From Swain tech:
Garrett,
We can coat the transmission gears and shafts. It is rarely a high priority item as the long term benefits are not usually there. The gears and shafts are usually hard enough that the surface profile achieved in the surface preparation process is limited which limits the adhesion of the coatings. Initially you get good feel but over the long haul the transmission coatings do not tend to be as durable as coatings applied to parts which are soft enough to have the needed surface preparation such as a piston. It would never hurt to have the parts coated but it is not likely to be a good long term proposition. You may consider it if you are racing and looking for every little bit of help possible from coating.
Parts do need to be clean and fully disassembled.
Cryo is a good complementary process to our coatings.
That's a great response and confirms my suspicions. The coatings may be better on aluminum (cam bearings?) and serve different purposes at least in part, like heat shielding and oil shedding. On the trans, it will likely wear off, on a high mileage anticipated motor, not such good benefit. Cryo is forever.
On the trans, does not need disassembly for Cryo, even bearings can stay on and will benefit.
The last statement proves to me they are stand up guys. You've got to be realistic and honest with your customers when discussing a competing product/service.
