Aluminum Pistons popular Pistons steel began to pop up in Europe

Geshe Automotive News According to foreign media reports, a new generation of steel piston in the European diesel passenger car began to become more and more favored.

Joachim Wageblast, Head of Product Development, Engine Division, MAHLE USA, says: "In Europe, this is important. High-speed passenger car diesel engines are moving in that direction." Currently, steel pistons are more commonly found on medium- and heavy-duty truck engines.

He said some car makers already have the idea of using steel pistons on a U.S. diesel engine and are still "in the research and development phase." Since 2014, MAHLE supplies steel pistons for Renault 1.5L and 1.6L diesel vehicles.

Many companies, such as Mahler, point out that steel pistons reduce emissions by 3% to 5% compared to conventional pistons while providing better fuel efficiency. In the EU NEDC condition test showed that, compared with the aluminum piston, MAL steel piston equivalent to save 3% of the fuel. By reducing friction losses and improving thermodynamics, steel pistons have significant potential for reducing carbon dioxide emissions.

An important factor that a steel piston can have in these advantages is its size: the steel piston is shorter. Steel pistons have a higher hardness than aluminum pistons, so that with the same load of work, the steel pistons can be finished with shorter lengths. This may help the engine to achieve "downsizing" function.

Short piston means that the area of contact with the piston wall becomes smaller, while the expansion area of the steel piston is smaller than the aluminum piston when heated. The two characteristics can reduce the resistance of steel piston in operation.

Alexander Sagel, head of Rheinmetall Automotive, says: "To date, few companies use steel pistons, but many companies are exploring the concept." The Mercedes E350 BlueTec V6 diesel engine has been using steel pistons since 2014 .

In early 2016, Mercedes-Benz added a four-cylinder diesel engine using steel pistons to the European market, equipped with a diesel version of the Mercedes-Benz E-Class.

Demand for steel pistons is still growing. Companies that supply steel pistons say they have received orders for another luxury car brand that will be used on six-cylinder diesel cars. The production of these steel pistons will start in 2019. It is reported that the brand has never used steel piston before.