June saw two notable events in the heavy-duty segment. First was the welcome news that the proposed PC-11 diesel engine oil upgrade should be ready to ballot at ASTMs December meeting in Austin, Texas. Acceptance will mean engine manufacturers can be assured of having a new generation of oils in the market by Dec. 1, 2016 – right on time.
The second event was more bittersweet: the retirement of Chevrons Jim McGeehan, after an outstanding 39-year career. McGeehan is known to many in the engine oil arena, particularly on the heavy-duty side where he helped bring seven category upgrades to life. This was in his role as chairman of the ASTM Heavy Duty Engine Oil Classification Panel, a position he had filled since 1987. The path of an engine oil category never runs smoothly, yet under his leadership the group always accomplished its primary mission: the on-time delivery of improved engine oils.
In 1987, when McGeehan began his tenure as chairman, API CD was the current oil category, and diesel engine life expectancy was in the 200,000 to 300,000 mile range. Today, the category is API CJ-4, and engines can coast past 1 million miles. Engine oil drain intervals were just 10,000 miles back then, he points out, and now we speak of 50,000- and 60,000-mile intervals. The Classification Panel cant claim credit for all that – but it certainly helped make it possible.
Shawn Whitacre, who is McGeehans direct replacement as Chevron Lubricants senior staff engineer, technology, and was elected as HDEOCP chairman in June, explains how it works. The Heavy Duty Engine Oil Classification Panel is the primary ASTM committee responsible for development of tests and establishment of limits associated with HDMO performance specifications. The Classification Panel and the associated surveillance panels establish test procedures, develop the associated precision statements, and establish performance limits for heavy-duty engine oils.
During the development of each new category, the panels activities are heavily directed by the New Category Development Team, the group of engine builders, oil marketers and additive companies that coordinates all aspects of the category development.
McGeehans last official act as chairman was to commit the panel to supporting the engine tests to be used in the new PC-11 category. In this effort, as before, he used the you gotta go slow in order to go fast approach to make sure that all of the issues were fully discussed and clarified before moving on. Another tool he introduced to the HDEOCP was exit ballots, which ask members to affirm that they can live with the decisions reached at each stage. These votes help to reinforce consensus and keep the participants moving forward together.
For many, McGeehan also was the face of Chevrons Delo heavy-duty lubricants, meeting with customers and marketers, working with original equipment manufacturers and involving himself with base oil and additive suppliers. All of this helped him to grow his knowledge base and understand what customers wanted and the industry needed.
Maintaining that knowledge base has been a preoccupation at Chevron for a number of years, along with building the Delo brand across the globe. It has put together a team that includes Len Badal, global commercial brands manager; Steve Stults, global engine oil technology manager; Melanie Tobias, staff engineer, technology; OEM technical manager Keith Shaw; and Whitacre, who joined Chevron from Cummins.
Well miss Jim quite a bit and his expertise, but this team has one thousand years of combined experience, Badal deadpans, then laughs, Well, OK, maybe not that much – but its a lot of experience. The team also includes several product formulators, Whitacre points out.
In an interview with LubesnGreases, Badal and the team highlighted some of the changes that are driving product development. And they also offered some insights into McGeehans long career.
All About Jim
Looking back, McGeehan says he apprenticed at Jaguar in Coventry, U.K. (the Detroit of the U.K.) before earning his degree in mechanical engineering from Coventry University. His early career focused on engine design and fuel injection systems.
Moving to the United States in 1968, he continued working on fuel injection systems, now for jet engines at General Electric. It was here that McGeehan learned what would become his guiding principle: You gotta go slow so you can go fast. To me, that means we spend a lot of time up front on the design part, getting approvals, designing, testing. But once there, we go as fast as we can, he says.
In 1976, McGeehan was hired at Chevron and began doing research in fundamental lubrication. He also found what would become his career passion, Chevron Delo. The United States was just beginning to absorb the impact of the Arab oil embargo of 1973 and its major impact on crude oil prices. We had sorted out the long gasoline lines and gotten used to paying 75 cents a gallon for gasoline, versus the 25 cents bargain we had enjoyed for so many years, he recalls. Congress had enacted the first laws regarding fuel economy and unleaded gasoline was now available. Both events had a major impact on engine oil formulations.
Asked to name his career highlights, McGeehan is quick to cite the development of Chevrons top-tier Delo 400 product line, and becoming an SAE Fellow. Hes also proud that API oil categories have saved this nation and many other countries billions of dollars by extending engine lifetimes with continuous engine oil improvements.
Much of his success he attributes to Chevrons culture of inquisitiveness, sharing of knowledge and freedom to operate. The company has allowed me to publish fairly widely [including 35 SAE papers] and to develop my presentation skills. On the flip side, he wishes hed developed his computer skills earlier.
Looking Forward
When McGeehan started at Chevron, one prominent commercial oil category was API SE/CD, a so-called universal oil. This was because many fleets had a mix of gasoline and diesel engines and wanted to minimize their inventories of engine oils.
