Dutch firm Royal DSM has launched an innovative new high-performance material that reduces frictional torque in automobile engine timing systems.

Stanyl HGR1, based on Stanyl polyamide 46, will provide OEMs with a very cost-effective tool for reducing fuel consumption, DSM said.

Automobile makers are constantly trying to improve the torque they can obtain from their engines, so that they can reduce engine capacity – and hence fuel consumption – without loss of mechanical performance. Torque is the tendency of a force to rotate an object about an axis, and in engines it is closely related to horsepower. Their strategy includes reducing frictional torque, which is the negative force caused when a rotating object moves against another surface.

Part of the frictional torque arises in engine timing systems when the timing chain moves over an element that keeps it under tension. This chain tensioner is often injection moulded in polyamide 66, but increasingly this material is being replaced by DSM’s Stanyl PA46, owing to its improved performance, both in terms of mechanical properties, as well as its frictional and wear characteristics.

DSM has continued to work on improving the properties of Stanyl PA 46 for use in chain tensioners. Stanyl HGR1 and the next generation Stanyl HGR2, which will be introduced soon, offer further enhancements in friction reduction.