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Using test methods currently available to the industry and two commercially available heavy-duty engine oils, Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) investigated lubricant-related fuel economy.

Fuel Economy Test Procedures

The SAE J1321 on-highway fuel economy test procedures were used in a fleet of four heavy-duty trucks. Fuel economy benefit was defined relative to CEC RL 191, the baseline candidate reference oil for the European light-duty gasoline engine fuel economy test procedure, CEC L-54-T-96 (Mercedes M111).

 

Fuel economy improvement values were computed from the on-highway test results. Testing the same two lubricants in stationary engine dynamometer tests using the Mercedes M111 and the ASTM Sequence VIB test procedures also served as a crosscheck.

Fuel Economy Test Results

• SAE J1321, CEC M111, and ASTM Sequence VIB test procedures all ranked Lubricant A and Lubricant B in the same order for fuel economy performance.

• The CEC M111 fuel economy test procedure may be useful for heavy-duty engine applications, primarily because of the SAE 15W-40 baseline reference oil.

• The ASTM Sequence VIB test procedure may be useful for heavy-duty application if it is conducted in tandem with a heavy-duty lubricant of known fuel economy performance.

• A strong linear correlation (R² = 0.96) was found to exist between the Mercedes M111 (19 hr) and the Sequence VIB (96 hr) fuel economy results.
   

  SAE J1321 Fuel Economy Improvement

  Linear relationship between Sequence VIB (96 hr) and  M111 (19 hr) fuel economy

For more information about heavy-duty engine lubricant fuel economy assessment capabilities at SwRI or how you can contract with SwRI, please contact Scott Ellis at sellis@swri.org or (210) 522-3399.
 

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Southwest Research Institute® (SwRI®), headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, is a multidisciplinary, independent, nonprofit, applied engineering and physical sciences research and development organization with 11 technical divisions.

June 17, 2008