“That will be $326 dollars, ma’am.” I was waiting patiently for my 2006 Jeep Liberty at the dealership. The mechanic started going over everything that needed fixing, and one item instantly jumped out at me. I couldn’t believe my eyes—$326 dollars, for a transmission flush? “Yeah, you need to do that every once in a while, and it’s about time,” he told me.

Many people out there have a similar story. Just hearing the word “transmission” at the mechanic can be scary, since the average cost of replacing one in most vehicles is around $2,000 dollars…. if you’re lucky!

Then, as fate would have it, I crossed paths with Dr. Pasha, the founder and CTO of TriboTEX. I met him years ago at a business plan competition at the University of Idaho, where the TriboTEX team took 1st place. Since then, I’ve followed their story as they’ve won numerous innovation awards and received prestigious grants from the Department of Energy, Department of Defense, NASA, and more.

Does my fluid really need to be changed?

I asked Pasha why my transmission fluid would need to be changed. He told me that excessive friction in the transmission leads to accelerating degradation of the liquid. If you don’t flush out the bad stuff, the deteriorating fluid will wear out your transmission, leading to premature failure. One morning, you’ll be sitting in your car, engine purring like normal, but you won’t be able to move an inch.

My car was parked nearby, so we popped the hood and checked my transmission fluid. The color was a light pink, just as it should be. I bought my car a little over a year ago, and I am pretty confident the dealership had done a flush. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that a different dealership was trying to squeeze more money out of me!

My transmission fluid was fine, but the whole ordeal had me wondering how I could be proactive and keep expensive transmission repairs as far away as possible. Pasha is a material scientist and lubrication expert who discovered a wear reversing nanoparticle while working on his PhD. After finishing his degree, he founded TriboTEX and developed treatments for all kinds of vehicles and machines. This powerful little particle is now inside tens of thousands of engines, protecting vulnerable components while boosting performance and efficiency.

Watch the recording of our live broadcast unveiling the new TriboTEX Transmission.

Watch our live broadcast introducing TriboTEX Transmission.

Watch Video

Because of the differences between engine oil and ATF fluid, until now transmissions and gearboxes have required custom solutions. My timing could not have been better, because Pasha’s team just finished testing a brand new ATF treatment called TriboTEX Transmission.

Introducing TriboTEX Transmission

I didn’t understand the science at first, but Pasha explained how the dual-sided nanoparticles repair my automatic transmission by forming a Diamond-Like Carbon coating where the surface has eroded from friction, like a new finish on an antique table. Just like the rest of the product line, TriboTEX Transmission is non-toxic and made in the USA. In fact, Pasha’s discovery came from his quest for a cleaner lubricant for the wind turbines that power our nation. That gave me confidence that the treatment was safe for the environment, the economy, and my car. Flush that, dealership!

I added TriboTEX Transmission to my Jeep through the ATF dipstick tube—it literally took five seconds—and I’ve been so happy with the results. Knowing my transmission can repair itself, I feel more at ease. I saved hundreds of dollars by skipping the unnecessary flush, and I am saving thousands of dollars in the long-run by protecting my transmission.

Mechanics are known for trying to take advantage of women like me, but I would bet my two fuzzy dice that men are conned into phony flushes just as often. What’s your experience, TriboTEX fan? Comment and tell me what you think.

The post Lauren’s Transmission Story appeared first on TriboTEX.

It’s a warm sunny day on the Columbia River. Dr. Pasha Rudenko finishes applying a specially formulated TriboTEX treatment to the gearbox of a 2650HP Lycoming T-55 L-7 jet engine. This special gearbox converts 15,000 RPM into 7,500 RPM while reversing direction. The gearbox and engine power one of the fastest kinds of racing boats in the world, an unlimited hydroplane named Miss Madison (Miss Homestreet).

The hydroplanes of today are almost more plane than hydro. They are thirty feet long, and have 7,000 pound wings that glide over the water with only a minimal amount of contact with the river. Powered by turbine engines capable of almost 3,000 horsepower, these boats can reach straightaway speeds of close to 200 miles per hour.

