Cylinder Bore – Lokasil

This data is a section of a Lokasil^® cylinder taken from a used Porsche 911 (996) engine block.

Lokasil is a process for manufacturing aluminium engine blocks with silicon-reinforced cylinder sliding surfaces. It that was developed by Kolbenschmit as an alternative to the alloy Alusil. The high silicon content aluminum that makes up the cylinder bore wear surface is localized to the area of the cylinder bore exclusively, where with Alusil, the entire cylinder or engine block is cast out of the high-silicon-content aluminum alloy. The area that appears darker contains the silicon particles, where the lighter area does not have any silicon.

Lokasil, like Alusil, is not honed conventionally. There is no visible crosshatch and it is actually a chemical or mechanical process that removes the surface aluminum, exposing the silicon particles. The particles allow for formation of the oil film that supports the piston and rings during operation.

Measured via Zygo ZeGage Plus (10x)

Data source: Charles Navaro and LN Engineering https://lnengineering.com/

Lokasil is a registered trademark of KS Aluminium-Technologie AG.

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