Typical drain intervals with General Motors Oil Life System, the onboard computer algorithm that tells drivers when its time to change their motor oil, are 8,500 miles, versus 5,000 for GMs competitors, a GM executive told last weeks World Tribology Congress. Drain intervals over 30,000 miles are achievable with minor engine modifications and appropriate oil quality. We cannot say exactly when it will happen, but drain intervals will be lengthened, James A. Spearot, director of GMs Chemical ...

BANGKOK – PetroChina plans to install a second hydroprocessing unit to upgrade its naphthenic base oil plant in Karamay, China, an official with the companys lubricant subsidiary said during an industry conference here last week. Scheduled to come on stream in 2008, the project is part of a broader upgrade strategy for the leading base oil producer in a country that faces a growing base oil deficit. To meet the demands of higher quality, China must improve the product mix [of base oils] fr...

Everywhere in the world, engine oils are sorted according to SAE J300, the 94-year-old document that governs “Engine Oil Viscosity Classification.” Now J300’s position as a bedrock of the engine oil world is being challenged. Critics say the standard rests on outmoded measurements, is unhelpful to consumers, and needs to be more flexible as technology advances. These critics– and J300’s many proponents — will get to air their views at an SAE Open Forum next mo...

Nippon Oil Corp. broke ground yesterday on its first lubricant blending plant in the United States, a facility scheduled to open next August in Childersburg, Ala. The Japanese company said it is building the plant primarily to supply in-state factories operated by Asian automakers. Nippon Oil already has a sales office in Chicago and has been selling lubes to Japanese car companies in the United States since 1980. Those products have been toll-blended by third-party suppliers. We have been talki...