The new oils – formerly covered under the developmental blanket of PC-11 – will be available Dec. 1, and as part of the rollout Chevron says it will launch a new consultive advisor service to help customers select the best product.
The new Delo oils will feature Chevron’s next-generation ISOSYN technology, a unique combination of Chevron’s formulation expertise, high performance additive chemistry and premium base oils, that the company says helps extend the durability of critical diesel engine parts.
ISOSYN Advanced Technology enables increased durability through better oxidation control, anti-wear protection and piston control, while extending drain intervals compared to API CJ-4 oils.
A unique formulation of ISOSYN Advanced Technology, Chevron says, has helped optimize fuel efficiency for the FA-4 specific oils – lower viscosity oils slated for use in model year 2017 and newer trucks. Chevron’s API CK-4 oils will be backward compatible for older model year engines.
New Delo 400 product line
Additionally, Len Badal, global Delo brand manager for Chevron, says the company has seen some of its longest drain intervals and best engine protection in the company’s history from the new products.
The new Delo 400 product line, which Badal says is the most advanced Delo 400 product line to-date, will be available in a variety of viscosities and will support both API CK-4 and FA-4 HDMO categories.
“The last category change (API CJ-4), we were pretty much only worried about one viscosity grade, a 15W-40″ he says. “Today we have a significantly wider range of products.”
• Delo 400 XSP SAE 5W-30 is a full synthetic oil meeting API CK-4. Badal says this formula has shown up to 2 percent fuel economy improvement for large trucks, allows for better low temperature performance and features the longest oil drain interval product in the Delo 400 product suite.
• Delo 400 XSP SAE 5W-40 is also a full synthetic meeting API CK-4 that Badal says offers 20 percent improved oil oxidation resistance and has shown a 50 percent reduction in wear versus API CJ-4 formulated oils.
• Delo 400 XLE SAE 10W-30 is a synthetic blend meeting API CK-4 that Badal says offers up to 1 percent fuel economy improvement for large trucks.
• Delo 400 XLE SAE 15W-40 is a synthetic blend meeting API CK-4. Badal says testing has shown this blend offers up to a 25 percent increase in oil drain intervals over OEM maximum published oil drain intervals. It was also the first SAE 15W-40 to pass MB228.51 piston cleanliness requirements and offers Allison Heavy Duty Transmission coverage for off-road diesel engines.
• Delo 400 SDE SAE 15W-40 is a premium base oil meeting API CK-4 that Badal says provides 38 percent improved wear Key Benefits performance vs. CJ-4 SAE 15W-40 and up to a 20 percent increase in total diesel engine life to rebuild vs. API CJ-4 SAE 15W-40. It has also shown excellent engine cleanliness performance, he adds.
• Delo 400 ZFA SAE 10W-30 is a synthetic blend meeting API FA-4 that offers a 20 percent improvement in fuel efficiency testing performance over API CJ-4 SAE 10W-30. Badal says all product field testing for this formula was conducted in older EPA 2010 and EPA 2013 engines.
“New diesel engine oils means more options to maximize fuel economy while protecting equipment,” says Shawn Whitacre, Chevron Delo senior staff engineer and chairman of the ASTM Heavy-Duty Engine Oil Classification Panel.
“These products have seen tens of thousands of hours of testing across nine different industries, including trucking, construction, agriculture, mining, inland marine and much more,” Badal says.
“We’re running [Delo 400 XSP SAE 5W-30] in a group of our newest Freightliner Cascadia’s with the new DD15 engines,” says Ozark Motor Lines Director of Maintenance Glen McDonald, adding the oil’s performance has encouraged him to push his drain intervals up to 80,000 miles.
Whitacre says the launch of the new oils culminates a five-year development process, adding the Delo 400 product line has gone through Chevron’s most extensive field testing program to-date.
Rommel Atienza, commercial brand manager for North America at Chevron, says the new Delo 400 product line will be packaged with specially labeled caps clearly noting support for either API CK-4 or FA-4 and will have color-coordinated labels and caps to make it easy to differentiate. The ISOSYN Advanced Technology branding will be prominently featured on the package.
Chevron’s advisor service
The goal of Chevron’s new advisor service, Atienza says, is to aid customers and potential customers during this time of transition from CJ-4 formulated oils and ensure they select the right product going forward.
The advisor program has three phases:
- Assess – Chevron will take stock of all the equipment, field of industry, level of performance and goals for the business.
- Analyze – Chevron will work with the customer to determine what product is best for them, based on their operating budget, production demands and vision for the future of their business.
- Action – After the data has been calculated, a report will be generated outlining the ideal product recommendation that will optimize the business, advise on total vehicle efficiency improvements and customize inventory management for the needs of each company.
Atienza says the consultation service will debut with the launch of the new oils in December.
“We are shifting our perspective to look at the whole vehicle and how we can ladder up to the bigger impact on a business,” he says. “Our new advisor program will help us partner with our customers to drive their business forward with the right product for their needs.”
“This is a time of change in our industry, and we expect customers will have many questions, including what oil is best for their business needs,” adds Doug Hinzie, VP, Americas Lubricants at Chevron. “With the licensing of API CK-4 and FA-4 oils, our customers will have more choices than ever, so we are providing products and services to answer those questions and improve their business. Continuing that collaboration, we are committed to work with them to help them determine the best product for their needs, which is why we launched our new advisor service.”
What lies ahead?
Badal says EPA Phase 2 will raise the bar in terms of performance that truck OEMs are going to have to achieve, and that means having an engine oil available to compliment those efforts.
Badal says Chevron is already developing its next generation oil – ZFA 5W-30. While not currently available publicly, Badal says the oil is currently being tested and validated so it is ready as Phase 2 marches toward model year 2027, when it’s regulations become the most stringent.
“We have several OEMs testing this type of product because they know they’re going to have to get to those regulations into the future.”
