Truck Parts and Service | Heavy Duty Trucking, Aftermarket, Service Info
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/700851
14 oil formulation, performance and on-road testing and then formal certifi cation. CK-4 and FA-4 are actually being re- leased ahead of schedule. Early timelines had the oil entering the market in 2017, but requests from engine manufacturers to use the oil in model year 2017 engines motivated the development committee to fi nish production in 2016, says Dan Arcy, OEM technical manager at Shell. API has no rules in place govern- ing the length of development for new category, but does require a mandatory waiting period between when a proposed category is approved by committee and licensed for sale. With CK-4 and FA-4 most oil market- ers are using that time to continue vali- dation and on-highway testing on their new products. Arcy says Shell has "more than 35 million miles" of highway testing on its new oils, and other oil marketers say they have signifi cant miles of testing as well. "We're continuing to add more than 1.5 million miles each month with the help of select fl eet partners," says Paul Cigala, applications engineer, Commer- cial Vehicles at ExxonMobil. How is the new oil different from the current oil? This requires two very different answers, says Arcy. "CK-4 is going to be a direct replace- ment for CJ-4. It will provide some additional benefi ts in those key areas [oxidation, aeration, shear stability] but it's a direct replacement for what every- one is using today," he says. Where this new category so unique, and Arcy says differs from nearly every other diesel engine oil category released, is with FA-4. "All FA-4 oils will be something W30," he says. "They will have lower viscosity grades and be easier to pump." This was done specifi cally for engine manufacturers, Whitacre says. By factory fi lling new 2017 engines will lower viscosity oils, engine manu- facturers will be able to "maximize their fuel economy advantages with their new products," he says. "The reduction in greenhouse gas emissions comes from there," Ferrick says. "Because the oil is lighter and easier to pump the engine doesn't have to work as hard. And if the engine doesn't work as hard it's able to get better fuel economy, and better fuel economy leads to reduced emissions." Which oil will customers need? In the aftermarket that answer will be overwhelmingly CK-4, oil marketers say. Especially in the early stages of the new category rollout. Cigala says only CK-4 oils will be backwards compatible with all engines when released in December. FA-4 oils were designed specifi cally for model year 2017 engines and beyond, and are un- likely to be compatible with any previous model year technology, he says. At press time for this article no engine manufacturers have announced which of their engines will be compatible with FA- 4. Oil marketers expect engine makers to begin announcing their plans in August, which will allow both sides enough time to communicate the information to their customers. Each oil marketer says it will defer to OEM specifi cations as to which oils can be used in which engines. Oil marketers say distributors who ca- ter to large fl eets may want to stock some T R U C K P A R T S & S E R V I C E | J u l y 2 0 1 6 Cover Story Educating customers about the differences between CK-4 and FA-4 oils has been a top priority for oil marketers in 2016. Switching to the new PC-11 oils Consult your lubricant supplier 1 CK-4 FA-4 Choose the right oils 2 Follow OEM service recommendations 3 Determine optimal oil drain intervals 4 Image courtesy of ExxonMobil Short for Proposed Category-11, PC-11 was the developmental title for the new generation of heavy-duty diesel engine oils. The initial proposal for a new category was made by engine manufac- turers to oil marketers and API in 2011, and when accepted PC-11 was born. When it was determined that two new oils would be launched within this new category, the titles PC-11A and PC-11B were introduced to distinguish between the products. Both were used as working titles for the new oils until January, when CK-4 and FA-4 were ap- proved as the industry's newest oils by API. The PC moniker has been shelved, not to be seen again until development on another future category begins. "We've moved past PC-11 now," says Dan Arcy, OEM technical manager at Shell. "We're addressing the new oils by their category names." So, what happened to PC-11?