Corporate imperialist
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The 0w-20 oil increased FE by about 1% over 15w-40 weight oil and did cause increased engine wear but increased wear was within spec.
5w-xx is as low as im going to go, I barely get 10psi with the engine warmed up.
From the article......
Fuel economy has become
a priority for
the auto industry,
and viscosity a popular
tool as engine oil formulators
try to do their part.
Most passenger cars ran on
SAE 10W-30 or 10W-40 oils
in the past, but 5W-30 and
5W-20 products were introduced
in recent years and are
gaining popularity. Today a
few carmakers even recommend
0W multigrade oils for
their newest cars.
The trucking industry also
wants to get more kilometers
per liter of fuel, but viscosity
of heavy-duty diesel engine
oils has changed relatively
little over the years.
Traditionally 15W-40 oils
were most popular, and they
continue to be the dominant
grade. Truck manufacturers
have shown less interest in
thinner oils for fear that they
would compromise engine
protection. To many in the
industry, the idea of a 0W
heavy-duty diesel oil seemed
far-fetched.
But lubricant additive supplier
Infineum announced
earlier this year that it has
created just that, cooperating
with automaker Iveco and
lube manufacturer Petronas
Lubricants International
(formerly FL Selenia) to develop
a 0W-20 diesel oil for
Iveco trucks. The new fluid
reportedly raises fuel economy
by nearly 1 percent compared
to conventional diesel
oils, an improvement that
could save fleet operators
¤ 600 per truck in annual
fuel expenditures at today’s
prices.
As the companies emphasized,
the oil in question
has only been demonstrated
to perform
in certain Iveco diesel
engines. Lowering viscosity
usually raises the
possibility of setbacks
in antiwear protection.
Nevertheless, with so
much focus on cutting
fuel consumption, it
seems likely that this
development will spur
investigation into the
possibility of using
0W oils in other heavyduty
trucks.
Thin is In
There is much desire
in the trucking industry
for lower-viscosity
engine oils. Thinner
oils cause less resistance
in engines and therefore
oΔer the possibility of improved
fuel economy. Better
fuel economy helps meet two
pressing needs. First, it low
lowers
fuel expenditures, which
have become a bigger burden
to fleet operators the past few
years. In addition, because
generation of air pollutants is
directly tied to fuel consumption,
using less fuel helps truck
manufacturers meet emissions
regulations, which have
become increasingly stringent
the past two decades.
But lower-viscosity oils
also have a drawback. Thicker
oils generally create a thicker
film between metal surfaces,
providing greater protection
against wear. Conversely,
thinner oils potentially extend
less of this protection, all
other factors being the same.
This drawback is especially
pertinent in view of
another trend in the trucking
industry. Manufacturers
have steadily increased engine
power in recent years,
mainly to make them more
adept for increasingly congested
roads. Tra√c volume
is growing continuously
in cities and on highways
around large cities and industrial
areas. Motorists nowadays
must stop and accelerate
much more than in the past,
and truck drivers need better
acceleration to keep up with
the flow. Heavy-duty engines
typically have 430 hp
now, and engines with 480
hp are becoming more common.
Some engines sport as
much as 600 hp.
More powerful engines
generate greater torques, more
pressure and higher temperatures,
in turn raising demands
for engine oil performance.
Antiwear protection is one
parameter that needs improving
– others include antioxidancy
and high-temperature
performance – and this presents
more of a challenge when
oil viscosity decreases.
Using Less Fuel
Iveco, the truck-building
arm of Italian automaker Fiat,
has a history of being in the
forefront of eΔorts to improve
fuel economy, both by
engine design and by moving
to lower viscosity engine oils
As Infineum’s Ian Field noted
during a January presentation
at the 16th Tribology Colloquium,
held at the Technische
Akademie Esslingen in Ostfildern,
Germany, Iveco was
the first to introduce a 5W-30
heavy-duty diesel oil as factory
fill in 2002. That product
was developed in cooperation
with Infineum and Italian lubricant
marketer FL Selenia,
now Petronas Lubricants.
