Cryogenic Treatment for eng and trans?

[My Mach 1 51]

Hey Guys and Gals, has anyone on this forum heard of Cryogenics? I was talking to a machine shop that mentioned they do this for the engines and the tranny shop they use does this treatment for the gears and mainshafts in the trannys they rebuild. This Cryogenic treatment supposedly changes the molecular striucture of the metal by changing Austenite into Martensite by cold tempering the crankshaft or gears or mainshafts for instance which results in 3 things. 1-strengthens the metal, relieves residual stress in the metal and increases resistance to wear. Has anybody tried this or has any experience with this process.It's approximately $350 for a disassembled trans including case or $500 for a disassembled engine including the block. Just wondering if it works? Or if the results are worth it?

[Rsanter 152]

Good stuff.

Great for race engines where you do a vibratory stress relief and then a cryo treatment

 

For street engines, don't bother

 

Bob

[barnett468 418]

What he said.

[My Mach 1 51]

Yeah, I'm going to try it out on my T5 to see if it make a noticeable difference. My buddy will tear it down then I ship it out for the process my buddy will reassemble it and we will see what kind of a difference it makes....Truth be told I'm kinda excited about it.

[RPM 1,190]

How about the brake rotors that are treated, are they worth the extra cash?

[barnett468 418]

Yeah, I'm going to try it out on my T5 to see if it make a noticeable difference. My buddy will tear it down then I ship it out for the process my buddy will reassemble it and we will see what kind of a difference it makes....Truth be told I'm kinda excited about it.

 

you will notice more if you rem finish them

[My Mach 1 51]

Apparently they'll last 2-3times longer because the wear resistance is improved. They won't warp and when it's time to machine them the finish on them is second to none...Pretty cool.

[1969_Mach1 333]

Isn't Matensitic material extremely brittle?  It doesn't seem reasonable to do on a street car. 

[My Mach 1 51]

I was also planning on getting micro polishing ($400)done before the Cyro ($350)I'm thinking - if this will help strengthen my T5 to take some abuse then it will be worth it.And it might also help a lot of others who are also wrestling with the age old question of "How do I upgrade my T5 to take more that than 350tq without breaking the bank?"It'll still be half the price of a TKO500 or 600 plus bell,cross member etc..etc..My Mach puts out 435hp / 435lbtq at the flywheel and I was toying with the idea of adding Nitrous. I don't do clutch dumps or power shifts...But I don't know...I'm not sure yet..I also just went up to 15" Magnums from 14"s with MT275x60x15 Drag radials on the rears and 28x6x15 Sportsman on the fronts.I can't wait to try the car out.But we've seen a ton of friggin snow up here in Vancouver so I haven't had a chance to take the car out.

[Bob & Sue 110]

That process has been developed thru the years it does work if your putting a lot of stress on race engines, for a street car I might do the trans, rear end gears and brakes. That's a lot of great parts you could buy for the cost of having it done.

 

The biggest benefit is finish machining say your doing 80 pistons & rods the tolerances are easier to maintain means less time balancing and sorting out sets of 8. 

 

We did a similar process with our race engine blocks, heads and crankshafts when we had enough spare parts didn't have the budgets of today's race teams. We would either leave them out all winter or put them in a big chest freezer during the summer after dipping them several times in water for 3-4 months then do all the finish machining. Not sure if it made a difference we seemed to blow up just as many treated that way as new parts of the shelf.

[barnett468 418]

Apparently they'll last 2-3times longer because the wear resistance is improved.

 

nope

[barnett468 418]

it will NOT turn butter into steel or steel into kryptonite . the amount of improvement varies depending on the make up of the metal but it will NOT make a huge change in anything.

 

if you are beating the crap out of your trans enough to worry about excessive wear or breakage etc, you better not use a stock t 5.

[My Mach 1 51]

Yeah that's true Barnett468. I'm looking at upgrading the internals with a Astro Z Spec Kit with 2:97 1st gear. I also want to talk to Walt at ProMotion Performance regarding some better internals or one of his better built T5s. I looked in a TKO but the cost is prohibitive due to the fact that I'll need to change all the other accessories also i.e.: clutch, bell, cross member etc.I want to pull the trigger within the next couple weeks.

[barnett468 418]

xlnt, the astro is one option i would do . don't know much about pro motion unless he is the drag racer . mcleod also has a t5 with great gear ratios.

[My Mach 1 51]

OH yeah? Really? I didn't know that Mccleod made T5s! I'm gonna to google that right now and report back.. Thanx !,

[My Mach 1 51]

Hey Barnett468, you're right! I just checked out McLeod's website and they sell a T5 with a 26 spline input shaft 2.97 1st and a .63 5th OD for $1995.00. So I think a nice gear set like the Astro Z Spec and tightened up with new bearings and syncos will easily handle the 435 tq at the flywheel on my car..I just won't do no 4000 rpm clutch dumps...