The lubricating grease industry has been struggling to refine GC-LB automotive grease specifications and their corresponding tests. The GC-LB Performance Classification is part of the United States-based National Lubricating Greases Institutes Certification Mark program and has been the internationally recognized specification for grease and bearing manufacturers and consumers since 1989. NLGI and the European Lubricating Greases Institute jointly promote understanding of all matters concerning grease.

The current specifications have outlived their useful life, said one industry insider. During this years NLGI grease specifications working group meeting in Las Vegas, Nevada, Mike Kunselman of the Center for Quality Assurance stated that the current GC-LB standards and tests are quite simply inadequate.

Take the ASTM D3527 test as an example of how current GC-LB specifications and tests are not meeting the bar. A pass mark on this test is currently mandatory for service fill automotive greases to obtain GC-LB certification. ASTM D3527 has certain flaws, however. The tests repeatability is questionable and its original mandate has long expired since cars no longer use the configuration of front wheel bearings the test was intended for, ExxonMobil automation engineer Autumn Chadwick explained in the January 2019 issue of LubesnGreases. The test was nearly made obsolete in 2015 due to its notorious inaccuracy and imprecision, but it was renewed until 2020 because of the lack of another viable test to take its place.

NLGI recognizes the shortcomings of GC-LB specifications and tests and recently made a timely announcement that it has teamed up with CQA to interview and survey grease industry members to help redefine future GC-LB specifications so that they are more germane to the needs of todays grease applications.

NLGIs board has moved quickly to implement this working relationship with CQA, and we look forward to creating new specifications for grease that are relevant with respect to newer bearings and applications as well as employing the best possible performance tests available, Joe Kaperick, NLGIs president, said in a news release. We hope that this will result in grease manufacturers being able to offer better products to the market and grease consumers having better guidance with respect to product performance.

NLGI and CQAs goal is to implement, certify, audit and maintain a GC-LB-type program for grease quality assurance, Kunselman said during this years annual NLGI meeting. He also said that a 10-year plan to replace GC-LB is currently being defined. The main emphasis will be on developing a grease specification for multi-purpose greases that are able to be used in a variety of bearings and applications. There will also be additional classifications for water resistance, high load-carrying capacity, saltwater corrosion resistance and long life.

Because NLGIs standards are internationally recognized, the new specification and test developments on the horizon in North America may very well set the tone for future grease specifications internationally. Members of the European, Middle Eastern and African grease community are keeping a close eye on these new developments in hopes of providing consumers with better products, as well as more relevant information regarding product performance.