Quality Feel for Automotive Components

A switch that successfully operates for 150,000 miles but makes an annoying click isn’t perceived as a “quality” switch by the vehicle owner. A well-engineered shifter mechanism or lumbar adjustment knob that does not have the “right feel” is perceived as an inferior quality component.

Noisy gearboxes, foot pedal parking brakes that recoil like a speeding bullet, temperature control cables or audio tuners that don’t slide smoothly and effortlessly, rear view mirrors that drift when the car is in motion, shifter cables that carry vibration from the transmission to an operator’s hand resting on the shift stick — all these components may be defect free and may meet manufacturer’s life requirements. Nonetheless, they are perceived by the vehicle owner, the ultimate arbiter, as something less than a quality component.

The good news is that many of a vehicle owner’s noise, feel, and motion control standards can be met economically by automotive suppliers. Suppliers have increasingly turned to a unique family of greases designed specifically to impart a quiet, smooth, “quality feel” to automotive components. They’re called damping greases.

Damping Grease

Switch manufacturers were the first to jump on the damping grease wagon. They found that a small amount of damping grease applied to detents reduced the annoying click of plastic molded switches and gave them a smooth, “quality feel” — without the expense associated with tight engineering tolerances. Today, damping greases from Nye are specified for dozens of automotive switches. Sometimes, they even help component suppliers win major contracts. 

Dozens of Nye damping greases are specified by the major automotive OEM’s to be used in many other automotive components, as an economical way to reduce noise, deliver a quality feel, and control motion. Most damping greases from Nye are suitable for service temperatures between -40˚C to 125˚C. Nye also offers damping greases that are functional from -60˚C to 200˚C and higher.

Nye will be unveiling a new Damping Grease Kit this May. The kit will include a range of light to heavy viscosity greases used for a variety of automotive applications including HVAC controls, manual seat controls, volume controls and tilt-steering. When quiet, smooth operation, and that “high quality feel” are the objectives, Nye damping greases just may be a part of the success formula.