Petro-Canada releases new CK-4 and FA-4 diesel oils

Oct. 5, 2017
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TORONTO. On the first official day for the American Petroleum Institute’s two new heavy-duty diesel engine oil classifications, Petro-Canada Lubricants has launched a full product line of CK-4 and FA-4 oils. The Duron Next Generation lubes “are the culmination of three years of hard work,” according to Eric Attias, Petro-Canada’s dir. of marketing and R&D, and will completely replace the company’s CJ-4 Duron-E lineup.

The first time API has approved split classifications for new and older engine use, CK-4 and FA-4 are designed to help truck manufacturers meet new fuel efficiency standards and lower CO2 greenhouse gas emissions requirements. While CK-4 oils are backwards compatible with all older diesels, FA-4 is only approved by most manufacturers for new engines, so Petro-Canada has introduced new Duron naming and packaging to clearly identify the two for fleets that may find themselves using different oil classifications as they bring new trucks into service.

The new Duron lineup has three CK-4 products offering different levels of performance, though all provide significant improvements in engine durability, wear protection and extended drain potential over the CJ-4 Duron-E line, according to Barnaby Ngai, category portfolio manager.  DuronHP is available in 15W-40, a viscosity that represents 80% of the North American diesel market, he said.  Moving up in performance, Duron SHP is available in two viscosities, 15W-40 and 10W-30, which adds extreme temperature performance for fleets that require it.  Duron UHP, a fully synthetic oil, tops the CK-4 line with 10W-40, 5W-40, 0W-40 and 0W-30 weights, which provide even higher extreme temperature performance and potential fuel economy benefits, according to Petro-Canada.

The company’s FA-4 line, which comes in distinctive gold jugs to easily differentiate it from the CK-4 products, is called Duron Performance.  Initially it’s available as a 10W-30, with a 5W-30 version following in early 2017.  It represents the highest level of fuel economy benefit when used with new engines, according to Ngai.  Not meant to be backwards compatible with older engines, some engine OEMs will use FA-4 as the fill lubricant for their 2017 engines, while others will approve its use with their new engines but ship them with CK-4 oils.  One – Detroit Diesel – has also approved FA-4 for use with any of its engines produced since 2010, according to Petro-Canada, which believes other engine makers might also extend FA-4 approval to some older engines as they gain experience with the new classification.

To help fleets transition to the new split classifications, Petro-Canada has launched an online “info hub” to outline its CK-4 and FA-4 product differences and applications. It has also relaunched its Duron Challenge. That trial program provides with 30 or more trucks with a drum of the new Duron lubricant and then uses pre-trial and post-trial used oil analysis to demonstrate performance in a fleet’s actual operations.

Formulating HD diesel oils to meet increasingly stringent emissions and efficiency requirements has greatly increased the complexity of testing and qualifying products, according to John Pettingill, a product specialist at Petro-Canada.  In 1990 meeting API’s CF-4 standards only required four test, while CK-4 and FA-4 must pass 13 category tests while also remaining within a specified “chemical box” to remain compatible with diesel aftertreatment systems, he said.

That testing to achieve the CK-4 and FA-4 classifications cost “multiple millions of dollars,” according to Tony Weatherill, global marketing director.  Currently supplying lubricants in 80 countries, Petro-Canada has used that investment as an opportunity to also refresh its global products with the new classification performance characteristics, he said.  

About the Author

Jim Mele

Nationally recognized journalist, author and editor, Jim Mele joined Fleet Owner in 1986 with over a dozen years’ experience covering transportation as a newspaper reporter and magazine staff writer. Fleet Owner Magazine has won over 45 national editorial awards since his appointment as editor-in-chief in 1999.

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