Workshop Manager at the prominent German bus company Fischle comments: “As we have many hills and valleys on our routes, the ATF has to cool down the transmission and this is of highest priority for us.”
Fuel Economy
Fuel economy can be achieved by reducing friction between all gear parts being in motion in the gear box – especially at cold temperatures. Selected base oil (mostly synthetic) and sophisticated additive technologies make this possible.
Outstanding cold flow properties giving high protection to transmission especially at start-up, helps to reduce fuel consumption and emissions as observed by Sebastian Ziele, Manager In-house Workshop at Zweckverband Abfallwirtschaft in Germany. “It is known that a state of the art ATF can contribute to fuel economy of a vehicle”.
ATF Product ranges Looking at the available ATF product ranges there are 3 categories of fluids which are different in respect of their base oil technology:
• Category 1): Mineral oil based ATF – the majority of products. These products are often older standard oils with classic features, mainly for standard applications, and multi-functional products.
• Category 2): Part synthetic ATF – products, consisting of a mineral oil and synthetic oil mix. To this group belong products based on HC-Synthesis or XHVI-Synthetic- Technology which are offered by Shell, for example. Part synthetic products have a broader application range and higher performance than mineral oils and offer multi applicability on higher levels.
• Category 3): Full synthetic ATF-products, the Top-Tier products which are the latest developments for special and new transmission types, very long oil drain intervals and severe operation conditions. Some of these products are backward compatible.
For the latest vehicle technology the ‘best’ ATF products are required - typically two alternatives - standard drain and extended drain. For very long drain intervals mostly only one ATF product per supplier is suitable.
Applications The main ATF product differentials (for all brands) are application related:
• Mineral based ATF and alternatively synthetic type (cold environment operation conditions)
• Standard ATF for standard oil drain intervals; alternatively premium ATF for extended drain intervals / fill for life
• ATF products for single application and products for combined services (e.g. retarder)
• Products with very individual friction properties for optimized gear shift in a specific gear type
• Products with special elastomer compatibility when certain sealing materials are used
• Products with extremely high temperature stability
European presence of Shell Shell maintains excellent relations with the OEMs – both vehicle and transmission manufacturers – and has gained the status of a preferred technology development partner. The result is a complete and state of the art ATF product portfolio.
“Shell is one of the few Top-Tier market suppliers. Shell has a wide portfolio of high performing and approved products”, explains the Head of Sales for a German distributor.
Recent Technical Developments - ultra-long drain interval products
ZF have have played a key part in driving the demand for higher grade ATF products as the Department Manager at a well known German bus operator explains:
“There has been a significant improvement in automatic transmissions from ZF. The new generation ZF EcoLife is significantly more reliable compared to the older Ecomat transmissions and they also offer a much higher comfort to passengers and the driver”.
Vishal Mesih, Service Engineer at UK based bus operator, Arriva, adds: “The ZF Eco Life Boxes helped a lot because the frequency of oil replacements could be reduced significantly (from every 6 months to theoretically 5 year intervals). This will be a lot cheaper and they work really well, there have been no complaints and they have been working for 4 years without problems.”
Are further increases in drain intervals possible? In terms of their ‘wish list’, this is the area service managers and distributors alike most require in the future. Essentially service managers want ‘more of the same’ as evidenced by the quotes:
“They are not asking for anything different from today. They want quality ATF and long drain intervals” says Philippe Bichon, Commercial Executive at the French distributor, Lubexcel.
“More shear-stable, longer drain intervals” adds the sales manager at a UK distributor.
Erkan Arslan, Service Manager at the prominent Turkish distributor, Koluman explains, “Prolonged ATF drain/change intervals per kilometre. More clean and efficient products that protect the transmission”.
Conclusion
Service managers express a high degree of satisfaction of the degree to which ATF manufacturers have adapted to their technical needs and also the levels of technical support on offer across the supply chain. The future certainly holds further challenges, but the extent of the technical co-operation between OEMs and lubricant companies within the ATF value chain gives rise to optimism.
This article has been prepared by Michael Herson and Bernd Heyse of London based strategy consultancy - The Strategy Works - specialising in original research on a global basis within the lubricants sector and other international B2B markets. Contact: 44 208 868 0212 or mherson@
thestrategyworks.com; TSW’s other recent B2B articles can be viewed at:
www.thestrategyworks.com/articlesindex.htm
LINK
www.thestrategyworks.com
LUBE MAGAZINE NO.133 JUNE 2016
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