BMW will use a new Federal-Mogul aluminum piston (right) for the triple-turbo, 93kW/liter engine (left) in its M550d xDrive sedan. The piston is design to satisfy the high heat
and strength requirements of new diesel engines.
The piston's design uses the company's Durabowl process, which creates a reinforced combustion bowl rim that can withstand high thermal and mechanical loads. The process remelts the alloy around the bowl's rim to improve the aluminum's fatigue strength. A raised cooling gallery, made possible by Federal-Mogul's two-dimensional ultrasonic inspection process, improves thermal performance.