Is there life in Universal Oils?

[Solarent]

So I was reading This Article in Lubes N Greases today about Universal oils and noticed something a little funny...

According to the article "Keith Corkwell, Lubrizol's global business manager for heavy duty engine additives says... Formulating true universal oils that meet both diesel and gasoline performance is possible, but challenging." whereas Bob Salgueiro - Infineum says that he believes the "NOACK volatility limits will likley require Group III with Some Group III+ or Group IV to achieve the volatility and low temperature performance limits... and Infineum's research suggests that end users won't be willing to pay a premium for a full synthetic oil as their universal option... The issue is cost versus benefit."

So Lubrizol says yes it is possible and then Infineum says end users won't be willing to pay for it so it might not be worth it.

But when you look at who has universal oils in their lineup it's pretty clear where the majors stand on this issue. From the section "Who's In" there is Rotella, Delo and Phillips 66 who all have confirmed their strong interest in universal oils, with the guy from Delo saying "Within the Delo family of HDMOs, all of our current products meet both C and S claims. Nothing is changing". On the other hand neither the Delvac (XOM) nor Duron (PetroCanada) brands have confirmed that they will have a universal oil. It seems to me that they are pretty split but with the market leaders taking the position that Universal oils are here to stay.

 

[dustyroads]

I'd be lying if I said that I didn't have a little bit of concern about the universal oils in my heavy duty diesel. While I was completely surprised about Ford's stance on the low phosphorus oils, I still take their concerns seriously.

I ran a few oci's in one of my trucks with 800 ppm phosphorus oil (Delvac Elite 15W40) and my uoa reports were consistent with the reports using "normal" HDDEO oils. I didn't dissect the engine to take wear measurements but nothing changed in oil analysis.

I have made a switch to Delo XLE (10W30) just because I have found a place that I think I can get good service, good pricing and quality products, including the Delo. I'm fairly confident that the dual rated oils will be fine but it could take some time for us to see the long term effects (if any). They're meant to be HDDEO's first and foremost, with the additional ability to work in SN applications if wanted. I do hope to see Delo oils approved for use in Ford diesels when their new test procedure is completed....that would give me even more confidence in the low phos oils.

Delo XLE is always available in my local Walmart store for a very reasonable price. I'm anxious to see if that low price remains with the new formulation.