinder bore scoring does plague the M96/M97 engines. If that concerns you, then find a Mezger engine - 996 Turbo, GT2, or GT3. They all come with Nikasil bores.

wsrgklt

According to this article, Nikasil plating costs less than Lokasil or Alusil to manufacture, but has other drawbacks. Nickel is a heavy metal and therefore and environmental toxin that is difficult to deal with, and high-sulfur fuels can eat away at the Nikasil lining.

https://www.wardsauto.com/news-analy...s-strong-ideas

JTT

^^ That was my understanding as well. I understand other manufacturers moved away from Nikasil as well for same reasoning.