The transmissions in these hydroplanes do an insane amount of work and rapidly accumulate wear. In fact, the Miss Madison team was burning through transmissions like a Toyota Tundra burns through gasoline, even while using the best lubricants. The oil would go in bright like honey and come out pitch black. They transported six racing transmissions with them throughout the season and had to use a crane to install. And let me tell you, these transmissions are not cheap. They cost about $8k to rebuild and $20k to replace.

How We Got Involved

One of the Miss Madison crew members heard about the nanotech research that Dr. Pasha was conducting on friction and lubrication at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.

The crew member emailed Dr. Pasha, explaining their desperate transmission problem and asking if there was any way we could help. After some time in the lab, Dr. Pasha formulated a gearbox treatment for Miss Madison using his (now patented) advanced nanoparticles.

These powerful little particles are anisotropic, meaning they are different in different directions and have two functionally different sides; one side binds, and the other glides. The grippy side reinforces and strengthens by binding to engine surfaces, exposing the slippery side to fight friction. This killer combination reduces friction so low, it has its own term—superlubricity.

The nanoparticles only activate under high heat and pressure, so they aren’t wasted on surfaces that don’t generate friction. Instead, they intelligently self-align into a super strong lattice structure on top of compromised surfaces, compensating for years of wear, thereby REVERSING it.

After an activation period, which takes roughly 500 miles in a normal car but much less in a jet transmission, the critical components of the gearbox are coated with a porous, lubricious tribofilm (tribo means friction) boasting excellent embeddability and oil retention. The slippery surface contains select catalysts, added to accelerate the formation of a Diamond-Like Carbon (DLC) cap on top.

Get to the point! What happened to the gearbox?

Did Miss Madison blow the competition away? Or did her transmission leave her dead in the water?

With a fully activated TriboTEX treatment guarding her transmission with diamond-like armor, the gearbox temperature dropped by about 20 °C at peak points. She took 1st place three rounds in a row and scored the highest points overall. Most importantly, her transmission lasted not twice, but three times as long as the previous one, saving ~$40k.

Her transmission lasted not twice, but three times as long...

You might be wondering why there isn’t a big fat TriboTEX sticker on the side of Miss Madison. Racing teams are selling exposure to eyeballs, not the best tech or parts. That’s why you see a bunch of bank decals. It doesn’t mean that free checking gives racers a competitive edge or that the crew saved so much money on fees they decided to promote it.

Many racers have used TriboTEX but have been reluctant to promote it, giving away their secret weapon. Can you blame them?

The armored transmission lasted all the way to her first place season victory and, with one oil change, on to win two national championships. Not only that, but she beat a lake speed record in Detroit that was standing for over ten years.

The Miss Madison team are loyal TriboTEX customers because of one reason: it works.

Now YOU can finally take advantage of the same competitive edge that keeps Miss Madison in the winner’s circle: TriboTEX Transmission. Experience unparalleled power and an endurance boost with a drop-in treatment that’s quicker than checking your oil.

It protects and reverses wear in your drivetrain with nanoparticles, so you can have peace of mind that your vehicle will be there for you when you need it most. We designed this advanced technology to repair damaged bearings and gears, and protect the most precise and delicate components of gearboxes with diamond-like armor.

Take advantage of the following benefits for your vehicles:

• Dramatically extend the life of at-risk metals in your transmission
• Reduce heat generated by friction thus extending the life of your lubricant
• Deliver more energy to the wheels rather than wasting it on cooling
• Boost and protect your towing capacity
• Defend your transmission from shock loads during towing and rough shifting

With a single application, TriboTEX Transmission will protect and improve your car for thousands of miles. Made in the USA and developed with the support of the U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Department of Defense, the National Science Foundation, and NASA.

The post How an Outsider Scientist Tripled the Life of this Racing Gearbox in 7 Minutes appeared first on TriboTEX.

In the United States we measure with fuel economy by stating MPG (miles per gallon) or distance per unit volume. In Europe vehicles are measured with fuel consumption Liters/100 km or volume per unit distance.

FUEL CONSUMPTION

This is the metric of vehicle efficiency relating a measurement for volume of fuel consumed per given distance of travel [vol/dist]. Reductions in fuel consumption are less dramatic than the same exact increases in fuel economy.

