DF Sales&Marketing
Oil Tech Moderator
(continued from part 1)
now it should be obvious that straight-grade engine oils will not disappear overnight. Oil marketers will continue to have customers for these products and, given enough volume, will continue to produce them. Some customers just don’t want to change since they believe the product they buy is exactly what they want.
A new specialty?
Certainly, straight-grade engine oil volumes will continue to fade. Some oil marketers will decide to drop them altogether, while others will continue to supply. One of the tenets of product life cycles is that as a product goes into the latter stages of its life, fewer companies will supply it. Only those which are well situated to serve a market will continue to produce the product. In addition, the price will probably go up due to fewer sources.
To illustrate this point, many oil marketers have de-emphasized or eliminated sae 20w50 engine oil from their product slates. Only a few still actively market this grade. The result is that, although the total u.s. Volume of 20w50 sold in 2006 was not large (about 24 million gallons), one or two oil marketers had a significant portion of that volume. It’s now being promoted as a specialty engine oil grade for suvs, high-output engines and off-road applications. Straight grades are not going to disappear overnight, the questions will be how they are labeled, and how their performance level described. No current api category and more importantly no read-across on engine tests will support the licensing of straight grades. Although it can be done, no one will be likely to run straight grades in any engine tests, so it is unlikely that there will be any demonstration to confirm the products’ performance. That could open the door to some potential mislabeling. Another possibility is that labels could talk about api categories that are now obsolete. In any event there will be a period of adjustment before all of this gets squared away.
____________________________________________________
still need straight-weight?
Straight–weight engine oils are certainly a dying breed. The newer generation of straight-grade engine oil has, for the most part, a more robust additive package and utilizes more modern base stock technology than the oils called for in Dad’s 55 buick. Even though swepco has some time ago eliminated sae 10, 20, & 50 wt products, we still continue to produce and have available the “supreme formula” sae 30wt & 40wt formulations for applications which call for a higher-performance, low sulfonated ash engine oil.
Advanced chemistry provides outstanding wear control, service life, cleanliness thermal stability and corrosion resistance for diesel and gasoline engines requiring straight weight oil which require uniform viscosity levels.
“swepco 305 supreme formula” engine oils in the sae 30 & 40 weights exceed the current api ci-4 diesel, and the api sl gasoline engine designations.
for you IH owners specifically:
as most of you know the common recommendation IH had for engine oil when it was producing your vehicle was for straight weight oils. Normally, I would not go against the oem recommendation, but in this case, I do make an exception because of the increased benefits you achieve with using multi-graded oil. The exception (and caution) I continue to preach tho, is the fact that you should be careful not to use engine oil with the api grade of “sm.” it does not have the additive package needed for full protection, especially in the top-end area. Sm oils are deemed “backward compatible” and state that they May be used for previous grades, however they are not the best oils to use in classic equipment, or in engines made to meet the previous to 2007 specs as designated by the epa.
Many of you have started to use the swepco 306 engine oil in a multitude of weights, 10w30, 15w40 and even 20w50 with great success. It is rated as an api “sl” engine oil, and is a full-bodied oil with a superior additive package. It is available through ihon.
now it should be obvious that straight-grade engine oils will not disappear overnight. Oil marketers will continue to have customers for these products and, given enough volume, will continue to produce them. Some customers just don’t want to change since they believe the product they buy is exactly what they want.
A new specialty?
Certainly, straight-grade engine oil volumes will continue to fade. Some oil marketers will decide to drop them altogether, while others will continue to supply. One of the tenets of product life cycles is that as a product goes into the latter stages of its life, fewer companies will supply it. Only those which are well situated to serve a market will continue to produce the product. In addition, the price will probably go up due to fewer sources.
To illustrate this point, many oil marketers have de-emphasized or eliminated sae 20w50 engine oil from their product slates. Only a few still actively market this grade. The result is that, although the total u.s. Volume of 20w50 sold in 2006 was not large (about 24 million gallons), one or two oil marketers had a significant portion of that volume. It’s now being promoted as a specialty engine oil grade for suvs, high-output engines and off-road applications. Straight grades are not going to disappear overnight, the questions will be how they are labeled, and how their performance level described. No current api category and more importantly no read-across on engine tests will support the licensing of straight grades. Although it can be done, no one will be likely to run straight grades in any engine tests, so it is unlikely that there will be any demonstration to confirm the products’ performance. That could open the door to some potential mislabeling. Another possibility is that labels could talk about api categories that are now obsolete. In any event there will be a period of adjustment before all of this gets squared away.
____________________________________________________
still need straight-weight?
Straight–weight engine oils are certainly a dying breed. The newer generation of straight-grade engine oil has, for the most part, a more robust additive package and utilizes more modern base stock technology than the oils called for in Dad’s 55 buick. Even though swepco has some time ago eliminated sae 10, 20, & 50 wt products, we still continue to produce and have available the “supreme formula” sae 30wt & 40wt formulations for applications which call for a higher-performance, low sulfonated ash engine oil.
Advanced chemistry provides outstanding wear control, service life, cleanliness thermal stability and corrosion resistance for diesel and gasoline engines requiring straight weight oil which require uniform viscosity levels.
“swepco 305 supreme formula” engine oils in the sae 30 & 40 weights exceed the current api ci-4 diesel, and the api sl gasoline engine designations.
for you IH owners specifically:
as most of you know the common recommendation IH had for engine oil when it was producing your vehicle was for straight weight oils. Normally, I would not go against the oem recommendation, but in this case, I do make an exception because of the increased benefits you achieve with using multi-graded oil. The exception (and caution) I continue to preach tho, is the fact that you should be careful not to use engine oil with the api grade of “sm.” it does not have the additive package needed for full protection, especially in the top-end area. Sm oils are deemed “backward compatible” and state that they May be used for previous grades, however they are not the best oils to use in classic equipment, or in engines made to meet the previous to 2007 specs as designated by the epa.
Many of you have started to use the swepco 306 engine oil in a multitude of weights, 10w30, 15w40 and even 20w50 with great success. It is rated as an api “sl” engine oil, and is a full-bodied oil with a superior additive package. It is available through ihon.