Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/667099
COMMERCIAL CARRIER JOURNAL | APRIL 2016 25 more about engine oils that most of us will ever know, and both were excited and confi dent that these new formulations perform to a higher standard of excel- lence while providing additional benefi ts in engine effi ciency. From a maintenance perspective, the only thing you really need to concern yourself with is understanding the differ- ence between categories CK-4 and FA-4. CK-4 oils will replace today's lubricants and will be backward-compatible with all current vehicles, and Arcy adds they will improve oxidation resistance, shear sta- bility and aeration control. Improved ox- idation control, Whitacre adds, ultimately could lead to longer oil change intervals. Meanwhile, if you have some new trucks on order, you might want to look into the benefi ts of FA-4. The good news? Shell, Chevron and other suppliers have invested a lot of time and effort into educating their retail partners on how they can help you. Arming yourself with knowledge will go a long way toward easing your mind when CK-4 and FA-4 are made available later this year. Learning about lubes Don't fear the unknown about new oils I f I learned nothing else from watching Saturday morning cartoons in my youth, it's that "knowledge is power" and "knowing is half the battle." But when dealing with maintenance schedules and being short on technicians, drivers or both, arming yourself with that knowledge can be challenging. A surprising number of respondents to the 2016 CCJ Reader Profi le survey weren't familiar with PC-11, which is the fi rst new engine oil category trotted out in nearly a decade. Only 7.5 percent of respondents said they knew enough about PC-11 to determine "how we will manage it for our business." The balance – a whopping 92.5 percent – fell somewhere between not knowing what it is to knowing about it, but not sure how PC-11 would impact their business. According to the Profi le, a fl eet's level of alarm closely followed its understanding of what is coming. Just more than 19 percent of respondents said they were not concerned at all with how the upcoming API PC-11 lubricant specifi cation might impact their business. A tick above 4 percent said they were "very" concerned. If your fl eet is made up of trucks mixed from model years pre-2007 to current, you may be in that 4-plus percent. And all of this is going to hit you in December. Emissions regulations have affected practically every component on the truck in the past 10 years, and it was only a matter of time before engine oils were called to the principal's offi ce. For the panic-stricken 4 percent, I don't think you have anything to worry about. Some of the smartest chemists and engineers in the world have been plugging away on this for a long time, and these formulations have tens of millions of test miles behind them. At the Technology & Maintenance Council's annual meeting last month in Nashville, Tenn., I spent some time with Dan Arcy, global OEM technical manager for Shell Lubricants, and Shawn Whitacre, senior staff engineer of engine oil technology for Chevron Lubricants. These two guys have forgotten PRODUCT REVIEWS, OEM & SUPPLIER NEWS, AND EQUIPMENT MANAGEMENT TRENDS BY JACK ROBERTS JASON CANNON is Equipment Editor of Commercial Carrier Journal. E-mail jcannon@randallreilly.com or call (205) 248-1175. NEW OIL CATEGORY: Many don't know much about the new lubes or how they will a ect their business. MANY BENEFITS: They will improve oxidation resistance, shear stability and aeration control. EDUCATION IS KEY: Suppliers are educating their retail partners on how they can help you.