Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/339485
80 COMMERCIAL CARRIER JOURNAL | JULY 2014 What's this new diesel engine oil I'm hearing about? You are probably hearing or reading about a new API category in development for heavy duty diesel engine oils. This new category, currently referred to as Proposed Category 11 (or PC-11), is under development as you read this. So what is it and why are things changing? In simple terms, when engine technologies change we often see a new oil category introduced. This was true in October 2006 when the current API CJ-4 category was launched. At that time, we needed to work with new technologies like diesel particulate filters and the anticipated higher operating temperatures of some engines. In the past, changes were typically driven by reducing particulate matter and NOx emissions. However the driver for this round of changes is a little different. Truck manufacturers are adapting their technology to develop next-generation diesel engines to meet emissions, renewable fuel and fuel economy standards, as well as to meet CO2 and other greenhouse gas emissions mandates due to be introduced in the next few years. PC-11 will be a significant undertaking for the industry not just in North America but also globally. The engine manufacturers have to respond to new regulation such as renewable fuels mandates, on and off-road exhaust emission and greenhouse gas emission standards. There are also changes to the hardware and operating strategies of engines which can introduce factors such as: increased power density, increased combustion and injection pressure, increased in-cylinder NOx reduction, higher oil temperatures and wear resistance coatings. As an industry we must keep pace with such developments and of course, give the market the products that it needs. This is why the American Petroleum Institute, Shell Lubricants and others in the industry are looking to provide changes in the new oils that include improvements in oxidation stability, aeration benefits, shear stability, biodiesel compatibility and scuffing/adhesive wear protection. This will mean developing new engine tests and modifying existing engine tests for deposits and oil. The development of this specification is well underway and the planned launch is early 2016. We'll keep you updated on developments for the new specification and the next generation of Shell Rotella ® engine oil products. By Dan Arcy Shell Lubricants The term "Shell Lubricants" refers to the various Shell Group companies engaged in the lubricants business. This monthly column is brought to you by Shell Lubricants. Got a question? Visit ROTELLA.com, call 1 - 800 - 231 - 6950 or write to The ANSWER COLUMN, 1001 Fannin, Ste. 500, Houston, TX 77002. PREVENTABLE or NOT? Merging Cougar mauls Doe's fender S hortly before the accident, tractor-trailer driver John Doe was listen- ing with disbelief to a Channel 19 account of a luckless New Jersey carrier being fined thousands of dollars by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration because forklift operators weren't wearing seat- belts. Huh? Are these enforcement guys nuts? The last time Doe had heard of a forklift flipping was back in 1968 during a wild New Year's Eve barrel race between a Clark and a Hyster! At the moment, Doe was moseying along at 55 mph in the far-left lane of three-lane one-way Muttonbutt Road, approaching the intersection with Route 4. The light ahead had just turned green, and Doe's lane was devoid of traffi c. Cautiously decelerating to 35 mph before entering the intersection – where vehicles in the center and right lanes had started to move – Doe suddenly noticed a dull-blue Cougar in the middle lane whose left-turn signal was fl ashing. Whoa! Suspecting that the Cougar intended to leap across his bow onto Route 4, Doe hit the brakes, sounded his horn and swerved to the left. But alas, the Cougar's elderly driver, Matty Munchley, was sure she could squeak past the nasty ol' truck, and … WHUMPPO! Oh no! Doe had been struck, with his right front fender sustaining a spontaneous structural reconfi guration. Munchley was OK, albeit mighty miffed. Since Doe contested the warning letter from his safety director for a preventable accident, the National Safety Council's Accident Review Com- mittee was asked to resolve the controversy. NSC quickly ruled in Doe's favor, concluding that there was nothing more he could have done to avoid being pounced upon by the Cougar. John Doe hit the brakes and swerved to avoid a car cutting in front of him, but the collision damaged his right front fender. Was this a preventable accident? Rt. 4 Muttonbutt Road