A theoretical model was developed to analyze the potential of reducing the friction force between a partially surface textured piston ring and a cylinder liner through the ‘‘collective’’ hydrodynamic effect of micro-dimples. The advantage of the partial texturing over the full texturing in view of minimizing friction losses was demonstrated. The effect of texturing parameters on the average friction force between a piston ring and a cylinder liner was analyzed for a wide range of ring width and operating conditions. The following conclusions summarize the results of the present study