BATCH PLANTS, PUMPS & TRUCKS
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BY BENJAMIN BRISENO
Why Heavy-Duty Diesel Engines Are Transitioning to Lower Viscosity Oil
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n the U.S. heavy-duty trucking lubricants market, the drive for energy efficiency is influencing a transition from SAE 15w-40 diesel engine oils to those with lower viscosity grades such as SAE 10w-30. This shift is accelerating as engine builders adopt and expand lubrication recommendations for lower viscosity SAE grades, and a growing number of major trucking companies use them. Most are transitioning to SAE 10w-30, but depending on equipment builder recommendation for temperature conditions, other viscosity grades in SAE 5w-X and even 0w-X are being considered. Innovators and early adopters keep abreast of new technologies or approaches and are willing to apply them according to Crossing the Chasm by Geoffrey Moore (Harper Collins Publishers). For engine oils, the gap between early adopters of a new product approach and the rest of the market can be influenced by how quickly engine builders adopt or support a new approach. There may be companies operating truck fleets or construction equipment willing to risk equipment warranties to gain operational benefits, but those in the pragmatist mainstream usually wait for equipment builder acceptance. Today, major diesel engine builders such as Caterpillar, Cummins, Paccar, and Navistar include lower viscosity grades in their oil viscosity recommendations (SEBU6250 Caterpillar Machine Fluids Recommendations, 2019). The lower viscosity helps reach the US EPA, Oil viscosity is being tested in a lubricant lab. GettyImages via Citgo Petroleum
36 CONCRETE CONTRACTOR
APRIL/MAY/JUNE 2022
www.ForConstructionPros.com/Concrete
