Fiat Chrysler has introduced a new turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine with a more efficient aluminum alloy capable of handling increased temperatures.
A collaboration between Fiat Chrysler, automotive parts manufacturer Nemak, and the Tennessee-based Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the new alloy helps raised compression ratios and boost levels, capable of absorbing higher temperatures, unlike current aluminum heads that degrade when exposed to 392°F or greater.
Called 16HT or ACMX, it can handle up to 572°F, using copper instead of silicon as its strengthening component.
"It will still be a few years before ACMZ appears in a production engine," said a Fiat Chrysler spokesperson in a statement. "But FCA has already cast more than 100 cylinder heads with the alloy, using a current production design, and have put several hundred hours of dynamometer testing on some prototypes."
The new aluminum alloy is also expected to cost only 7 percent more to the manufacturer using existing methods for the company, with a $3.5 million development budget, sponsored by the government, devoted to the cause.
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