ADVANCED ENGINE TECHNOLOGY DRIVING CHANGES FOR GASOLINE OIL SPECIFICATIONS

Tightening fuel economy standards and the subsequent advances in engine technologies are pushing big changes in the passenger car motor oil (PCMO) market.

Increasingly strict regulations on fuel economy and emissions have pushed the automotive industry to develop smaller, more efficient engines. By 2020, industry experts predict that nearly every new vehicle will feature direct-injection technology (GDI), and the vast majority will be turbocharged (TGDI). The most recent corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standards require a fleet-wide average of 54.5 mpg by 2025 in the United States, necessitating a 5 percent annual improvement.

These factors contribute to the following:

Severe engine knock, also called lowspeed pre-ignition (LSPI)
Increased engine temperatures • Compromised fuel injectors
Greater overall stress and dependence on engine oil

Two new gasoline engine oil specifications are in development to address these issues: General Motors’ (GM)* proprietary dexos1™: 2015 and API SP/ILSAC GF-6.

Controlling LSPI

Both specifications place a major focus on limiting the impact of low-speed pre-ignition (LSPI). This will be an essential feature of engine oil in the coming years. Similar to traditional engine knock, LSPI occurs when fuel/air spontaneously ignites prior to the spark ignition. The pressure created by this ill-timed combustion pushes down on the piston as the connecting rod and crankshaft work to move it upward. These conflicting forces can result in severe engine damage beyond that of typical engine knock. LSPI is an issue unique to newer turbocharged and GDI engines and occurs under low-speed and high-torque conditions. However, a properly formulated motor oil can prevent its effects.

Key Updates

dexos1™: 2015

GM’s second-generation dexos1 specification is a global specification that aims to standardize the quality of oil installed in GM vehicles regardless of location. Similar to the GF-6 specification, dexos1: 2015 will address fuel economy and LSPI. It will also include new tests unique to GM focused on oxidative thickening, piston deposits, turbocharger deposits and wear control. It is due to be released in late August 2017.

Designed for 2011 model-year and newer engines
Targets higher levels of performance in all areas

NEW DEXOS1: 2015 & ILSAC GF-6 SPECIFICATIONS

Low speed pre-ignition protection preventing severe engine damage
Added piston deposit prevention for fuel economy and horsepower retention
Improved turbocharger protection to prevent turbocoking and increase longevity
Increased wear protection for maintaining like-new performance
Increased sludge protection for cleaner engines

ILSAC GF-6

Replacing the ILSAC GF-5 specification, the primary focus of ILSAC GF-6 will be increased fuel economy, oil robustness and protecting GDI and TGDI engines from LSPI and timing-chain wear. The spec will be split into GF-6A and GF- 6B to accommodate the trend toward lower-viscosity oils. GF-6B will provide a new category of oil designed for newer vehicles that require low hightemperature/high-shear (HTHS) and viscosities of 0W-20 or less. GF-6 is expected to be released in mid-2019.

GF-6A is designed for current modelyear engines and older requiring a traditional viscosity oil
GF-6B is designed for newer engines requiring lower viscosity oil

API/ILSAC

The International Lubricant Standardization Approval Committee (ILSAC) is a partnership between U.S. and Japanese automobile manufacturers. ILSAC and the American Petroleum Institute (API) work in tandem to develop engine protection standards and fuel economy requirements. Oils displaying the API Certification Mark, or “Starburst,” meet these requirements.

New Testing

As new requirements are revealed and the technology evolves, many standardized engine tests are being overhauled or replaced. GF-6 will feature at least six new engine tests while dexos1: 2015 will gain five. The tests encompass issues from low-temperature valvetrain wear (GF-6) to turbocharger deposits (dexos1: 2015).

AMSOIL Prepared for Change

AMSOIL Dealers can be well-assured that we will be ready for the implementation of the new specs with top-performing synthetic formulations. Details will be unveiled in upcoming issues of AMSOIL Magazine.

Two-stroke equipment is changing

Ask your Sioux Falls small engine sales and repair shop to carry the standard which makes all 2-stroke work motors easy to maintain. SABER-PRO synthetic 2-cycle oil.

Hotter, leaner-running engines require less oil to do more work.