DEFINED AS:
The volume of fuel consumed divided by the distance traveled. reported in [gal/100miles]

Scales linearly with volumetric FUEL USE (volume of fuel over time)
IS directly proportional to:

• Fuel Cost
• CO2 Emissions
  (the metrics of interest for the CAFE/GHG standards)

FUEL ECONOMY

The inverse of Fuel Consumption [dist/vol], is a more commonly reported and regularly quoted metric, familiar to consumers. Describing for consumers utility of the vehicle — how far one can travel on a given quantity of fuel (like gallons).

DEFINED AS:
The distance traveled divided by the volume of fuel used, reported in [mpg],
IS NOT linear with volumetric FUEL USE (volume of fuel over time).  

This non-linear relationship is NOT WELL understood by consumers, leading to misinterpretation of the benefits improved fuel economy provides for vehicles of different efficiencies.

If the GOAL is to MINIMIZE FUEL USE and MAXIMIZE ENERGY EFFICIENCY
FUEL CONSUMPTION REDUCTION is the Fundamental Metric of VEHICLE EFFICIENCY IMPROVEMENT.

FUEL CONSUMPTION RATHER THAN FUEL ECONOMY
provides an accurate comparison of technological improvements on different vehicle platforms.

The figure illustrates how increases in fuel economy (+5mpg) produce diminishing benefits to reductions in fuel consumption for increasingly efficient vehicles.

The post Fuel Consumption vs. Fuel Economy appeared first on TriboTEX.

“One of my demos was about why we might want to buy a pan with a nano coating,” Ann said. “I start with a pan that is covered with ping pong balls. I ask them to imagine cracking and frying an egg on it. You just aren’t going to get much of the egg off. A micro coating helps, but a nano coating is even better. I love watching the confused looks change to understanding as the demo goes on. Now I need to revise it a bit to better explain how a nano coating can fill into the “rough” surfaces of an engine to produce the improvements TriboTEX offers!”

There was further interest in TriboTEX, thanks to Ann and her students, at the Rushford Days car show. From automobile to marine applications, newly-educated enthusiasts were buzzing about the nanotechnology in TriboTEX.

“The only trouble I had, was in convincing one gentleman that I did not have a free sample for him!” said Ann.

Thanks to educators like Ann, and her students, the future of nanotechnology remains bright. We hope TriboTEX can continue to spark interest in nano technology in the minds that will shape our future.

The post How an Educator and TriboTEX Helped Students Learn About Nanotechnology appeared first on TriboTEX.

There were beautifully formed white rings had formed on the piston rings. On closer inspection, you can observe wear marks and scratches in the piston rings that have the white material formed in them and over them. Eureka. An “Ah ha” moment. Having talked to early TriboTEX customers there was a recurring testimonial that oil consumption was dramatically reduced. My brother had told me about an old John Deere combine that used a gallon of oil a day, that virtually stopped using oil. Nothing more dramatic than that. Gas mileage, yes, engine noise, yes, peppier performance, yes, and oil consumption, yes. Reduced oil consumption is easy to notice and easy to measure, and consistently this is an observation and testimonial.

In the TriboTEX lubricants laboratory, the Falex test stand machine is routinely used for quality control and to prove the dramatic reduction-of-friction claim of TriboTEX. But I do not know of a test stand to simulate the formation of TriboTEX coating in the combustion chamber, on the cylinder walls and on the rings. Is this the major reason for performance improvement and emissions reductions? More than the reduction of friction alone? There is no other engine oil additive that makes this claim. Reverse wear on cylinders and rings? Only TriboTEX.

TriboTEX now has an engine test stand where the cylinders and pistons can be exchanged. Test data is now being assembled and a National Laboratory will examine the cylinder walls and piston rings. Inspection of one old Nissan engine is not enough data. Please have a look at the accompanying photo of the computer screen showing the piston rings and the coating formation. Imagine what this coating will do for your ageing, oil eating engine!

The post Engine Burning Oil? How to Reduce Oil Consumption appeared first on TriboTEX.