Originally Posted By: Panzerman
None of the heavy duty pick ups are under any fuel economy regulations so until the goverment starts on them, I dont think they will change oil grades for fuel economy. I know there is a sticker under the hood of my Dodge that states it is classified as a heavy duty truck and not mandated by pollution standards or something to that effect.
That is my point. I expect at some time in the future you'll see the light duty diesels (trucks we would typically call one-ton's, etc) become fuel-economy controlled. At that point, you'll start to see lighter grades from the factory. I don't know when it will happen, but I do feel comfortable saying it's a matter of "when" and not "if".
After all, a few decades ago when exhaust controls were new to cars, people used to note that diesels were exempt; that was true at the time. But now, exhaust controls exist for all on-road equipment. What makes you think that the concept of fuel-economy for diesel light-duty trucks is taboo to control? Mark my words; it's coming. And when it does, you'll see 10w30 or 5w30 HDEOs become the rule, rather than the exception.
At some point, I expect controls for emissions and mandates of economy even for off-road equipment, including compact tractors, lawn equipment, etc.
My comments several posts back were merely a comment on the perception of oil grades, as the topic was penned by the OP. There are two reasons why any product changes. One is a reaction to market pressures (price, quality, quantity, competition, etc). The other is regulatory pressure. I doubt there is any large market pressure to move to lighter grade engine oils in HDEO applications. Most people are content with 15w40 oil. And I doubt there is much financial incentive to move either; it likely costs about the same to produce a 10w30 HDEO as it does a 15w40 HDEO, presuming the additive packages are roughly equivilant. So the market is not pushing for lighter grades. But eventually the regulatory entities might! Fuel economy gains in your garrage might be very slight, but when multiplied by millions of vehicles, it becomes significant. That is EXACTLY why you see 5w-20 engine oils prominant in today's PCMOs. The market did not demand it; the government did.
My other comment is that the percieved fear of lighter grade lubes is often unfounded. I have had awesome UOA results from 10w30 HDEO even with heavy towing in my Dmax; my neighbor has as well. Also, I just got an excellent UOA back on my Fusion running dino 5w-20. The market need not fear lighter grade oils, even if they don't prefer them.
Now, I'm being very careful here to not get into a "political" comment or debate. I am merely looking at the historical actions of the controlling entities, and how they are tightening, rather than releasing, their grip on all sources of emmisions and consumption.
Never say never ...
