Solution
The stringent requirements on the bearing solution demanded a well-thought-out material. TATA Motors finally found the answer in our
iglidur bearing solutions, specifically the iglidur JVSM bearings.
These bearings are equipped with springs that allow radial preload and thus tolerance-free travel. The iglidur J material also offer several other advantages that this application demanded.
The material was originally intended for clutch and brake pedal applications but the company tried it with the existing structure in the steering rod. This greatly improved BSR (buzz, squeak, rattle) performance. The carmaker documented the performance in its own testing procedures and scored the new solution. While the old solution's BSR score was 800, the iglidur J bearings achieved 8 (the smaller the score, the better the performance).
The improvements had a very positive impact on the overall ride quality. High costs in the form of warranty claims for the steering system were also eliminated. All this was achieved with a simple design at minimal cost. Once the carmaker was satisfied with the test results, it implemented the solution in the production process.