Coat all the things!
 

Back when I did a lot of work on Spec Miatas here in California there was always talk of "coating" engine, transmission, and differential internals. I never took the time to find out what this coating was, and I doubt anyone else did either. I'm sure some of you are aware of it, though.

Anyway, I'm doing a Rhetorical analysis of a scientific Engineering based article of my choosing for a class, and happened to find this article which I thought was pretty interesting:

Super low friction of DLC applied to engine cam follower lubricated with ester-containing oil

Its a short article and offers up a cool result. The catch I thought was interesting is that the different lubricant used drastically reduces the friction coefficient when using the ta-C type DLC coating.

$36 to read the article... i was exited

Hmm I found it with google scholar... I think I must have still been logged into the university Vpn... Long story short: coat cams or lifters with ta-C DLC and use ester-containing oil for ultra low friction, comparable to a roller cam. Friction coefficients as low as 0.006 were observed. It was a study done by an engineer at Nissan.