NEW YORK, NY. — A new low-viscosity oil from Shell Rotella was designed with the Canadian winter in mind.

Scheduled to hit the market before Christmas, Shell Rotella T6 0W-40 is a full synthetic oil that meets the latest oil specifications for modern heavy duty engines.

“It is something our Canadian distributors and customers have asked us for,” said Matt Urbanak, a heavy duty diesel engine oil specialist with Shell Global Solutions, at a press conference in New York City yesterday.

“It may eventually become a global product for other areas of the world,” he said, “but it was primarily designed for the Canadian market where we were looking to launch a 0W-40 product that met the latest APS specification.”

Urbanak said Rotella T6 0W-40 provides the best low-temperature flow within the Rotella portfolio.

“As it is CJ-4 quality, it is suitable for the most recent vehicles that have the 2010-compliant emissions systems – SCR, Advanced EGR, anything that requires CJ-4 or previous specifications,” he said.

The new oil meets API CJ-4/SN, Volvo VDS-3, and Mack EO-N, and Caterpillar specifications.

Urbanak described the development process, which involved thousands of hours of testing in a “cold box” set at -34C, connected to a dynamometer which “motors” the engine and pumps oil from the sump without firing the engine (which would quickly increase the temperature).

The testing involved exhaustive wear measurements including top ring weight loss, and crosshead wear in which it scored a perfect 700 out of 700 in a Cummins ISM engine test.

Urbanak said it was also developed to offer excellent sludge control and soot handling.

“In other words, performance should carry through, not just when the oil is new in the engine, but also throughout the entire oil drain,” he said.

The measurement of current required by the dynamometer to turn the engine suggests the oil could also reduce strain on starters and batteries.

“Much less current was needed in the dynamometer to power that engine up to maximum torque,” he explained. “That data suggests that under these extreme low temperatures a 0W-40 could extend the life of these components, compared to using a 15W40.”

Shell Rotella T6 0W-40 replaces T5 0W-40 and T5 0W-30 which met earlier specs and which will be phased out.