Q. Why do we need a new heavy duty engine oil category?
A. In 2010, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced regulations designed to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and mandate fuel economy improvements for medium and heavy-duty engines and vehicles. The new regulations would be phased in between 2014 to 2017, imposing different fuel-efficiency targets based on the size and weight of vehicle/equipment types. Diesel engine design is undergoing a period of significant change to meet the new requirements. The Engine Manufacturers Association (EMA) in turn made a request for the American Petroleum Institute (API) to develop a new commercial engine oil performance category to address engine oil requirements of these new engines.
There are two outgrowths of these new regulations that are driving the formulation of the new oils. For one, the new engine designs run hotter, which puts an increased demand on oil formulas to withstand higher heat environments and actually be able to run longer when exposed to higher temperature. Secondly, it is recognized that engine oil can play a direct role in improving fuel economy, through the use of lower viscosity grades. The EMA request included a proposal to introduce a subcategory with lower viscosity than allowed by previous performance categories.
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