Pistons and cylinder liners in automotive engines often experience wear, requiring mechanical and tribological characteristics that are not attainable with conventional metals and alloys. This study explores the viability of an Al11Si2CuFe functionally graded composite, produced through centrifugal casting, reinforced with 5 wt% SiC and 3 wt% MoS2 for these applications. Microstructural and tribo-mechanical characteristics were investigated, and wear properties were statistically analyzed using Taguchi's method, considering parameters such as sliding distance (750–1750 m), load (10−30N), and sliding velocity (1–3 m/s). Microstructural analysis revealed a gradient reinforcing particle distribution and particle clusters, alongside θ-Al2Cu phase formation confirmed through transmission electron microscopy. Mechanical property examination of the outer layers indicated an improvement of 17.3 and 27.34 % in tensile strength and micro-hardness, respectively, over the inner layers owing to the centrifugal force, increased dislocation density, and effective bridging effect between the reinforcing particles and matrix. Wear studies identified applied load as the influential parameter, with optimal wear occurring at 10 N, 750 m, and 2 m/s, as confirmed through analysis of variance studies. Worn surface analyses revealed abrasion, fatigue, and tribo-chemical wear regimes, characterized by the formation of wear tracks, particle pull-outs, delamination layers, mechanically mixed and oxide layers.