Chevrolet Using Diamond Material to Reduce Friction in 1.4l Turbo Engine

ChevroletChevroletUnited States of America, 1911 > present82 models
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is using a material called Diamond-Like Carbon (DLC) in the piston rings on its 1.4 liter turbocharged engine found in the CruzeChevrolet Cruze Gen.2United States of America, 2008 > present67 versions
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, SonicChevrolet SonicUnited States of America, 2011 > present37 versions
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and other models. 

The DLC piston rings reduce friction to increase fuel economy. Its low wear rate also lowers oil consumption in high mileage cars. GMGMUnited States of America, 1998 > present8 models
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can engineer the material to resist wear, control friction or avoid adhesion. It is working on it for machining applications to keep aluminum filings from building up on the tools and gumming them up. It is also working on adapting the material for other high friction automotive parts and thinks it will have DLC-coated rocker arms in its cars by 2014. 

“Through years of lab research, we’ve acquired an understanding of how to work with DLC at the atomic level. It holds great promise for future applications, both in advanced manufacturing processes and improved production parts that save our customers money," said Michael Lukitsch, GM senior researcher.

Although, it is the first time that Chevrolet has used it, but it has already been used in computer hard drives and semi-conductors.