Freezing components.

[Lee]

Has anybody else tried/heard of this?
I was reading an article last night about the subject and it was very interesting, just wondering if it's as good as they're claiming

[Alan Uyeno]

cryoing isn't an expensive process and it appears to help. Is it a solution to pitting lifters??? NOPE. I got my gears in my trans cryoed. I think its a piece of mind more than anything but people have had excellent success doing it.

[Frank LUX]

I heard about that too...

I was told that it is very helpfull on R&P....

Frank

[ESH]

I heard of a lawnmower that made 3 more HP after a little cryo, percentage wise that's a good hike! 

[Lee]

cryoing isn't an expensive process and it appears to help. Is it a solution to pitting lifters??? NOPE. I got my gears in my trans cryoed. I think its a piece of mind more than anything but people have had excellent success doing it.

Yeh.
After going through it again, they're saying that some formula 1 teams use it for their engines.
If it's good enough for formula 1, it's good enough for VW's.
Also saying that they could do an engine for £400, no bad i thought.

[Lee.C]

  can someone help me here  why would you want to freeze an engine  whats the theroy  just some more info would be cool 

[ESH]

Put simply and according to my limited understanding of it cryogenic freezing of certain metals changes the structure of the material improving certain charecteristics. It's a few degrees on from simply freezing it so sticking it in your freezer won't work! There are several components that potentially benefit from the process.

 

[Lee]

can someone help me here  why would you want to freeze an engine  whats the theroy  just some more info would be cool 

The article i read was in  MAX POWER

[Lee.C]

Put simply and according to my limited understanding of it cryogenic freezing of certain metals changes the structure of the material improving certain charecteristics. It's a few degrees on from simply freezing it so sticking it in your freezer won't work! There are several components that potentially benefit from the process.

 

Thanks dude now I understand - I better get the 1641 out of my mum's freezer then

[richie]

I have tried a few different things,the most success I have had is with valve springs,got 3 years now on my K800s with a very small lose in pressure,just for reference a non cryoed set lost more pressure in the spring pressure measuring tool after to checks than mine have after the 3 years running,cheers richie,uk

[quickkafer]

I'm no expert on this process either, but what I have read about it did not state that it will make your engine produce more power.  I think that is a myth.  The process causes the molecular structure to align itself into a more uniform pattern.  I believe that it requires a freeze and thaw cycle several times over to achieve the results that are described.  When all the molecular structure is uniform, there is less opportunity for breakage since there are no defects (or weak points) in the part. 

The parts aren't changed in shape or size in anyway, so I'm not sure how more horsepower could be gained from the cryogenic process.  If you've got a link that shows how HP gains have been made by doing this, I would love to read it.  But it is my understanding that strength is the only thing to be gained.

Scott Faivre

[Lee.C]

mmmm interesting 

[ESH]

...The process causes the molecular structure to align itself into a more uniform pattern... 

...The parts aren't changed in shape or size in anyway, so I'm not sure how more horsepower could be gained from the cryogenic process...

Depends which components you are talking about but the change at a molecular level can improve cooling in certain components by increasing the rate at which heat is dissipated and this can have a moderate effect in the ability to make consistent power. For data to confirm this you'd have to experiment a little but it would probably be worthwhile.

[quickkafer]

Yeah, but I think the real deal is that after you've made the parts stronger, you can push them a little harder to squeak out more horsepower.  It's the tuning done afterward that creates more power, not just freezing the parts and putting them back the same way they were before.  The material that the part was made from hasn't changed (For instance: Aluminum into some ultra-rare alloy), so the thermodynamic characteristics of the material won't really be changed at all.  I could be wrong.  Like you said, there's only 1 way to find out.

Cryo'ing parts for the increase in stregnth is why we should look into this treatment.  If we generate a miniscule more amount of HP that's just an added bonus!

Scott Faivre

[Lee.C]

This is a very interesting thread - I am going to research this ALOT for my next engine 

So which components are normally frozen

[Frank LUX]

This is a very interesting thread - I am going to research this ALOT for my next engine 

So which components are normally frozen

I would go for Heads and R&P...

Frank

[Lee.C]

I take it R&P stands for rods and pistons   thanks for the info though dude

[Frank LUX]

I take it R&P stands for rods and pistons   thanks for the info though dude

No, it stands for Ring and Pinion, you know the thing that always lets go in the Race Trannies...

Frank

[Lee.C]

yeah I realised that after I posted that  but what about rods 

[Frank LUX]

yeah I realised that after I posted that  but what about rods 

Don't know, i have not used that "freezing" process yet, but will probably let my heads get Cryod next Time...

Frank

[quickkafer]

I don't think it would hurt to get any of your parts cryo'ed.  But usually it's the high stress items first. (i.e. cranks, cams, rods, flywheel, etc.)  basically anything that stands a chance of shearing from repeated abuse.

Scott Faivre

[Jon]

I know Bruce Tweddle cryod my ZF diff before I bought it. And the rest of the car gets cryod every single winter! 

[Chris W]

I listend to this a while back. It has some good info I thought.

http://richchristensen.com/radio/ivdimension.php

Click on Cryogenics under broadcasts.