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By Darryl Purificati, Senior Technical Advisor, OEM/Automotive at Petro-Canada Lubricants, an HF Sinclair brand
January 1, 2027, will mark the arrival of PC-12, the new heavy-duty engine oil specification developed by the American Petroleum Institute (API) to support the latest engine technology and reduce carbon emissions.
PC-12 will bring higher performance requirements at a time waste fleets are experiencing increasing cost pressures and a need for fuel economy efficiencies and savings. The new generation of heavy-duty engine oils has been developed to enhance engine performance and providing superior engine and aftertreatment system protection.
What is changing under PC-12?
Meeting the requirements of the latest engine technologies while also reducing carbon emissions, PC-12 will have two API categories (like its predecessor PC-11) – API CL-4 and API FB-4 with improvements focused in three key areas: protection of aftertreatment systems, enhancing wear protection and improving oxidation control.
API CL-4 replaces API CK-4 and will be backwards compatible with previous active C categories including API CJ-4. This category covers many viscosity engine oil grades, including SAE XW-40 and certain XW-30s.
API FB-4 has been developed for newer engine technologies designed to use lower-viscosity lubricants, such as SAE XW-30 and XW-20 oils with lower High Temperature High Shear (HTHS) viscosity. While it succeeds the previous API FA-4 category, one should not assume that engines specified to use API FA-4 lubricants can transition to the new subcategory. For this reason, it’s recommended to seek guidance from the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) and lubricant partners before making any changes.
Protecting increasingly important aftertreatment systems
To protect aftertreatment systems, one of the most significant changes in the transition from PC-11 to PC-12 lubricants is a reduction in allowable levels of sulphated ash, phosphorus and sulphur – collectively known as SAPS – in heavy-duty engine oils.
Compared with current API CK-4 and API FA-4 limits, PC-12 reduces maximum sulphated ash from 1.0% to 0.9%, phosphorus from 0.12% to 0.08%, and sulphur from 0.4% to 0.3%.
These lower limits are designed to provide greater protection for aftertreatment technologies including diesel particulate filters (DPFs), diesel oxidation catalysts (DOCs) and selective catalytic reduction (SCR) systems.
SAPS have traditionally been used to deliver the wear protection fleets expect from a heavy-duty engine oil. The new formulations use unique chemistries that help provide superior wear protection containing lower phosphorus componentry. However, in Europe lower-SAPS heavy-duty engine oils have been used successfully across fleets for many years.
In order to reduce SAPS while still delivering superior engine protection, PC-12 oils are subject to extensive engine, laboratory and field testing to demonstrate that they can meet, or exceed, demanding durability requirements.
Greater oxidation control
PC-12 introduces higher expectations around oxidation performance. Oxidation occurs as engine oil is exposed to heat and oxygen during operation. Over time, this can cause the lubricant to thicken and degrade, reducing its ability to protect the engine effectively.
Greater oxidation stability helps an oil maintain its performance throughout its service life. For waste fleets, this can support longer oil life, engine performance and, where approved by the OEM and supported by an appropriate oil analysis program, extended drain intervals.
This is particularly relevant for waste fleets operating vehicles with high idle, for long hours and across demanding duty cycles, where maintaining lubricant performance throughout the service interval is important to both engine protection and vehicle productivity.
Lower viscosity creates new possibilities
The new API FB-4 category also allows compatible newer engines to use lower-viscosity oils that can reduce internal friction and pumping losses, and, in turn, enhance fuel efficiency.
The category will introduce a 2.6 cP low-HTHS XW-20 viscosity grade within API FB-4. While widespread adoption of XW-20 is not expected when PC-12 engine oils enter the market in January 2027, OEMs are currently testing and trialling the lubricants with their latest engine hardware to inform their approval status.
The next generation of DURON™
Petro-Canada Lubricants has been developing the next generation of DURON heavy-duty engine oils to deliver the performance fleets depend on – wear protection, oxidation resistance, deposit control and all-season temperature performance – to meet and exceed the requirements defined by PC-12.
The product line will include API CL-4 and API FB-4 solutions, with DURON Advanced providing API FB-4 products in 10W-30 and 5W-20 viscosity grades. Added to this, Petro-Canada Lubricants has already tested an API CK-4 SAE 0W-20 heavy-duty engine oil formulation in real-world field conditions, building experience with the lower-viscosity lubricant technology that will become increasingly important as engine designs continue to evolve.
The next generation of DURON, launching in January 2027, will deliver greater durability and performance, helping fleets reduce operating costs by improving reliability and productivity to support a lower total cost of ownership.
Preparing for the next generation
With PC-12 fast approaching, the priority for waste fleet managers should be to understand where each of the new categories applies and which vehicles can use them based on OEM recommendations.
This should include understanding where opportunities exist to consolidate products or introduce lower-viscosity oils as well as how the transition will affect lubricant storage, handling and maintenance processes.
Key to this will be working with OEMs and lubricant partners who can provide advice, guidance and training to help waste managers successfully navigate the changes in January. Engaging in the process now will help ensure a smooth transition and maximize the potential benefits for engine protection, fuel efficiency and a lower total cost of ownership.
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