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The SAE Engine Oil Viscosity Classification (EOVC) Task Force has been gathering data in consideration of extending SAE J300 to include engine oils with high temperature, high shear rate (HTHS) viscosity below the current minimum of 2.6 mPa⋅s for the SAE 20 grade. The driving force for doing so is fuel economy, although it is widely recognized that hardware durability can suffer if HTHS viscosity is too low. Several Japanese OEMs have expressed interest in revising SAE J300 to allow official designation of an engine oil viscosity category with HTHS viscosity below 2.6 mPa⋅s to enable the development of ultra-low-friction engines in the future. This paper summarizes the work of the SAE EOVC Low Viscosity Grade Working Group comprising members from OEMs, oil companies, additive companies and instrument manufacturers to explore adoption of one or more new viscosity grades.

Global environmental and economic concerns of today's world dictate strict requirements for modern heavy duty engines, especially in emissions, noise control, power generation, and extended oil drain intervals. These requirements lead to increased stresses imposed on lubricants in modern heavy duty engines. At the same time, the original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) desire additional fuel economy from the lubricating oil, requiring the use of lower viscosity lubricants to minimize frictional losses in the engine. These lower viscosity oils are subjected to increased stresses in the engine and need to provide robust performance throughout their lifetime in order to protect engine parts from wear and damage. One of the most important lubricant qualities is to maintain viscosity throughout the drain interval and thus provide continuous engine protection.

The most important property of the engine oil is its ability to reach all engine parts. Once there, it can build an oil film which protects these parts from wear and ultimately from destruction. No other lubricant property is relevant if the oil cannot be delivered to the critical engine parts. Thus engine oil pumpability, especially pumpability at low temperatures when the viscosity of the lubricant is the highest, is crucially important. The crankcase lubricant industry has recognized this, in requiring good low temperature pumpability for the last three decades. While good low temperature properties of the fresh oils are a necessary requirement for a lubricant, they are not sufficient to ensure the lifetime performance of the oil in the engine. The oil gradually ages in the engine and its properties, including low temperature pumpability, change.