Channel 19: Trouble From Above
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CHANNEL 19
Will low viscosity
engine oils provide
benefits for my engine
and my bottom line?
The reasons to
switch to using lower
viscosity, full synthetic
or synthetic blend
motor oils continue to
build. The tried and
true SAE 15W-40
By Dan Arcy
Shell Lubricants conventional motor
oils that many use
has competition from lower viscosity
grade oils that promote better fuel
economy and other benefits.
A number of diesel engine
manufacturers recommend lower
viscosity lubricants in their newest
engines, and the move to lower
viscosity lubricants is reinforced
by the recent announcement that
one of the focus areas for the next
generation of heavy-duty diesel
engine oils will be fuel economy
savings, which lower viscosity
oils have demonstrated the ability
to provide. This is particularly
important as the first-ever fuel
economy regulations for heavy
trucks will begin in 2014.
Less energy is consumed when
starting a cold engine when it
is lubricated by a synthetic SAE
5W-40 than is consumed with a
conventional SAE 15W-40. Lower
viscosity oils also help reduce
friction in an engine, which can
result in fuel savings.
Anti-idling laws mean the days of
40 percent idle time are over. Idle
times of 10 percent or less are now
common, meaning more start-ups.
The better cold temperature flow
of a lower viscosity oil such as SAE
5W-40 full synthetic or SAE 10W-30
synthetic blend versus SAE 15W-40
will provide easier starting and
faster lubrication in colder weather.
Circle 170 on Reader Service Card or visit overdrive.hotims.com
®
10
Low viscosity oils, Shell Rotella T6
Full Synthetic SAE 5W-40 or Shell
®
Rotella T5 Synthetic Blend SAE
10W-30 have been shown to deliver
fuel-economy savings, extendeddrain capability, enhanced engine
cleanliness, and excellent wear
protection.
This monthly column is brought to you by Shell
Lubricants. Got a question?
Visit ROTELLA.com,
call 1- 800 - 231- 6950
or write to
The ANSWER COLUMN,
1001 Fannin, Ste. 500,
Houston,TX 77002.
The term “Shell Lubricants”
refers to the various Shell
Group companies engaged
in the lubricants business.
OVERDRIVE MARCH 2012
Heads up!
Atlanta-based hauler Danny Lower was rolling smoothly on I-75
when an unidentified falling object was thrown from an overpass
and cracked his windshield, he told a WRCB reporter. Lower was
able to maintain control, get off the roadway and call the authorities,
but the culprit fled before anyone arrived.
See the Jan. 12 post to the Channel 19 blog for a link to a video
interview with the driver and news of another overhead threat. Word
is some jurisdictions are going out of their way – think Bear on overpass, taking pictures – to nab violators of the handheld cell ban. If
you haven’t gotten yourself a hands-free headset, it might be time to.
Beauty
and brawn
What does the owner-operator
winner of the 2011 Rush Truck
Centers Nashville Chrome & Class
truck beauty competition have
in common with the Southern
Invitational tractor pull? It turns
out the winner, 1986 Peterbilt 359
owner David Holbrook, is also
the pull’s organizer. We gleaned
Former ATHS Music City Chapter President Corey Price,
left, and Music City Chapter founding member David Qualls
that bit of trivia at the American
at Jan. 14 auction.
Truck Historical Society Music City
Chapter’s meeting and auction Jan. 14 near Nashville, Tenn. The event raised $3,000 to help fund
2012 show activities. ATHS chapters will stage the Southeast Regional Truck Show in Knoxville,
Tenn., April 13-14. For more about that event, and to meet owner-operators who attended the auction, check out the Jan. 17 entry on the blog.
Even the Guv sometimes
needs divine intervention
What happens when a loaded straight dump loses
its brakes on a downhill run, almost hits a car
containing a governor, then collides head-on with
a tanker truck loaded with jet fuel? According
to Guam Governor Eddie Calvo, God smiled down
and saved him and the truck drivers from certain
incineration after this collision on the island in
January, reported the Pacific Daily News. “The good
Lord served me up a reminder to live each day
as though it might be my last,” Calvo wrote in his
column for the newspaper. Find links to the story
and the column in the Jan. 23 blog post.
For more of the interesting and odd parts of trucking, visit Senior Editor
Todd Dills’ C HANNEL 19 BLOG a t O verdriveOnline.com/channel19 .