Shell Rotella launches latest portfolio of engine oils

Shell Rotella hosted a media event July 18-20 in Washington, D.C., to present the launch of its API CK-4 and FA-4 heavy-duty diesel engine oils.

Included in the company’s API CK-4 category of oils is its T4 Triple Protection 15W-40 and 10W-30, as well as the T5 Synthetic Blend 10W-30. These oils, among others, represent the company’s newest portfolio.

According to the company, the launch of the CK-4 category marks almost a decade since the release of its last diesel engine oil category, CJ-4. The CK-4 oils will replace the current CJ-4 oils. The company’s API FA-4 oils will be available later this year.

“We’re really excited to announce two new products in our portfolio,” says Megan Pino, global brand manager for Shell Rotella. “One is the Shell Rotella T6 Multivehicle 5W-30. That’s a new addition to our portfolio that carries both the CK-4 heavy-duty diesel oil specification, as well as the gasoline engine SN specification. In addition to that oil, we also have our Shell Rotella T5 Ultra 10W-30. That is our new FA-4 specification oil.”

The API CK-4 and FA-4 categories are driven by changes in engine technology to meet emissions, renewable fuel and fuel economy standards for reduced carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions, the company adds.

“When Shell first looked at developing our next generation of products, we had quite a challenge because our current Rotella T products are of very high performance standards,” says Dan Arcy, global OEM technical manager. “We had to do this with the understanding that there were going to be changes with the requirements for next-generation diesel engines.”

Field tests

Shell Rotella’s Dr. Jason Brown discusses the testing done on the company’s latest line of heavy-duty diesel engine oils. Photos by Allison Barwacz

Before launching the CK-4 and FA-4 category, Shell Rotella focused on developing a product customers could trust, which meant performing both lab and field tests.

“The introduction of the CK-4, FA-4 category was an opportunity for the heavy-duty diesel engine oil technology team to really go back to the drawing board and design a better engine oil for a better category,” says Dr. Jason Brown, global technology manager for the heavy-duty diesel engine oil line.

This included running the industry-standard tests for the CK-4 and FA-4 category.

“One of the biggest parts of this program was focusing on fuel economy,” Brown says. “We did extensive work in terms of designing a real fuel economy program that was going to be robust but also statistically significant.”

The fuel economy numbers presented by Shell Rotella focus on one key concept: 95 percent confidence interval, Brown adds. This means that 95 times out of 100, the company will see a difference between two oils.

“In this case, one of the numbers we proposed for this new category is a 1.6 percent fuel economy gain for a CK-4 10W-30 versus a CK-4 15W-40,” Brown says. “That comes with the rigorous testing of statistics and 95 percent confidence and from the strong design of a very robust fuel economy program using industry-standard tests.”

T4 Triple Protection

In coordination with the CK-4 and FA-4 engine oils, the company also launched its T4 Triple Protection, formerly known as its T Triple Protection.

“One of the most exciting things about the introduction of our new portfolio includes an upgrade to Triple Protection technology,” says Chris Guerrero, global HDEO brand manager.

Guerrero says the company focused on three attributes while developing the technology: wear protection, protection against deposits and – the newest attribute of Triple Protection – resistance against oil breakdown.

“When we talk about Shell Rotella and Triple Protection, what we can say is not only does it protect your equipment just as well [as T Triple Protection], it does it even better,” Guerrero says. “It is our most robust and technically advanced Rotella that we’ve ever created.”