ContiTech’s Engine Mounting Systems Make Chevrolet Malibu Lighter

In its quest to back the current trend for lightweight construction in the USA, ContiTech has recently supplied its advanced engine mounting systems to the 2016 Chevrolet Malibu, which was nominated for North America Car of the Year in the USA.

What sets this system apart is that almost all the functional components of the hydraulic mounts are made of polyamide. The huge increase in high technology polyamide elements has led to weight reduction of approximately 20 percent in the mount components.

According to Scott Bykowski, head of Development for North America at ContiTech Vibration Control, this development shows clearly that the lightweight construction trend is becoming more vital for the U.S. market as well and that polyamide components have ultimately arrived in mid-size cars too.

For the current car models, ContiTech will reportedly supply a total of three engine mounts and their attachments. These include an engine mount and a transmission mount, which support the hydraulically dampen vibrations and the drive unit, as well as a torque rod support, which absorbs torque. A specific challenge in the development of the new components lay in the nature of the newly developed 1.5L engine—its smaller size suggests that, the engine mounts have become significantly larger.

At the same time, in order to reduce the weight, ContiTech developed a new design. Florian Reinke, developer at ContiTech Vibration Control, said in a statement that they were able to replace all the internal components with much lighter polyamide versions. “Only one steel component has been retained, and the crash-relevant parts are still made of aluminum because of the limited installation space.”

Switching to polyamide has also opened up a number of options for the designers. It was possible to make the components more detailed, smoother and thus more simplified, enabling greater functional efficiency.