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The current trend within the automotive industry is aimed towards reducing the cost of vehicle ownership. A major area of focus is lengthening recommended vehicle service intervals. Automotive technology has now advanced to the point where, for many of today's vehicles, the first mechanical “tune-up” is not required until the vehicle has reached 100,000 miles. On the other hand, engine oil servicing is still recommended at intervals in the range of 3,000 to 7,500 miles in the North American market. Extension of oil change interval recommendations beyond 15,000 miles is now being discussed within the international automotive industry. This paper documents the development and testing of new synthetic engine oil technology under extended service intervals of up to 25,000 miles or three years.

Unique performance advantages for polyalphaolefin (PAO) based synthetic engine oils have been documented since the mid-70's (1). The superior performance of these lubricants led the industry to develop improved mineral-based lubricants, including those produced by isomerization of waxes. Recently, an extensive research project was initiated to further enhance the performance advantages of PAO-based synthetic engine oils compared to highly refined mineral oils. A new generation of synthetic lubricant was developed delivering significantly improved performance in all areas. Although the development took place before the introduction of the API “SH” engine oil category, this new synthetic engine oil technology far exceeds API “SH” requirements as well as the API “CD” diesel performance specification. This paper discusses the standard and extended-length (U.

A comprehensive study was conducted to evaluate additives for their ability to reduce the coefficient of friction of synthetic engine oils using a laboratory bench test apparatus. A class of additives was identified that also proved effective in providing fuel economy benefits when tested in vehicle dynamometer evaluations. Additional investigations using the proposed ASTM Five Car Energy Conserving Engine Oil Test Procedure confirmed the fuel saving performance of this specific additive class. This paper also discusses overall engine performance of synthetic engine oils formulated using this unique type of friction reducing additive. A full series of API SF/CC/CD quality level sequence tests, including critical extended length evaluations, was performed and excellent performance was demonstrated.