october2021 - 33

ZFA 10W30 (FA-4), while also seeing wear and
oxidation control benefits " The combination of
engine protection and improved fuel efficiency
is a real plus in helping us manage our costs in
this competitive business, " Boaty's owner Michael
Boatwright said.
Another offering, Delo 600ADF, also reduces
aftertreatment maintenance due to 0.4% ash
content.
Consulting OEM standards is crucial, as not all
engines are rated for the FA-4 standard, which can
offer more fuel efficiency benefits than CK-4, but
not backwards compatible like CK-4 is. Going from
a 15W-40 to a CK-4 10W-30 offers a 2% improvement
in fuel economy, and an FA-4 10W-30 while
FA-4 can provide a 2.5% gain, Haumann explained.
Here, the balance might shift to what is easiest
for fleets' maintenance facilities.
" I'm not a fan of having multiple oils for different
trucks, it just adds a lot of confusion, " said
Paul Pettit, vice president of maintenance at Dart
Transit. The Minneapolis-based fleet uses trucks
from three different OEMs in its fleet of 1,100, and
switched from 15W-40 to a 10W-30 (CK-4).
" We got everybody on the most efficient oil for
the newer trucks that would still be compatible
with the older trucks, " Pettit said.
Maintaining the efficiency
Now, the owner or president of a fleet might salivate
over the potential slashing of percentage
points off an annual fleet fuel bill, but as Bear
noted, the true path to maximum fuel efficiency
is the one that can be consistently maintained.
The first option is to entrust the dealer network
with the heavy lifting.
Mack recently announced the Mack Premium
Service Agreement for new trucks and those who
have not hit their first service interval. The service
places a keen focus on fuel efficiency and includes
scheduled powertrain, aftertreatment, and axle
maintenance, along with a 74-point inspection
and oil analysis.
" It's really to get you to stay on plan, " said Stu
Russolli, Mack Trucks highway product manager.
" Now you know you have all that paid for-are
you not going to get the truck in? You don't have
an excuse. "
MVT uses Penske for maintenance, along withits
own dedicated inspection group.
" They go bumper to bumper, and underneath
as well, " Bear said. " So they're checking, obviously,
if anything's broken, but otherwise, the
tread depths, and of course, we're looking at
whether oil needs to be changed and things
like that. "
When MVT handled everything internally, he
said the company gave the maintenance team
bonuses for meeting fuel efficiency goals.
Dart reviews fuel efficiency performance every
other month or so, identifying potential issues and
addressing them at the next PM interval, Pettit
said. Dart then puts the focus on how drivers
might be making it more difficult on the maintenance
side by seeing if anyone is behaving beyond
what is expected in terms of efficiency.
" We use our telematics to review them on a
truck-by-truck basis versus looking at one specific
make model year and seeing how that entire
model year is looking, " Pettit said. " From there,
we look at what kind of outliers we are having,
and if that idle percentage is driving fuel economy
down or anything like that and try to work
towards educating drivers where we can on how
to reduce idle. "
According to NACFE, a 10% annual reduction
equals 1% in fuel economy, while the American
Trucking Associations estimated that idling
creates twice the wear and tear on the engine
parts that driving does.
Gulf's Myers also said his fleet looks at fuel
efficiency-geared PMs every other month, but for
certain items they " have to be proactive. "
" Fuel filters are really your biggest challenge, "
Myers said. " We've battled some different
issues with algae buildup. " They use Mack
Virtual Technician with OneCall to diagnose
fault codes, and also calibrated parameters to
monitor idle time.
Myers' final piece of advice on how to improve
fuel efficiency through maintenance? " Find good
drivers, " he concluded.
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october2021

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