The Role of Heavy Duty Engine Oil on Your Truck’s Fuel Economy

Whether you’re an independent trucker, small fleet owner, or the manager of a major fleet, one thing is certain: approximately 40% of your annual operating budget is spent on fuel.

For a trucker traveling 100,000 miles or more per year, the fuel bill can add up to $50,000 or more – based on your range of operation.

Many trucks operating today have incorporated methods like aerodynamic design and fuel-efficient tires to reduce fuel consumption. Other fuel saving options require large equipment investments or a change in driving methods like “platooning” or reducing engine idle time.

One easy-to-implement strategy is the use of fuel-efficient lubricants, including engines oils and drive line lubricants. This change is something an equipment owner can make with minimal or no increased investment—and can yield improvement in fuel efficiency.

How Do You Know if Your Engine Oil is Improving Your Fuel Efficiency?

If you are looking for a fuel-efficient engine oil, your best bet is to look for low viscosity engine oil that also meets your vehicle’s requirements. Switching from a SAE 15W-40 grade to a SAE 10W-30 grade is a great way to save on fuel in the long run.

There are some SAE 10W-30 oils that may not be capable of enabling sustained fuel efficiency over an oil change interval. Since some oils can break down more rapidly over time (resulting in viscosity increase and loss of fuel efficiency), make sure to speak to your mechanic before choosing an engine oil.

With a good SAE 10W-30 oil, you can see up to 1.5% savings in your fuel efficiency.

What does 1.5%-or-More Fuel Efficiency Actually Mean in Fuel Savings?

No one understands the high operating costs of trucking more than an owner-operator. Any type of savings can have a major impact on your business.

By choosing the right engine oil for your truck, you can make large fuel efficiency strides. With the example of $3.00 per gallon fuel cost and 100,000 miles or more logged annually, a 1.5% fuel savings could yield up to $700 or more a year in fuel savings per power unit.

Mystik® JT-8® SHD Synthetic Blend

Based on testing results from the CITGO Guaranteed Efficiency Program (GEP), over-the-road truckers who use the Mystik® JT-8® SHD Synthetic Blend SAE 10W-30 engine oil can expect an average of 1.5% fuel efficiency improvement in over-the-road trucks, and possibly even greater in stop-and-go conditions when changing from an SAE 15W-40 engine oil.*

Due to the performance capability of Mystik JT-8 SHD engine oil, field testing has shown that this level of fuel efficiency in an over-the-road application can be sustained for up to 50,000 miles before oil changes.

Conclusion

Increasing your truck’s fuel economy can help with your bottom line. When thinking about how you might better your fuel efficiency in 2020, consider switching to a more fuel-efficient engine oil.

This post was sponsored by CITGO.

*CITGO guarantees this result based on the testing program. Contact the CITGO Customer Care Line 1-800-331-4068, Option 2, to learn more about the program