The piston skirt area must carry high loads during operation. The piston has carefully designed amounts of taper from ring land to skirt, and is slightly oval to provide a consistent bearing surface. Small "scallops" are incorporated in the machining of the surface to assist with oil retention. But sometimes that is not enough.
A lot of cylinder wear can occur in the period just after the engine has started but before warm oil flow starts. That is why it is always necessary to pre-heat on extremely cold days and to allow your engine to warm up prior to take-off to avoid scuffing.
To assist with scuffing protection TCM pistons have graphite coatings applied to the load bearing area of the piston skirt.
For the higher output engines, TCM TopCare Pistons feature Ni-Resist iron inserts for additional durability in the highest load and temperature top ring area. |