Today there is great concern among OEMs that an oil that is primarily formulated for diesels should not find its way into gasoline engines – yet theres still a market for such products. A quick look at the list of API engine oil licensees confirms this, with many products claiming API CJ-4/SN.
Whitacre points out that there is still room within the specification to formulate a universal oil, and Stults says, Weve done surveys, and this is one of the top one, two or three purchasing criteria for some customers. This is especially true where customers have a mixed fleet and a limited number of storage tanks for oil.
Some think that universal oil means a compromise on heavy-duty oils, remarks Badal. But it doesnt mean that. If we can assure the diesel engine is well protected, well do it. Some universality can be achieved.
On the subject of PC-11, Whitacre reiterates that licensed oils should be available by Dec. 1, 2016. Its do-able, but the next months are critical in executing the plan.
The way was cleared in June when the HDEOCP accepted that all current API CJ-4 tests and limits should carry over to the new category. The big challenge at this writing is completing the two new engine tests: the Volvo T-13 and Caterpillars Engine Oil Aeration Test. These still need to have limits set and base oil interchange and viscosity read-across guidelines established.
Its critical to have PC-11 oils (to be identified as API CK-4) by December 2016, stresses Badal. Tougher emissions rules will go into force for the vehicle model year and the OEMs need these oils to ensure compliance with the regulations. A B version of PC-11 (to be labelled as API FA-4) addresses the fuel economy potential of SAE 10W-30 oils.
Customer Impact
PC-11B oils are an important topic around Chevron. Whitacre comments that there have been some hopeful expressions that PC-11B will be backwards compatible in diesel engines going back to 2007, the last major change in engine design. But he cautions that no OEM has officially sanctioned oils meeting this category for their earlier engines, due to worries about engine durability. However, such oils could deliver an anticipated 1 to 1.5 percent improvement in fuel economy.
Customer input will be required to determine whether or not FA-4 SAE 10W-30 products will be an important part of the marketplace, said Badal, pointing to concerns about product labeling and which end users will be served. Whitacre agrees: It will have a market over the road, but the off-road market is probably not going to be interested due to the much more severe duty cycles found on the farm and in construction.
On the other hand, early adopters among fleet managers seem to have more interest in FA-4. Already, seven of the top 10 U.S. on-road fleets have adopted SAE 10W-30 across the board, Badal said. This grade is also used as factory fill by all of the heavy-duty OEMs, and he foresees about 40 percent of the heavy-duty market being SAE 10W-30 in 10 years.
With PC-11 starting its final countdown, the Chevron team is already looking ahead to PC-12. To start, Whitacre says to expect more mandates to cut emissions and boost fuel economy. 2018 is not the end of greenhouse gas regulations. The next wave will play out to 2027. As these deadlines approach, well see OEMs begin to grasp at low-hanging fruit, like engine oils. Lead engineers with major OEMs are eager for every tenth-of-a-percent fuel economy gain they can get, he observes.
Whitacre also warns that some current engine tests are now looking more and more irrelevant, and some labs will soon lack the hardware to run them. While PC-11 has taken about 10 years to develop, PC-12 will have a much tighter window. So it will be a case of jumping from PC-11 to begin work on PC-12 almost without a break. Even more startling, PC-12 could well be built on an SAE 5W-XX platform.
Movement on Drain Intervals
Another change to watch is the average age of a diesel engine in the field. Badal notes that currently the average age is 6.5 years, versus 8 a few years ago. He attributes this to the recovery in the economy, which allowed trucking fleet managers to refresh their equipment.
And oil drain intervals are going up. For instance, Paccars MX engine allows 60,000-mile drain intervals when fuel consumption on a unit runs at or above 6.5 mpg and less than 20 percent idle time. We even seem to be heading towards annual drains, Stults comments.
Thats true, weve already seen 70,000-mile intervals at Detroit Diesel, up from 50,000, echoes McGeehan. The one-year interval is not common now, but it could be viable if thats what OEMS require and what the market demands. Is that a fun way to go? As an oil company, no – wed like to sell more volume. But not all our competitors will be there either.
With such robust oils, its even becoming possible to construct a global oil specification. Europe and North America are becoming more harmonized, as most North American OEMs now have a European connection (e.g. Volvo/Mack and Daimler/Freightliner). China and Southeast Asia are in the process of adopting more global emissions limits and fuel requirements, which will accelerate this movement.
Given this trend, by using the proper base oil, additives and viscosity improver, products can now be formulated to meet 90 to 95 percent of the worlds heavy-duty oil requirements. Badal cites Delo 400 LE, a synthetic SAE 5W-30, as an example. It meets almost every spec out there.
On the whole, engine oils for heavy-duty vehicles are an evolving story, from the long-ago CD oils to todays API CJ-4 to API CK-4 and FA-4, and beyond. The Chevron team is determined to stay on the leading edge of the challenge – and besides, it has a legacy to uphold.