No nickel is different from nikasil. Nikasil is nickel silicone carbide. Much harder than just nickel. Alot of car manufactures use nikasil. Like BMW and Toyota. Im a certified Toyota tech and I know nickel and nikasil is different. The reason why not alot of higher end engines dont use it is because its expensive. Nickel is the cheapest and weakest. ABC is very strong but also cheap to do unlike Nikasil.