Part I: The new engine oils are here and low-sulfur diesel isn’t far behind
*Editor’s note: In Part II of this series we’ll take a closer look at the new Tier II-compliant on-road diesel engines, and in Part III we’ll profile a group of contractors who have already made their fleets compliant with Tier II emissions standards.
In 1996 the Environmental Protection Agency put into law a huge regulatory program to drastically cut emissions of particulate matter (aka soot or PM) and oxides of nitrogen (NOx), from both on-road and off-road diesel engines.
In the first six years of this program most of the engine changes were transparent to the end users. But the changes from this point forward are going to alter forever the engines you use, the oils and fuel you put in them and some of the important details about how you manage your equipment.
Contractors may find it somewhat hard to believe, but all of these prior changes have been, and most of the changes going forward will be, good for them – and that’s not even counting the clean-air benefit.
Here’s why: As emissions regulations got tighter in the late 1990s manufacturers responded with more efficient, electronically smarter engines. Double-digit gains in horsepower were achieved without sacrificing fuel economy or ballooning engine size. And in response to the more demanding engines – and with an eye for this year’s Tier II on-road engine requirements – the petroleum industry engineered two quantum leaps in the performance standards for engine oils.
New on-road engines almost here
On October 1, a big change takes place in the world of on-road diesel engines. That’s the deadline the EPA has set for Caterpillar, Cummins, Mack, Detroit Diesel and Volvo to have their on-road truck engines ready to meet Tier II emissions standards.
