Diesel engine filtration tips for better fuel efficiency

Diesel engine filtration tips for better fuel efficiency

Wix Filters's tips for achieving the right balance of engine protection and efficiency.

Sponsored by Wix Filters

Setting safe and productive intervals requires proper filtration maintenance practices and is paramount to operating your diesel engines efficiently. Correctly spec’ing the appropriate filtration for your engine is just the start. In the case of engine oil, for example, there are used oil analysis services that can show the productive proof of your proper spec’ing or inform you of a potential problem.

Wix Filters recently talked through its tips for achieving the right balance of engine protection and efficiency, all while positively impacting fleets’ fuel-spend bottom line.

Filtration starts with application

What you’re running, where you’re running and how you’re running will be the first step in understanding where engine filtration can help you operate your equipment more efficiently. Trucks that are subjected to winter weather roads face de-icing chemical slurries whereas hotter, dryer climates could mean dustier, dirtier engine threats. Those examples will impact your engine filtration selections—from oil to fuel to air.

It’s important to note that filters remove contaminants, obviously, but as this happens, the restriction across the filter increases. This is normal, but if the contaminant load is higher than previous service intervals, filters can reach loading or termination pressure more quickly. A restricted filter may indicate a change in how the engine is operating, a change in the operating conditions or duty cycle, or an overdue service interval.

After application comes analysis: Know your oil

The only way to know if your filtration of choice is working properly is to analyze its performance. An oil analysis program, for example, gives you an in-depth look at your diesel engine oil quality and can even alert you of any potential engine issues before they become massive maintenance headaches.

The first step is to pick a partner that can help analyze your oil. Wix Filters offers customers a comprehensive oil analysis program. You get the test kit from a local store that sells Wix products, then you drop your oil samples into the mail to be sent to an oil analysis lab. When the tests are complete, you get the results via email.

When it comes to oil analysis results, you should expect information on both engine condition and oil quality. These two things can be related, but they also could be completely independent of each other in terms of what the results mean to you. For example, wear metals like aluminum, lead and copper can be detected and interpreted by the oil analysis lab to inform you of any potential service issues. Additionally, the oil analysis will alert you to any soot or other contaminate that’s making the oil too thick.

It’s best to take oil samples every 10,000 to 20,000 miles, with Wix noting that 20,000 miles tends to be a more realistic maintenance milestone number. Again, it can also depend on application. If you’re running routes cross-country, it probably doesn’t have to be done as often as a stop-and-go, pick-up-and-delivery application because of engine oil oxidation.

In any case, it’s important that you have a proper engine filtration partner to help inform your equipment decisions. Click here to learn more about Wix Filters filtration lineup and how it can fit your fleet.

You May Also Like

What you need to know about wheel seals with RevHD

Brian Beathard, vice president, sales and marketing, RevHD stopped by the Babcox Media studio to talk about the importance of wheel seals. In addition to providing top wheel seal spec’ing tips, Beathard talked about the RevHD Rev Max wheel seal orange top plate, which the company says allows customers to see in an instant whether the

Rev-Max-Angled-1400

Brian Beathard, vice president, sales and marketing, RevHD stopped by the Babcox Media studio to talk about the importance of wheel seals. In addition to providing top wheel seal spec'ing tips, Beathard talked about the RevHD Rev Max wheel seal orange top plate, which the company says allows customers to see in an instant whether the seal needs to be replaced. The Rev Max seal also features a flex design, which helps to avoid common failures from docking the hub onto the spindle and cocking the seal in the hub bore.

Optimized: Know How to Plan When You Know What Parts Will Sell

The parts department is a busy, even chaotic place. There is never a shortage of things to worry about or issues to monitor. You got parts sales, team performance, deciding whether or not to eat your lunch while standing at your desk because, as you know, the parts business doesn’t take lunch breaks.  Speaking of

Brake pads you can be grateful for

As we make our way into the season of thanks and gratitude, we find ourselves appreciating the things that may frequently go unnoticed in day to day life. If you flip a lightswitch, the bulb comes on. And when you turn on the faucet, clean water flows from the tap. If you hit your brakes,

NRS-Brakes-new-skus
Less weight, more strength: How composite spring suspensions apply both benefits

Stronger. Lighter. It’s the dichotomy that nearly all fleets chase when it comes to spec’ing new equipment. This lean, mean spec’ing strategy can boost efficiency and provide equipment longevity. When you think about suspensions for demanding applications, tried-and-true steel spring suspensions spring to mind. (Pun intended.) But what if there was another way–a suspension that

Hendrickson-Trailer-Composite-Suspension-1400
Protecting both sides of the trailer floor is the best way to combat corrosion and maximize service life and it’s one company’s mission to solve this industry problem

Trailer manufacturers are always looking for ways to combat corrosion by using alternative materials and coatings. Rockland Flooring has come up with a combination of products that will preserve the wood, improve performance and extend service life. With Rockland Flooring, obtaining quality service and trailer flooring does not mean having to break the bank. In

Other Posts

How cabin air filters in trucks handle moisture and unwelcome odors

When changing a truck’s cabin air filters, it’s important to be particularly careful about those below the windshield.

cabinfiltersmells2-1400
Inside the intelligence that powers truck powertrain efficiency

Powertrain integration goes beyond how the components connect. Powertrain management software pushes fuel efficiency further.

FE-Unscripted-MARCH--Volvo-Powertrain-Overview-EDIT-FIX-2-1400
Cummins shows off X15N natural gas, X10 diesel engines

Plus some powertrain components make their debut in Cummins red.

Cummins-x15N-engine_202809464
Trayecto expands natural gas fleet with Hexagon Agility’s RNG fuel systems

With this Hexagon Agility order, Trayecto now has more than 300 CNG tractors operating in its fleet of 4,000 trucks.