AUTOMOTIVE ADDITIVES
Off-road and eMobility: competition or collaboration?
Claudia Agostinelli, Senior Marketing Specialist, and Bryan Rock, R&D Supervisor, Afton Chemical
Off-road lubricant specifications have typically had multifunctionality at their core, enabling one lubricant to be used in multiple systems from transmissions to hydraulics. As sustainability initiatives push Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) towards electrification, how many more demands can be placed on these lubricants before balanced performance becomes impossible? Afton Chemical shares lubricant benchmarking results that highlight gaps in Off-road and Electric Vehicle (EV) lubricant performance and opportunities for developing solutions.
Off-road applications are hugely diverse, ranging from ride-on garden mowers to agricultural tractors, from compact construction equipment to enormous mining trucks. How quickly eMobility will come into play as a result of sustainability initiatives will vary by application. Light duty vehicles and equipment like mini excavators have been relatively easy to electrify, whereas other types of equipment may need longer to make the transition. The push towards off-road electrification will likely follow the journey of on-road; electric passenger cars are already commonplace whilst electric commercial vehicles are still few and far between.
In contrast to the dedicated lubricants used for the different systems in passenger cars, multifunctionality has always been a more distinctive characteristic of off-road lubricants. Despite the ‘TO’ standing for ‘transmission oil’, Universal Tractor Transmission Oil (UTTO) and TO-4 oils are designed to be used in not only transmissions but also wet brakes, axles and hydraulic systems. Multifunctionality can generate cost savings by rationalising lubricants for fleet owners and making maintenance programmes simpler, with less chance of errors.
Towering requirements
If each lubricant performance characteristic is seen as a block in a game of Jenga, off-road OEM lubricant specifications can be compared to Jenga towers – some of them now incredibly tall, with foundation blocks laid over two decades ago.
Formulators must now consider the additional demands of electrification, which brings new technologies, hardware and materials with which the lubricant must work in harmony. This will increase current performance requirements for copper compatibility and oxidative resistance while adding new considerations like electrical conductivity, which need to be balanced on top of these tall Jenga towers.
The extent to which meeting electrification needs could create gaps in other off-road fundamental performance areas – such as wear and Extreme Pressure (EP), friction control and water sensitivity – has been poorly understood until recently.
A balanced approach The off-road market is typically risk-averse, largely due to the high initial outlay for equipment and the financial implications of downtime, particularly for industries such as mining where productivity is paramount. Although end users clearly understand the connection between reliable, efficient operation and lubricant performance, there is still heavy reliance on legacy lubricant specifications. If electrification is to be pursued optimally, the approach to lubricant development needs modernising.
LUBE MAGAZINE NO.188 AUGUST 2025 25
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64
