Pilipinas Shell has launched the Rimula R4X, a higher quality version of its best-selling R3X commercial transport lubricant.
In a response to stronger emissions regulations, the company's heavy-duty diesel engine oil meets exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) requirements, a technique used to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions where a percentage of engine exhaust is recirculated into the engine cylinders to replace some of the excess oxygen in the mixture.
EGR avoids byproducts, such as soot and oil, being re-introduced, thus making the the combustion process more efficient and enhancing economy and power. Shell’s claimes R4X outperforms the minimum requirements for Acea and API specifications by as much as 75% compared to a typical API CH-4 lube.
The new R4X product is designed to increase drain intervals and, according to Shell, is particularly well-suited for buses and other vehicles used for stop-start journeys, such as mining, shuttle services and delivery vehicles.
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What price a cleaner environment? Image: Jan Tik |
Meanwhile, stop-start journies were the focus of a study in Las Vegas, Nevada, by lubes maker AMSOIL. The city's taxis face extreme desert heat and excessive idling has a tendency to cause lube failure, sludge build-up and, eventually, terminal component damage.
The study used six taxi fleet vehicles which had previously experienced engine failures, predominantly in the summer, due to excess sludge and line clogging.
The taxi company used a synthetic blend motor oil which was changed every 5,000 miles, with transmission fluid was changed every 20,000 miles.
This was then replaced with AMSOIL Signature Series Fluid and Motor Oil, the drain intervals were increased to 1,000 hours - roughly equivalent to 15,000 miles - in ambient temperatures of 100 degrees. The transmission fluid was left unchanged.
According to the company, at the end of the study the engine components were virtually sludge free and suitable for continued use. The used transmission fluid was still suitable for continued use after more than 100,000 miles.