Initially developed for
trucks equipped with Iveco’s
Cursor engine, the 5W-30 oil
is now marketed under the
Petronas brand name Urania
FE. It was successful, according
to Field and Rudolf
Ellensohn, general manager
of FTP Iveco Motorenforschung
research and development
center in Arbon,
Switzerland, who was interviewed
by Lubes’n’Greases.
Compared to vehicles run on
conventional Urania 15W-40
diesel oil, Urania FE improved
fuel economy by 0.5
percent, they said.
The alarming increase in
fuel costs, along with stricter
European requirements
for the reduction of greenhouse
gas emissions, pushed
the trio of companies back
into the laboratory in search
of an oil that would enable
even lower fuel consumption
This time the result was
the 0W-20 oil. Field, Infineum’s
European liaison to the
trucking industry, declined
to disclose formulation details
except to tell the TAE
symposium that the 0W-20
version uses API Group IV
and Group V base oils.
He did speak at length about
physical characteristics of the
oil and results of tests conducted
on it. The 0W-20 oil
is substantially thinner, having
a kinematic viscosity of
8.6 centiStokes at 100 degrees
C, compared to 11 cSt for Urania
FE 5W-30 and 13.5 cSt for
Selenia’s 15W-40 oil, Urania
LD5. The 0W-20 oil maintained
the same viscosity after
30 shear stability test cycles,
Field said, while the FE
and LD5 oils thinned to 10.4
cSt and 12.5 cSt, respectively.
Put to the Test(s)
As expected, rig tests
showed that friction decreased
with viscosity; a sample
5W-30 oil achieved lower
ratings than a 15W-40 oil
both in the fluid film lubrication
regime and the boundary
lubrication regime, and the
0W-20 oil achieved still lower
ratings. Field noted, however,
that formulators were
able to significantly reduce
the 5W-30 oil’s coe√cients
of friction in the boundary
regime – where the lubricant
film no longer prevents metal
surfaces from coming into
contact – by optimizing the
lubricant additive system.
Presumably, similar improvements
could be achieved in
the 0W-20 oil.
Technicians performed parallel
sets of three tests – for
long-term durability, thermal
shock and rated power – using
Cursor engines running
on the 0W-20 and 5W-30
oils. Afterward, the engines
run on 0W-20 showed comparable
wear to the 5W-30 oil
on key components such as
crankshaft bearings, conrod
bearings, pistons, piston rings
and cylinder liners, Field said.
The engine tests did reveal
slightly increased wear on
some components in the valvetrain
– exhaust rocker arm
bearings, injector rocker arm
bearings, camshaft bearings
in the cylinder head – but
still well within the normal
acceptable limits. All the testing
was carried out in standard
unmodified engines,
showing that good engine
design enables the use of very
low viscosity lubricants.
Finally, Iveco and Petronas
Lubricants conducted three
sets of field trials. The first
was on three trucks equipped
with Iveco’s Cursor 10 engine
driven in cities and on highways
in Switzerland and Germany.
The second involved
five trucks with Cursor 13
engines driven in mixed regimes
in Germany. Comparable
tests were run at the same
time on vehicles filled with
Urania FE. The third set of
tests was conducted on four
trucks with Euro IV Cursor
13 engines operated on Italian
motorways.
At the time of Field’s presentation,
trials had passed
150,000 kilometers and were
continuing. To date, the oils
stood up well.
“The viscosity performance
at both 40 degrees C and 100
degrees C remains stable,”
Field said. “There was no indication
of fuel dilution, no
increase in viscosity through
oxidation and no issues concerning
soot-handling performance.”
Oil analysis indicated
that the engines were
standing up, too. Analyses for
all wear metals were within
acceptable ranges and comparable
to those obtained using
the 5W-30 oil.
Maintaining 150,000-kilometer
drain intervals is nearly
Continued on pg 22.....
Yeah I read the entire article and what was on pg 22.
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1984 chevy suburban, custom made 6.5L diesel turbocharged with a Garrett T76 and Holset HE351VE, 22:1 compression 13psi of intercooled boost.
1989 firebird mostly stock. Aside from the 6-speed manual trans, corvette gen 5 front brakes, 1LE drive shaft, 4th Gen disc brake fbody rear end.
2011 leaf SL, white, portable 240v CHAdeMO, trailer hitch, new batt as of 2014.
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