As the transportation industry continues to meet ever more stringent emissions rules from the EPA, especially the latest low NOx rule, new heavy-duty engines and heavy-duty engine oils are on the way as well. Set for rollout at the start of 2027, the American Petroleum Institute's (API) recently approved three key actions to vote on to establish the new heavy-duty engine oil specification, Proposed Category 12 (PC-12): Acceptance of PC-12 technical requirements, PC-12 user language, and Jan. 1, 2027, as the first license date for API Service Category CL-4 and API FB-4.
According to the organization, this new category is supposed to provide more reliability and durability for engines by enhancing oxidative and thermal resistance, wear performance, and compatibility with aftertreatment systems. But don't only take our word for it: In this episode of The Fleet Lead, John Hitch sat down with Karin Haumann, OEM Technical Manager for Shell Rotella and chair of the API New Category development team, to discuss the new category, how it was developed, and how it will impact the trucking industry.
Chapters:
1:00 - Haumann's role
1:42 - What are proposed categories?
3:50 - Oil category differences
5:47 - The process to upgrade oil categories
10:14 - Where are we in the upgrade process? What's next?
12:15 - Upcoming changes
16:54 - Can you use different oils in one truck?
19:00 - Biggest reminders for PC-12
