These days the use of ceramic coatings has become widespread including Touring Cars, Super Car manufacturers and various rallying disciplines, which has led through to private owners using the coatings on track day cars and fast road cars.

Thermal Barrier Coating (TBCs) or heat reduction coatings are ceramic materials which are widely used on modern aero engines and land based turbines. They can also be applied to vehicle exhausts, turbocharger casings, heat shields and other vehicle components to reduce heat transfer and improve vehicle performance. Heat soak from hot exhaust systems transfers into other vehicle components causing reduced performance or damage.

Thermal Barrier Coating (TBCs) are used in motorsport and on high-performance vehicles to reduce this effect.  The TBC’s give two benefits: Keeping the heat in the exhaust system reduces under bonnet temperatures and also keeps the heat energy in the exhaust gas which improves the thermodynamic performance of the turbocharger. Both effects enable more power to be produced and improve reliability.

The Thermal Barrier Coating is typically a two part process with a bond coat of Ni/Al or Ni/Cr type layer and a top coat of a suitable ceramic.