Piston rings on current TSI engines?

Hello,

While browsing a KS piston catalog from 2005 recently, I noticed that not a single turbocharged gasoline engine featured pistons with ring carriers.
Not on the 1.8T, not on the G60, and not on various supercharged engines from Mercedes-Benz.

How does this apply to the newer generation of gasoline engines? After all, the rated power output speeds haven't been increased, which means that the increased (displacement-) power can only be achieved through a higher average cylinder pressure. Furthermore, modern turbocharged engines, thanks to improved internal cooling achieved through gasoline direct injection, now operate with relatively high compression ratios (relatively speaking, compared to earlier generations of turbocharged engines).

Who knows more about the mechanics of modern gasoline engines?

Hello,
In 2005, the only gasoline engine with a piston featuring a ring carrier was the 2.0 TFSI EA113 (147 kW).
Most likely, it had Mahle pistons.

All successors to the mentioned engine had piston designs with ring carriers, and utilized different piston manufacturers.

Best regards,

Thanks, that's what I suspected. I would have been surprised if the current engine displacements and turbocharging levels were possible without a piston ring carrier.

In the future, the issue of ring bearers will probably resolve itself.

The latest trend is steel pistons, which are already production-ready or are already being used in vehicles.

http://www.kfz-betrieb.vogel.de/fahrzeug-technik/articles/321369/

Let's see if this trend will also become established for gasoline engines with turbochargers in the future.

Thank you for the information!

Does anyone know if the current 2.0 TDI engine in the Passat, with its 176 kW/240 PS output, already uses forged pistons? Given the engine displacement, it would be logical to assume...

Hello,

For gasoline engines, steel pistons are generally not a good choice due to their poorer thermal conductivity, which results in higher surface temperatures, increased volumetric losses, and a greater tendency for knocking.

Specifically for diesel engines, particularly in trucks, this represents the state of the art. Here, however, mainly due to the extremely high mileage requirement of 1 million km or more.

The cost of a steel piston is very high, as it cannot be cast and requires extensive machining. You don't do that voluntarily.

Best regards,

Hi!

Okay, I'd like to discuss something. It's well-known that some relatively new cars, for example, a friend of mine has an Audi A5 with a gasoline engine, have consumed a significant amount of oil from the very beginning, even when brand new.
He then received a set of "other" pistons, free of charge as a gesture of goodwill. He also mentioned something about "strange, very short" pistons when he saw the old ones.

Is there any truth to the oil consumption issue?

Hello,

The oil consumption is not likely caused by the piston alone. However, the piston rings associated with it have a significant influence. Most likely, all of this was replaced when the engine was already disassembled.
In today's gasoline engines, the components are very delicate compared to the past and also compared to diesel engines, despite the high power output per liter. For example, damage can occur during the initial assembly, which can then lead to the problems you described.

Best regards,

Quote:

Is there any truth to the oil consumption issue?

Well...

Okay, at least for the 2.0 TSI engines, there's something to be aware of:

Package of measures to increase the vacuum pressure:
- New oil-water separator (including modified pressure regulating valve).
- Replacement of the crankshaft oil seal.
- Update engine control unit (ECU).

If that doesn't work: new pistons with different piston rings.