The Lubricant Contribution to Improved Fuel Economy in Heavy Duty Diesel Engines

Fuel economy of internal combustion engines played an important role for engine designers for decades. For heavy duty diesel engines, over the last 10 to 15 years however, fuel economy has in some cases been sacrificed for exhaust gas emission optimizations. Now that the industry seems to have reached the point of diminishing returns in the area of reducing diesel exhaust gas emissions, the focus is back on fuel economy. This paper addresses the impact that diesel engine lubricants can have on improving fuel economy. The evaluations discussed in this paper are based on fuel economy measurements in a standardized laboratory engine test.