Pistons #2360449

The demands placed on pistons for gasoline engines have been continuously tightened over the past years. Higher performance requirements trigger increased thermal loads. At the same time, downsizing concepts have increased mean and peak pressures, while high-speed concepts impose greater inertia forces.MAHLE provides years of experience and innovative solutionsand continuously adjusts the existing product range to tomorrow's requirements.

The state of the art in motorsport is now used in highly loaded series production engines as well: the forged piston. For the same alloy, they have a finer microstructure than cast pistons. The production process results in greater strength. As a result, the pistons can withstand even the high loads in motorsport and in engines with exceptionally high specific output. They are already being used today in sporty series vehicles with over 130 kWL. Another advantage of forged pistons is the potential to produce thinner walls, thus reducing weight.

Injection pressures of up to 2, 200 bar, mean pressures of up to 31 bar, peak pressures of up to 210 bar, specific power output of up to 100 kW per liter, and ever lower exhaust gas emissionsthese are the current requirements for modern passenger car diesel engines.In order to overcome severe loads due to high temperatures and pressures, MAHLE has developed passenger car diesel pistons made of aluminum as well as diesel pistons made of steel.

MAHLE aluminum pistons for passenger car diesel engines are cast from high temperature-resistant aluminum alloys. Standard features include ring carriers made of high-strength cast iron to increase the wear resistance of the first ring groove, salt core cooling channels or cooled ring carriers, and MAHLE EvoGlide coatings to optimize the running characteristics of the skirt. For high-performance engines, MAHLE additionally uses bushings in the piston pin bores.

Modern engines place greater requirements on cylinder components than ever before: at higher operating temperatures and pressures, emissions must be reduced. This calls for innovative concepts and materials with unprecedented high performance. Thinking in systems and integral concepts also considerably contributes to achieving these goals. Additional performance potential can only be tapped when components are optimally tuned.With the power cell unitconsisting of the piston with rings and pin, cylinder liner, and connecting rod with bearing shellsMAHLE provides a system that offers the customer commercial and logistical advantages due to its simpler assembly and optimally coordinated design.

The piston pin, as the link between the piston and connecting rod, is subjected to extremely high loads in alternating directions. In order to be able to withstand these stresses and ever-increasing combustion pressures, it is essential that the load capacity of these components be permanently optimized.MAHLE piston pins feature highest quality, precision, and application versatility. They are manufactured with state-of-the-art multistation part formers. Innovative and complex forms can thus be achieved for increased stress resistance. Coatings based on PVD or DLC (diamond-like carbon) reduce wear and improve friction properties.

In diesel engines, steel pistons provide significant potential for reducing CO2 emissions in comparison with the aluminum pistons that have been typical up to now. After a long history of positive results in commercial vehicles, MAHLE has therefore developed steel pistons for passenger car diesel engines to the point of series production readiness. Significant advantages result from the frictional loss. Thermodynamic conditions additionally result in advantages in combustion that lead to a reduction in fuel consumption and emissions levels. The lower compression height of a steel piston can also be utilized to increase the swept volume or to decrease the height of the engine.