What to expect for PC-12 engine oils with Shell's Karin Haumann
We're less than a year out now from the Enviornmental Protection Agency's 2027 Low NOx rule for heavy-duty trucks taking effect. The regulation tightens controls on NOx emissions and lengthens engine useful warranty life, effectively requiring engine manufacturers to release updated engines and aftertreatment systems. These changes also demand engine oil developers to tweak their formulas.
Current heavy-duty engine oils fall under two categories: CK-4 and FA-4. Within a few months, oil marketers will start rolling out the updated Proposed Category 12 (PC-12) versions. Each oil marketer will have their own formulation, but the basic compostion was standardized via a years-long process by the American Petroleum Institute and industry stakeholders who agreed on specification requirements. Their primary function is to provide more reliability and durability for engines by enhancing oxidative and thermal resistance, wear performance, and compatibility with aftertreatment systems.
To learn the details and what fleets and maintenace teams need to know about the new HDEOs, Fleet Maintenance editor-in-chief John Hitch caught up with Karin Haumann, OEM Technical Manager for Shell Rotella and chair of the American Petroleum Institute's New Category development team.
Chapters:
- 1:00 - Haumann's role
- 1:42 - What are proposed categories?
- 3:50 - Oil category differences
- 5:47 - The process to upgrade oil categories
- 10:14 - Where are we in the upgrade process? What's next?
- 12:15 - Upcoming changes
- 16:54 - Mixing engine oils
- 19:00 - Biggest reminders for PC-12
About the Author
John Hitch
Editor-in-chief, Fleet Maintenance
John Hitch is the award-winning editor-in-chief of Fleet Maintenance, where his mission is to provide maintenance leaders and technicians with the the latest information on tools, strategies, and best practices to keep their fleets' commercial vehicles moving.
He is based out of Cleveland, Ohio, and has worked in the B2B journalism space for more than a decade. Hitch was previously senior editor for FleetOwner and before that was technology editor for IndustryWeek and and managing editor of New Equipment Digest.
Hitch graduated from Kent State University and was editor of the student magazine The Burr in 2009.
The former sonar technician served honorably aboard the fast-attack submarine USS Oklahoma City (SSN-723), where he participated in counter-drug ops, an under-ice expedition, and other missions he's not allowed to talk about for several more decades.