MAHLE Aftermarket will be mounting a major expansion programme in 2012 to broaden its influence in other key product sectors critical to modern vehicle engine technologies.
First up is the UK launch of Mass Air Flow Sensor Valves. Almost all modern engines are equipped with this high-tech component, which is designed to optimise dosing of the amount of fuel injected, and control exhaust gas recirculation.
As a major global engine component manufacturer, MAHLE has played a key role in developing this future-focused component. MAHLE Aftermarket has now incorporated it into its product range, with different versions available for a variety of vehicle applications.
Among the products being launched for major vehicle groups is the MAHLE Original mass air flow sensor MAF 2. This covers Audi A3, Ford Galaxy, Seat Alhambra, Ibiza, Leon and Toledo, plus Skoda Fabia and Octavia, and Volkswagen Bora, Golf, Polo and Sharan.
This indirect measuring instrument determines the air mass by applying a current to a heating element, which is cooled by the air flowing through the sensor. Air mass is calculated on the strength of the electrical current needed to maintain the heating element’s set temperature, whereas current was supplied to a hot wire in older generations of vehicles.
Because mass air flow sensors are very sensitive components that are subject to a certain wear due to their position in the air intake system, MAHLE Aftermarket predicts that the demand for replacements will rise in all major car markets.
MAHLE Aftermarket will also be launching a range of MAHLE Original thermostats with electronic control, known as characteristic map thermostats, with many popular vehicle applications available ex-stock from its central UK warehouse near Wolverhampton from Spring 2012.
Thermostats perform key functions in the thermal management of a combustion engine, contributing to improved fuel consumption and reduced emissions. They also protect the engine from fatal overheating and extend the engine’s service life.
These innovative products are increasingly finding their way into new engine generations, and although they are designed to last the entire service life of the vehicle, external factors such as use of the wrong coolant and contamination by small particles from the coolant circuit can degrade the product’s function and require thermostat replacement.
With its strategic alliance with the Behr Group, MAHLE Aftermarket can access the development and production expertise of Behr Thermo-tronik, leading to expansion of this MAHLE Original product range, supplied to the independent aftermarket to the same original equipment specification and quality as every other MAHLE Original and Knecht component.
