General Motors have used innovative crankshaft polish to improve the performance of its 5.3 Liter V8 EcoTec3 engine which powers Chevrolet Silverado.
The company added automated microfinishing and electronic measurement to the crankshaft, which is expected to get crank tolerances in the vehicle.
After the addition of automated microfinishing, 80-micron microfinishing was applied to the part to exceed their design tolerances.
GM Tonawanda Engine manufacturing engineer Anthony Lewandowski said: "When a truck's tachometer says that its engine is comfortably cruising at 3,600 RPM, that means a crankshaft is revolving 60 times each second inside its bearings on a thin coating of oil.
"Micropolishing the crank's journals improves this oil film's consistency to reduce friction and improve the EcoTec3's reliability and durability over the life of the truck."
In addition to Silverado, the 5.3 Liter V8 EcoTec3engine will be available in Chevrolet Tahoe, Suburban, GMC Yukon and Sierra.
Image:crankshaft of 5.3 Liter V8 EcoTec3 engine. Photo courtesy of General Motors.
