China D2 heavy duty lubricant specification signalled for 2025

China’s new domestic heavy-duty lubricant specification, D1-2019, is not scheduled for national release until 2019, but already the China D1 Engine Oil Specification Development Working Group has signalled the next iteration of the independent engine oil standard.

Yang Guofeng, deputy director of Lubricants Evaluation Center at PetroChina Lanzhou Lubricating Oil R&D Institute, and a member of the D1 Working Group, has responded to questions from an international audience at the F+L Week  2018 conference in Macao, by identifying a probable date of 2025 for D2. Yang highlighted a greater focus on fuel economy as one of the foreseeable changes to the D2 specification.

Even though fuel economy is one of the stated “driving forces” behind the establishment of the existing engine oil specification – alongside satisfying emissions requirements, durability, and a longer oil change interval – the D1 specification caters only to viscosity grade SAE 15W-40. Yang suggests the 2025 adaptation is likely to offer a significant viscosity grade reduction to “maybe 5W30.”

The under development D1-2019 specification is based on China OEM’s requirement for a high-performance tailor-made HD engine oil. The companies behind the push for the ground-breaking D1 specification boast a 71% HD truck market share and include FAW, DongFeng, JAC, Foton and Weichai. The engine oil performance target is equivalent or better than API CK-4 oil, with stricter piston deposit control and a long oil drain interval of more than 60,000 km. Yang suggests D1 will become a mandatory standard and will include five “comprehensive bench test methods.”