FIAT selects Glow Plugs from NGK Spark Plug
In the beginning if 2010 NGK Spark Plug Europe has achieved a significant breakthrough towards achieving its goal of increasing its market share in the Diesel segment. The Company has just announced that it has started supplying the Fiat Group with glow plugs and glow controllers for the new SDE 1.3L Multijet Euro 5 engine. A premiere for the Turin-based car manufacturer: It is the first time that Fiat has developed a new glow plug in partnership with NGK.
Under the terms of the deal, NGK Spark Plug Europe will be the exclusive supplier of glow plugs and glow controllers for Fiat Group’s new SDE 1.3L Multijet engine, which will power the group’s best selling models such as the Fiat 500, Grande Punto and Doblo, as well as the Lancia Musa and the Alfa Romeo Mi.To.
For the four-cylinder Diesel engine, NGK has developed an exclusive sheathed type glow plug – the Y9001AS – and glow controller – the R41GJ. Together they enable the engine to comply with EURO5 regulations. To achieve the required glowing characteristics – such as rapid heat up and long post glow operation – the Y9001AS features NGK’s AQGS (Advanced Quick Glow System) technology. Its glow tube has a diameter of only 3.5 mm, which is considerably thinner in comparison to conventional metal glow plugs. It is therefore able to reach 1,000°C in only two seconds, providing an exceptionally reliable ignition of the diesel-mixture even at very low ambient temperatures. 
Together with the glow controller – R41GJ – NGK’s Y9001AS also supplies long post heating at exactly the required temperature for up to three minutes. Emissions during the warm-up period of the engine are reduced significantly. Even though this means tougher working conditions for the glow plug, NGK has been able to keep the lifetime of the glow plug high. It has been designed to guarantee perfect ignition throughout the entire lifecycle of the engine.
“Since the early nineties, Fiat has been installing spark plugs and Lambda sensors from NGK Spark Plug Europe as OE”, says Norbert Neuhaus, Deputy Managing Director Sales and Marketing Aftermarket. “We are now pleased to add the Fiat Group to the list of OEMs who install our glow plugs. Just a few months after Mercedes-Benz’ made the decision to use NGK glow plugs exclusively in its most important Diesel engines over the coming years, this new success confirms that NGK ranks among the top suppliers of glow plugs to the industry.”
