Every year Zircotec supplies thermal barrier coatings to a number of teams entering the Institution of Mechanical Engineering Formula Student Competition, though 2008 was the first year that our Performance White coating was used on the University of Hertfordshire car.
Tighter packaging at the rear of the 2008 car led to reduced space being available between the front of the engine and the firewall behind the drivers back. One of the Hertfordshire team had worked with Zircotec before and had seen the benefits offered by our ceramic coatings, hence Zircotec’s involvement in the 2008 car.
Jamie Muir, the Hertfordshire teams exhaust designer comments….
“The Zircotec coating limits the expansion of each part of the exhaust manifold, allowing the proximity of the primaries to be reduced to around 3mm in places, and allowing the team to take full advantage of the space behind the firewall without suffering excess temperatures and heat soak.”
“Temperatures were monitored during testing. There was an average temperature of 37.5°C behind the firewall, 24°C within the driver’s cockpit, and 22.5°C right up under the drivers seat. This was a massive improvement compared to previous cars (where exhaust wrap had been used) and was instantly noticed by our drivers.”
“Another advantage noticed by the team was an ability to work around the exhaust within minutes of the car returning from the track. Parts of the engine would still be dangerously hot but the exhaust manifold was cold enough to be worked on almost straight away.”