Note: All compressed files are self extracting when executed. If you
do not have Adobe Acrobat Reader, you can download it here.
GF-3 Passage Intrduces "Base Oils Balancing Act"
by Carla R. Mangone
Compoundings, Feb. 2001. 2 pages.
"With the adoption of the GF-3 specification for passenger car engine oils, testing requirements for Group I and Group II base oils introduce an interesting new dilemma in the never simple process of securing the right base stock for the right job. Here follows an overview of the issues."
Download PDF (1.33MB)
Pushing And Pulling API Group II Basestocks
by Thomas F. Glenn
Compoundings, Mar. 2001. 3 pages.
"The lubricants business in the United States is moving through period of rapid change, and despite the high profile of mergers and acquisitions in the industry, basestocks represents one of the most significant areas of changes and challenges."
Download PDF (813KB)
PAO - Down But Not Out
by Thomas F. Glenn
Lubes'N'Greases, Jul. 2001. 2 pages.
"... a 1999 ruling by the National Advertising Division of the Better Business Bureaus broadened the definition of synthetic lubricants to include Group III base stocks. With Group III granted the right to wear the Œsynthetic label - and a cost differential of $1.50 to $2.00 a gallon in favor of Group III most large lubricant producers moved quickly to replace PAO with Group III in their synthetic PCMO formulations."
Download PDF (986KB)
Back to Top
The Formulators Art
by David McFall
Lubes'N'Grease, Dec. 2001. 3 pages.
"...as expensive as it is now, testing would be a whole lot more costly, in fact prohibitive, without a couple of important concepts imbedded in the America Chemistry Council's Product Approval Protocol Code of Practice. These concepts, "Level 1 and 2 Support" and "Core Data Set," permit legitimate formulation adjustments without the need to repeat some tests."
Download PDF (1.48MB)
Heavy-Duty Oils Roll Along Quietly
by Kathryn Carnes
Lubricants World, Jan. 2001. 1 page.
"Now that matrix testing of the new exhaust-gas recirculation (EGR) tests has begun under the watchful eye of the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) Heavy Duty Engine Oil Classification Panel, all is relatively quiet on the heavy-duty oil front... Meanwhile the Passenger car Engine Oil Council, (PCEOCP) is still working on putting together what is the last ballot revising ASTM D4485..."
Download PDF (238KB)
The $6 Million Question: Are PC-9's Test Ready
by David McFall
Lubes'N'Greases, Oct. 2001. 3 pages.
"The heavy-duty diesel engine oil upgrade (called PC-9) now in process, has only three new tests to develop. It¹s currently scheduled for first API licensing in August 2002. This time there is absolutely no margin for error no slop or "wiggle room" for meeting this deadline"
Download PDF (1.51MB)
How An Independent Monitor Guards Engine Tests
by David McFall
Lubes'N'Greases, Sept. 2001. 3 pages.
"Three nuts-and-bolts organizations support the oil industry's quality assurance programs: ASTM's Testi Monitoring Center in Pittsburgh, Pa.; API's Engine Oil and Licensing Certification Center in Washington, D.C.; and the American Chemistry Council's monitoring agency, Registration System, Inc. in San Antonio."
Download PDF (1.97MB)
Bench Tests: Getting What You Pay For
by David McFall
Lubes'N'Greases, May 2001. 4 pages.
"Testing's troika, engine tests, bench tests and field tests: each has a role in maintaining the quality of engine oils in the U.S. marketplace. You don¹t pay a lot for bench tests."
Download PDF (2.13MB)
ASTM's Test Monitoring Center: For Tests You Can Count On
by David McFall
Lubes'N'Greases, Jun. 2001. 3 pages.
"Zalar is straightforward, 'Our primary mission has remained unchanged over the life of the TMC, namely, to calibrate engine test stands as prescribed in specific ASTM test methods, using reference oils.' But what does that mean in the real world?"
Download PDF (1.72MB)
Back to Top
ASTM Asserts Its Relevance For Engine Oils
by David McFall
Lubes'N'Greases, Aug. 2001. 3 pages.
"We've all heard plenty about both the American Chemistry Council's and the auto companies' new proposals for engine oil upgrades. So for the next two hours we're going to talk about what ASTM should do in the next few years, not as a response to either of these worthy bodies and their proposals, but simply how this organization can serve a much more useful function..."
Download PDF (1.55MB)
ACC Assails the Status Quo
by David McFall
Lubes'N'Greases, May 2001. 5 pages.
"The chemical additives industry, operating throughout its trade association the American Chemistry Council, created a Code of Practice which brought order, structure, accountability, transparency and most important legitimacy to engine sequence testing for oil quality."
Download PDF (3.63MB)
Higher, Faster, Riskier
by David McFall
Lubes'N'Greases, Apr. 2001. 5 pages.
"New passenger car engine oils are rolling out this year: 2002 brings the next diesel engine oil. Two years later, another passenger car engine oil is due. Then a light duty diesel oil and after that another heavy-duty oil. Oops, time for another passenger car engine oil! The big question remains: How to pick up the pace of engine oil upgrades without going splat?"
Download PDF (3.53MB)
Trust Me On This
by David McFall
Lubes'N'Greases, Jul. 2001. 3 pages.
"At the American petroleum Institute's Lubricants Committee meeting on May 10 in Orlando, Fla., two words Œempower' and Œtrust' entered the discussion on what system will replace the current one for new engine oil upgrades."
Download PDF (1.46MB)
The $2 Million Question
by David McFall
Lubes'N'Greases, Jul. 2001. 3 pages.
"On March 20th the American Chemistry Council unveiled its own dramatic proposal (Engine Oil Quality Assurance, A New Direction) which recommended scrapping much of the current industry upgrade process including the American Petroleum Institute's familiar donut and starburst symbols relying instead on OEM specifications."
Download PDF (2.82MB)
Back to Top
What do automakers want most from engine oils?
by David McFall
Lubes'N'Greases, Mar. 2001. 4 pages.
"The answer may depend on which automaker you ask. Fuel economy, emissions system compatibility, and wear protection everyone¹s list and maybe extended oil life. But that leaves plenty of room for divergence among Detroit¹s Big Three, Ford, DaimlerChrysler and General Motors."
Download PDF (3.32MB)
5W-20 Engine Oil
by David McFall
Lubes'N'Greases, Feb. 2001. 4 pages.
"Why 5W-20? Why Now? Ford doesn't mince words: "Moving to 5W-20 was driven by using best technology oils, CAFE requirements and customer needs," said Mike Riley, product design engineer..."
Download PDF (2.61MB)
Charting A Safe Course On EGR
by Tim Sullivan
Lubes'N'Greases, Sept. 2001. 4 pages.
"U.S. Trucking Companies are watching and waiting. They know it's out there, lurking below the surface. They may not know exactly what to expect, but they are worried. This thing that troubles them is exhaust gas recirculation, a coming technology designed to reduce air pollution emitted by diesel engines. Sounds like a great idea but the trucking industry knows that pollutants rarely disappear; they just get moved from one place to another."
Download PDF (2.26MB)
Motor Oil For Higher Mileage Engines Exceeds Expectations
Lubricants World, Jan. 2001. 3 pages.
"Everyone looks for an edge in engine oil formulation, and Valvoline's success proves that the goal, while elusive, is not impossible to achieve."
Download PDF (1.71MB)
Selling Lubes To The Army
by David McFall
Lubes'N'Greases, Aug. 2001. 3 pages.
"A half-decade ago, the unofficial figure on the amount of lubricants used by the U.S. military was around 6 million gallons annually."
Download PDF (2MB)
Back to Top |