Federal-Mogul won multiple piston awards
Automakers' drive for better fuel economy and lower emissions through the use of smaller, often turbocharged, gasoline and diesel engines increased the strain on pistons. The aluminum pistons of diesel engines, especially, had to withstand much greater heat and pressure.
Winner's box
To commemorate 25 years of PACE Awards for supplier innovation, Automotive News each week looks back at one of the many winners.
2006-16: Federal-Mogul Corp.
Trade names: Monosteel piston; Goetze diamond coating for piston rings; DuraBowl piston coating process, below; EcoTough piston coating; 2D ultrasonic testing for raised gallery pistons; high-modulus bonded piston technology; DuroGlide low-friction ring pack technology; hybrid induction welding process for pistons
Innovation: Through new coatings, test procedures and manufacturing processes, Federal-Mogul found ways to make pistons stronger, more durable and more efficient, winning 8 PACE Awards as a result.
Why they resonated: The improved pistons could withstand higher pressures and heat, allowing automakers to make their engines smaller, more efficient and cleaner.
Federal-Mogul responded with innovations that won eight piston-related PACE Awards from 2006 through 2016. Two examples:
- In 2007, Federal-Mogul won for what had long been theorized but considered impossible: a diamond piston ring coating. Its Goetze diamond coating embedded diamond nanoparticles in microscopic cracks of a layered chromium coating. The result was an increase in durability of 50 to 70 percent, even under higher engine temperatures and pressures. Oil consumption fell 30 percent.
- In 2010, the supplier won for its DuraBowl piston coating process. It yielded an aluminum piston with six times the durability of earlier versions, in part through a proprietary test that validated the microstructure and integrity of every DuraBowl piston before delivery. DuraBowl pistons, launched on Mercedes-Benz's 2.2-liter diesel, quickly spread to six automakers' diesels ranging from 2 to 12 liters.
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