Developing an advanced engine oil that can keep up with todays advanced engines is the driver behind the PC-11 (proposed category 11) diesel engine oil in the works by the American Petroleum Institute.
James Jaillet, news editor of our sister site, CCJ, attended an international Shell Rotella press event in Hamburg, Germany Wednesday at one of just a worldwide handful of Shell Technology Centers.
The company’s stated goals were clear: Low viscosity oils will work for trucking, as long as the durability and engine protection ability of modern engine oils remains.
Shell’s OEM Technology Manager Dan Arcy says the fuel savings they’ve seen start at about 1.5 percent, but have been as high as 3.3 percent in some fleet testing.
The challenge, though, says Richard Tucker, Shell’s GM of technology for the commercial fuel and lubricants division, is to ensure the oil used by the industry still does its job of keeping an engine’s vital parts lubed and working properly and that it does not decrease engine life when compared to using the standard 15W-40 engine oil used today.
“How do we get lowest viscosity we can while still protecting engine? This is the challenge,” Tucker says.
For a full recap from the Shell event, click here.