Dan Peterson - AMSOIL Technical Development

AMSOIL’s Dan Peterson.

Dan Peterson | VICE PRESIDENT, TECHNICAL DEVELOPMENT

I spent my 53rd birthday in Tampa, Fla., during the 2016 DJ Convention, talking, listening, learning and making notes on how AMSOIL Dealer businesses have changed and what has driven those changes. This prompted a story I told the group about how AMSOIL is studying changes in handheld twostroke equipment. Allow me to share for those who weren’t in Tampa.

I grew up operating a range of two stroke equipment – mowers and string trimmers in the ‘70s and chainsaws in the ‘80s. I still have a 1980 25hp Mercury* outboard and an old two-stroke Lawn-Boy* mower, which has journeyed from Dayton, Ohio to Appleton, Wis. to Hermantown, Minn. It now resides at the cabin in Eagle River, Wis. The old Lawn-Boy runs great on SABER® Professional at 100:1. Occasionally, I use my equipment to burn the last of my neighbor’s summer gas. He uses Valvoline* mixed at 50:1. Boy, does it smoke in the old LawnBoy, but he’s a good neighbor and I like to help him out.

When I put the Valvoline mixed at 50:1 in my new Stihl* leaf blower, I don’t see as big a difference in exhaust smoke compared to SABER Professional at 100:1. There is some difference, but nothing compared to the Lawn-Boy.

Why? The answer lies in the design of the equipment. Before I was introduced to AMSOIL, I ran the Lawn-Boy at 50:1 and it always smoked, especially before it warmed up. It continued to spew blue smoke the whole time I mowed, just like it does on my neighbor’s end-of summer gas. When I start my new Stihl leaf blower and use the end-of-summer gas, it does not smoke nearly as much as the Lawn-Boy.

Older equipment was designed to run rich, which means it burned a lot of fuel/oil. Not all of it burned, so the partially burned fuel and oil exited the exhaust as smoke. In response to government mandates to reduce emissions, much of the handheld twostroke equipment built in the last four years is designed to run leaner. This means it burns less fuel/oil and more air. When engines run on less fuel/oil and more air, they generate less smoke and emissions, but they run much hotter.

The problems with older two-stroke equipment included fouled spark plugs, gummy deposits and smoke. SABER Professional mixed at 100:1 helped resolve those issues in older equipment. Now, however, the challenges to equipment operability and longevity have changed. Modern equipment runs on the ragged edge due to burning less oil. The intense heat leads to deposits, which can cause the following:

Piston-ring sticking
Blocked exhaust ports
Plugged spark arrestor screens

As a result, equipment can lose power, become difficult to start and eventually quit running.

To be proactive with modern 2-cycle equipment, we went to work testing many different oil formulations in different types of equipment. In the end, we developed a formulation that delivers excellent protection against high heat and deposits. We tested and validated it at both 100:1 and 50:1. Although it’s safe and effective at both ratios, the benefits of reduced deposits and better cleanliness are more noticeable at 50:1 since more oil is available to lubricate the engine. For proof of SABER Professional’s performance at 50:1, see the ECHO String Trimmer Technical Study (G3455).

Here is where we all need to adapt to change. We all know our founder and Chairman of the Board Al Amatuzio designed the original SABER Professional to provide extraordinary benefits for the equipment of the time. In the same spirit, we’ve identified the most disruptive problems for lawn and landscapers when running today’s two-stroke equipment. And then we developed a formulation proven to address these issues.

What does this mean to your business?

If your customers are happy using SABER Professional at 80:1 or 100:1, great. They can continue to rely on its safe, effective performance. However, perhaps you encounter a prospect who rejects our 80:1 or 100:1 recommendation. Let’s face it – some prospects simply aren’t interested in the benefits of using less oil. Use the results of the ECHO String Trimmer Technical Study to sell them on SABER Professional’s exceptional performance at 50:1. You can also use the study to sell current customers on the benefits of running a 50:1 ratio in their equipment.

In the end, it’s up to you to know your customers and prospects and sell SABER Professional as the solution to the problems they’re facing. This study gives you the flexibility to do that.

Look for more SABER Professional comparisons soon.

Available in the Sioux Falls store at 4610 W. 12th st. Call 402-399-3902

Category: Knowledge Base