Through its group subsidiary KS Kolbenschmidt, first-tier auto-industry supplier Rheinmetall Automotive AG has been awarded a further contract to manufacture steel pistons for car diesel engines. The order has an aggregate value of over €45 million.
As from 2019 and for a period of 6 years, these steel pistons will be produced at Kolbenschmidt's Czech location at Ústí nad Labem. The customer, a premium-segment OEM that so far has not installed any steel pistons in its cars, will be fitting them in a new generation of six-cylinder diesel engines.
Steel pistons for cars are the trend in current engine developments, especially in the premium segment of the market. They are shorter than their aluminum cousins and, with their smaller piston skirt surface combined with a longer connecting rod, help reduce friction within the engine. The result is an up to four percent reduction in fuel consumption and correspondingly lower CO2 emissions. This applies to engines with moderate as well as higher power densities and rising peak pressures. Since 2014, KS Kolbenschmidt has been supplying steel pistons for a high-volume series-production model to another premium manufacturer.
Steel is much stronger than aluminum, which allows an approximately 30 percent reduction in overall height for steel compared with aluminum pistons. Steel's reduced thermal conductivity also means higher surface temperature of the piston in the combustion chamber, the consequence being more efficient combustion and another contribution to CO2 reduction.
As from 2019 and for a period of 6 years, these steel pistons will be produced at Kolbenschmidt's Czech location at Ústí nad Labem. The customer, a premium-segment OEM that so far has not installed any steel pistons in its cars, will be fitting them in a new generation of six-cylinder diesel engines.
Steel pistons for cars are the trend in current engine developments, especially in the premium segment of the market. They are shorter than their aluminum cousins and, with their smaller piston skirt surface combined with a longer connecting rod, help reduce friction within the engine. The result is an up to four percent reduction in fuel consumption and correspondingly lower CO2 emissions. This applies to engines with moderate as well as higher power densities and rising peak pressures. Since 2014, KS Kolbenschmidt has been supplying steel pistons for a high-volume series-production model to another premium manufacturer.
Steel is much stronger than aluminum, which allows an approximately 30 percent reduction in overall height for steel compared with aluminum pistons. Steel's reduced thermal conductivity also means higher surface temperature of the piston in the combustion chamber, the consequence being more efficient combustion and another contribution to CO2 reduction.
