Outdoor Power Equipment (Lawn Mowers, Snow Blowers, Chain Saws and more) Discussions

It would be good to hear some thoughts about the quality of the aluminum bore engine these days.  I've read about "nickelsil" coating, plating, etc.  See this link for some interesting reading:

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=1721394&page=1

I'll admit I'm not very informed about these items, but could one assume that the Briggs engines from the past 5 or more years with the aluminum bore feature this type of technology?  It also really gets confusing when Briggs keeps coming out with new engine names:  Intek, Snow, Snow Max, Polar Force (Ariens blowers), Professional (Simplicity blowers), and any more I don't know about?  Some with cast iron bore, some with aluminum.

In addition, I've read about the pistons having plating/coating instead of the bore.  True?  Anyway, I'd like to see some good stuff from lots of you.  Thanks.

Plated aluminum  cylinders work good. But they have to be the hardest surface in there. So the rings they use have to be softer. Same on the pistons, the coatings they use are for thermo or slickness not hardness. Sleds are pushing 170 hp  on plated cylinders and 400 hp on mods. Strength is not a problem. Plated cylinder have been around over 40 years

I appreciate the comments.  Good stuff.  Thanks.