SUPERIOR, Wisc. – After a winter of record-breaking cold temperatures and a late spring and summer, the 1996 Kenworth trucks with Cummins N-14 engines participating in the AMSOIL Series 3000 fleet demonstration are approaching 80,000 demonstration miles or the one-third mark in the 250,000 mile study and Series 3000 is looking good.
The five test vehicles, which are running with Series 3000, a high-quality aftermarket full-flow oil filter and an AMSOIL By-Pass Oil Filter, have received no oil or by-pass oil filter changes to date. Full-flow oil filters have been changed as necessary. Oil will be drained according to the findings of used oil analysis. The five controls, running with Pennzoil Long-Life 15W-40 Motor Oil, a national brand petroleum product and the same make aftermarket full-flow oil filter as that in the test vehicles, have received four installations of new oil and filters. Oil drain intervals are set at 20,000 miles. Oil analysis shows the Series 3000 in all test vehicles is fit for ongoing service, with a large safety margin between its performance after 80,000 miles and study condemnation limits. In fact, at a drain interval now four times that of the control oil, Series 3000 shows superior overall performance:
Fleet personnel have also observed that oil consumption is lower in the vehicles using Series 3000 than in the controls and oil pressure holds steadier in the test vehicles.
A lower rate of oil consumption is primarily attributed to Series 3000's lower oil volatility and better ring seal. Volatility, or the oil's tendency to evaporate in heat, directly contributes to oil consumption as oil molecules "boil" away at engine operating temperatures.
A tight seal between piston rings and cylinder walls also helps keep oil consumption low. First, it ensures that the oil is cleaned from the cylinder walls during the piston downstroke and not picked up and pushed into the combustion chamber on the upstroke. Second, it prevents the pressurized gases from travelling down the cylinder, picking up an oil mist and moving the oil mist through the crankcase ventilation system where it is ultimately burned in the combustion chamber.
AMSOIL synthetic motor oils encourage a tighter seal between cylinder wall and piston rings than conventional oils do by keeping rings and cylinders cleaner than conventional oils do.
Fleet personnel also comment that oil pressure is more stable with Series 3000 than with the conventional oil. In cold temperatures, more stable oil pressure indicates better cold temperature lubrication. Petroleum-lubricated engines often indicate low or no oil pressure after cold temperature startups because the thickened oil sits in the sump instead of flowing.
Fuel economy will be evaluated later in the demonstration to allow for long-term data gathering. Fuel efficiency varies according to season, load, route and other factors. The longer the term allowed for data gathering, the more time the variables have to "average out," giving more accurate results. Based, however on the reports received and the testing done on Series 2000 OW-30, which has the same advanced technology as series 3000 5W-30, fuel economy benefits will prove outstanding.
AMSOIL Action News October 1996 Copyright 1996
TRUCKERS; To apply for an AMSOIL Commercial account