Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/493405
92 COMMERCIAL CARRIER JOURNAL | APRIL 2015 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? No go for Doe in driving snow I t was midnight, and the wind was howling like a hound dog as trucker John Doe fought his way toward Woonsocket, S.D., peering intently through his windshield at a major blizzard. He was plow- ing his way through deep snow on Persnickety Pike at 45 mph with a heavily laden 48-foot dry van in tow. Appropriately, his favorite satellite radio country-western station was playing "A Thousand Miles From Nowhere." At least Doe had survival rations on board: a cooler full of fresh celery sticks and a big Thermos loaded with ultra-strong coffee obtained from Aunt Fanny's Truck Stop. Suddenly, Doe's headlights illu- minated a strange "something" on the road ahead ... Great gallopin' gophers! Persnickety Pike partially was blocked by a giant tree! Feverishly pumping the brakes, Doe took a death grip on the steering wheel, but his frantic, heroic at- tempts to save the day did no good: His long-nose tractor slid into the fallen oak with a resounding "WHOMP!" Doe's bumper was brutalized, and his mood was similarly traumatized when he received a warning let- ter for a preventable accident from his safety director. Doe contested the ruling, and the National Safety Council was asked to resolve the dispute. NSC immediately upheld the preventable ruling, noting that Doe clearly had been overdriving his headlights and driving too fast for blizzard conditions with deep snow on a dark road. John Doe was traveling through a raging blizzard at midnight when he realized the road partially was blocked by a giant tree, but it was too late to avoid impact. Was this a preventable accident?