ABSTRACT
Effective automotive chassis lubrication requires the understanding of many different tribological scenarios and is complicated by a vehicle’s exposure to a diverse and everchanging set of operating conditions. Exposure to environmental conditions such as temperature, mud, rain, dust, road salt and snow, as well as a variety of driver-controlled vehicle operating conditions will influence the chassis system’s performance and lubrication needs [1]. Ongoing advances in materials, processes, and surface engineering techniques [2] have significantly impacted automotive chassis tribological systems and thus, have impacted how we specify lubricants for those systems; the ultimate intent being that of achieving reliability and robustness in those systems. In addition, the expected useful life of vehicles and their subsystems has increased by as much as 100% in the last 20 yrs, with vehicle OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) warranties extending out to, and in some cases beyond, 150,000 miles.
