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It is well understood that using lower viscosity engine oils can greatly improve fuel economy [1, 2, 3, 4]. However, it has been impossible to evaluate ultra-low viscosity engine oils (SAE 0W-12 and below) utilizing existing fuel economy test methods. As such, there is no specification for ultra-low viscosity gasoline engine oils [5]. We therefore developed firing and motored fuel economy test methods for ultra-low viscosity oils using engines from Japanese automakers [6, 7, 8]. This was done under the auspices of the JASO Next Generation Engine Oil Task Force (“TF” below), which consists mainly of Japanese automakers and entities working in the petroleum industry. Moreover, the TF used these test methods to develop the JASO GLV-1 specification for next-generation ultra-low viscosity automotive gasoline engine oils such as SAE 0W-8 and 0W-12. In developing the JASO GLV-1 specification, Japanese fuel economy tests and the ILSAC engine tests for evaluating engine reliability were used.

The impact of fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) blended diesel fuel on engine/vehicle systems was comprehensively investigated by vehicle, laboratory and engine tests. In this study, 20% FAME blended fuel (B20) was mainly used and soy bean oil methyl ester (SME) was primarily selected as the FAME. Vehicle testing with long-term fuel storage in vehicle fuel tanks was conducted, considering the most severe conditions in market use. Laboratory and engine tests were also conducted to better understand the vehicle test results. In the vehicle test, engine startability, idle roughness and fuel injection control were evaluated using nine vehicles with plastic or metal fuel tanks. All vehicles showed no problems up to 7 months. While five vehicles with plastic fuel tank did not show any problems throughout the test period up to 18 months, four vehicles with metal fuel tanks experienced malfunctions in engine start or fuel injection control following 8, 13, 13 and 18 months respectively.

We developed a new Manual Transmission Gear Oil (MTF) named LV for improved fuel economy and CO2 reduction. MTF LV is a low viscosity fluid to reduce stir losses at lower temperatures. In general, low viscosity fluids can cause metal fatigue, wear and seizure. The MTF LV was designed to overcome these problems by maintaining the oil film thickness after it is deteriorated and improving the wear characteristics with additives. As a result, the MTF LV provides equal or better durability than the current MTF. In addition, it also has good performance at low temperatures, better shift feeling characteristics, and improved oxidation stability.

It is important to reduce the viscosity of automatic transmission fluid (ATF) in order to improve fuel economy. However, in general, low viscosity fluid can cause metal fatigue, wear, and seizure. It is necessary to increase the viscosity of the fluid at higher temperatures to maintain the durability of the automatic transmission (AT). The key point is the selection of the base oil and the viscosity index improver (VII) with both a high viscosity index (VI) and excellent shear stability. On the basis of this concept, a new generation high performance ATF named WS was developed. WS can achieve the highest level of fuel economy, while maintaining the durability of the AT.