New generations of oils begin to take hold

Status
Not open for further replies.

wemay

Site Donor 2023
Joined
Apr 4, 2012
Messages
17,196
Location
Kendall, FL
http://www.fleetowner.com/lubricants/new-generations-oils-begin-take-hold

Excerpts...

Thinner but just as durable

Several years of industry collaboration yielded two variations of the next generation of oil—CK-4 and FA-4.

“The oils are thinner but just as durable and are able to withstand a high-shear engine environment,” said Brian Humphrey, OEM technical liaison at Petro-Canada Lubricants. Higher fuel economy “can be achieved because lower viscosity oil means less friction in the engine, leading to a reduction in both fuel consumption and [carbon dioxide] emissions—while still offering exceptional levels of wear protection.”

Back Spec'ng
"API’s Ferrick said while Detroit Diesel recommended use of FA-4 in its latest engines from the start, other manufacturers are taking a more cautious approach, and are “looking to get a little more assurance FA-4 is suitable.”

Some of the hesitation involves the limited backwards compatibility of FA-4, because some older engines are not designed for low viscosity oils.

The latest engines have slightly more finely polished surfaces on critical parts, according to Valvoline. These surfaces can tolerate the slightly thinner film of oil produced by FA-4 because of its lower viscosity.

“Unless a fleet has all [Detroit Diesel] series engines, they really are kind of handcuffed,” said Paul Cigala, applications engineer for commercial vehicles at ExxonMobil"


Mixing FA-4 with CK-4
“Take great care not to mix FA-4 with CK-4. Co-mingling will adversely impact the viscosity grade of the FA-4 oil, and that is part of the reason they are getting FA-4 oil in the first place,” he said.
 
I'm holding off using any FA-4 oils even though I'm a fuel economy nut. I'm just switching over to CK-4 in a month or two...and despite Chevron lowering the Z/Phos so they can keep their SN rating...I'm going to try it and see how it looks. I was contemplating switching to Rotella as most of its formulations kept the Phos. Of the other fleet guys I know...no one is switching to FA-4 yet. A few run 10w30, a few run syns (me too) but no one is FA-4.

Interesting to note about the Powerstrokes...I see the Motorcraft oil now says right on the front of the jug "over 1000 ppm Phosphorus for excellent wear control".
 
Why take a chance back spec'ng oil? The speculation on mpg gains can't be worth the risk. If there was a slight improvement it might be lost to increased wear. The smart move is no move.
 
for folks that want to avoid newer formulated oils...grab supertech 15w-40 at walmart or traveller 15w-40 from tractor supply co. (warren performance products) or lubrigard 15w-40 at autozone (warren oil co); most of current stock is still cj-4; I grabbed 3 gallons of traveller a few months back @ $7.50/gallon & a gallon of lubrigard @ $11.99/gallon for use in the motorcycle & scooter
 
Originally Posted By: PiperOne
I'm holding off using any FA-4 oils even though I'm a fuel economy nut.

I'm wondering if we'll see any 5w-30 FA-4 options. I know we see them in CJ-4 and CK-4, but I haven't seen them in FA-4 yet.
 
Originally Posted By: Garak
Originally Posted By: PiperOne
I'm holding off using any FA-4 oils even though I'm a fuel economy nut.

I'm wondering if we'll see any 5w-30 FA-4 options. I know we see them in CJ-4 and CK-4, but I haven't seen them in FA-4 yet.


DA, Phillips 66, and ExxonMobil are registered according to the API.

The Delvac product is: Mobil Delvac 1 Advanced Fuel Economy
5W30 FA-4 on EOLCS
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top