Protect your engine from the winter blues

With winter fast approaching the bleak, cold days may be upon us all too soon, but companies running fleets of both on and off-road equipment can save themselves both time and money by planning their winter maintenance schedules now. Shell UK Oil Products Limited is urging operators to plan for the coming winter by making sure they use the right lubricants to help protect their vehicles’ engines and keep them performing through the long winter months.

With tyre pressures changing due to cold morning starts and engines facing tougher working conditions, checking your lubricant is now as essential as using a good quality antifreeze. “Oil can be one of the last things people consider but it is one of the areas where getting things right can save you money by helping to increase your fuel economy and reduce the hassle of downtime,” explains Les Dash, Shell’s Technical Manager for Transport Lubricants, UK and Ireland. “Get things wrong and your vehicles will be in the workshop for longer and you risk doing long-term damage to your engines.”

The average 35 litres of oil in an engine sump may need to disperse over 6 lbs of soot particles between scheduled oil changes and these particles can clump together and cause wear in critical areas, such as the valve train components. In the depths of winter, this mixture takes time to heat up properly and can delay the protection that the lubricant offers, so you need to be sure that the oil you have chosen can cope with the extreme demands that winter operations place upon it.

With the costs associated with running any truck these days, your vehicles need to be on the job earning you money and it can be all too easy to delay an oil change for one more day, or, worse still, top up the engine with the nearest oil can that comes to hand.

Finding the right oils for your vehicles can also be a challenge as commercial engines become more powerful and face increasingly tough emissions legislation and this dilemma is compounded for operators of mixed fleets or those running both transport and off-road equipment. Others face the dilemma of dealing with both Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) or Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) devices. As test partner for the rigorous annual Arctic Test – held in the extremely cold conditions of Lapland for trucks, vans and off-road equipment – Shell understands the increased pressure low temperatures place on your engine oil. Shell’s answer to these winter blues is the Rimula family of commercial lubricants which have been specially formulated to work alongside the most up-to-date engines and meet the latest European and world emissions standards.

“The entire Rimula family has been engineered to meet the needs of customers whatever conditions engines are working in,” adds Dash. “Rimula products can help extend maintenance intervals to meet manufacturers’ recommendations and improve fuel consumption, whilst offering advanced protection for engine components.”

Heading up the advanced product range is Rimula Signia 10W-40, a unique formulation, designed specifically to cope with the differing requirements of both EGR or SCR devices to meet the latest Euro 4 legislation. Rimula Signia is an exclusive Shell formulation using advanced technology to achieve outstanding performance proven in over 8 million kilometres of field trials.

In addition to being ideal for all engine types – old and new, European and North American, offering excellent piston cleanliness and valve train wear protection and the soot and viscosity control required to protect low emission engines - the lubricant is formulated to minimise contamination of after-treatment systems.

It comes with all necessary recommendations from manufacturers, and delivers excellent soot and viscosity control, as well as providing top tier wear protection which can lead to longer engine life and better fuel economy. The full technical specification includes: ACEA E4, E6, E7; API CI-4; Mercedes-Benz 228.5, 228.51; MAN M 3477, M3277* (CRT application); DAF meets ACEA E4; CAT ECF-1, Mack - EO-M+, Cummins CES 20077.

The Rimula products also work together with Shell Spirax – a range of world-class gear and axle oils – Donax – automatic transmission fluids – and Retinax, the Shell portfolio of wheel-bearing and specialist automotive greases to provide advanced protection for every situation.

“Too often the lubricants and greases are one of the last things to be considered when you can really save yourself time, hassle and money by thinking of these things in advance,” adds Dash. “Any reputable supplier will also be glad to do most of the work for you by examining your requirements and developing a package to suit your budget and your vehicles.”