A steel piston for an internal combustion engine may include a piston crown and a protective layer disposed on the piston crown. The protective layer may include an adhesion layer of Cr or CrN, which is present on a surface of the piston crown. The protective layer may include a functional layer, which is present on the adhesion layer. The functional layer may have at least one of (i) at least one layer (A) of CrN and (ii) at least one layer (B) of CrOn in the form of [(A)/(B)].sub.a, and a may represent 1 to 100.

A piston assembly for a transmission includes a piston housing and a release spring. The piston housing has a bore including a first radial wall and a circumferential wall. The release spring has a first radially outwardly extending finger portion, a second radially outwardly extending finger portion, and a conical portion. The first finger portion is for pressing engagement with the first radial wall and the second finger portion is for pressing engagement with the circumferential wall. The conical portion is disposed radially inward of the first and second finger portions. In an example embodiment, the piston housing includes a second radial wall for pressing against a clutch pack for the transmission. In some example embodiments, the piston assembly includes a seal plate, fixed to the piston housing and arranged to retain at least one piston seal.