Ultra-thin oils will meet mileage and emissions standards but present problems for retailers.
US demands for greater fuel efficiency are driving the development of ultra-thin oils, according to a recent report by Service Station and Garage Management (SSGM).
"Thin oil shows less inner friction and thereby reduces the overall friction in the engine," says Oliver Kuhn, an R&D specialist with German-based lubes specialist Liqui Moly. "Thin oil is one tool in the car manufacturers’ toolbox to reduce the ecological footprint of combustion engines."
In their bid to meet stringent ILSAC specifications, engine makers are changing the design of engines so that they can operate on these ultra-thin oils, with Honda being one of the main driving forces behind the engine/lube development. This could see production of SAE 0W-16 spec lubricants. Despite their thin consistency, the oils are set to be more robust than current high-performance lubes.
According to a Honda spokesman, the drive for these latest is oils is coming from a combination of more stringent global regulations on engine performance and the significant increase in direct-injection, turbocharged engines.
However, these oils won't be backwards compatible so technicians need to be aware that it will only be possible to fill a car engine with an ultra-thin oil if the engine is specifically rated and designed to use it.
With drivers and businesses keen to improve fuel economy, there is a greater risk of filling an engine with the wrong oil. Retailers need to respond to this by improving labelling on the new low-viscosity grade oils.
A recent meeting of the Auto-Oil Advisory Panel has considered this issue, according to Lube Report. The main concern is distinguishing between GF-6A which is backwards compatible and GF-6B which is not.
The American Petroleum Insitute (API) has polled its members with three potential options for dealing with this issue:
- Continue with the current system with eligible products displaying the Starburst
- Continue with the current system for GF-6A oils only and have no Starburst on GF-6B oils
- Continue with the current system for GF-6A and create a new certification mark for GF-6B