By James Menzies
I recently had a chat with Shawn Whitacre, senior staff engineer, technology, with Chevron Lubricants. He has just been named the new chair of the ASTM’s Heavy-Duty Engine Oil Classification Panel, which is tasked with the final development of the PC-11 requirements that take effect in December 2016.
I’ll have a full article from our discussion posted on Trucknews.com at some point today – promise! But for now, I wanted to share with you what Shawn had to say about fleet preparations for the new category and what they should be doing today to prepare for the arrival of PC-11 next year. I asked Shawn if fleets should be doing anything today to prepare for PC-11, or whether it’s too early to be thinking about it? Here’s his answer:
“It’s not at all too early. They ought to be talking with their oil suppliers and talking with their engine OEMs about the options available to them, being clear about what their preferences are and their constraints and what makes the most sense for their operation. Different fleets have different needs in terms of what they want to run their business and where their priorities are, whether it’s maximizing fuel economy or trying to achieve long drain intervals, or maybe even commonality with other products in their fleet. It’s not at all too early (to be discussing PC-11). In fact, now is the right time to be getting prepared for changes that will start coming to the market late next year.”
This article originally appeared on TruckNews.com
