Operating a fleet of long haul trucks is never an easy business. Rising maintenance costs and downtime from trucks going into the workshop for service and repair can easily wipe out thinning profits from this increasingly competitive business.

Swan Haulier Sdn Bhd operates a mix fleet of Japanese and Chinese long-haul trucks that ply the roads of Sarawak. Although the trucks operate for long hours due to the vast distances in Sarawak, and often in hilly terrains and dusty conditions that tax the engines to the maximum, the company needed every truck on the road as much as possible.

The company was looking for a way to shorten the time in workshop for each truck without compromising their engine reliability and performance in any way. Swan Haulier decided to consult Shell distributor, Syarikat Sri Minyak Tenaga Sdn Bhd. After a thorough study of the situation, a quick solution was found. Syarikat Sri Minyak Tenaga recommended that Swan Haulier use the fully synthetic Shell Rimula R6 LM 10W40 to help optimise the trucks engine oil drain interval. In addition, the company could also use the Shell LubeAnalyst service to monitor the oil condition, which reflects the engine condition of each truck.

Shell Rimula R6 LM 10W40, with its low-SAPS additive technology and unique low-wear and low-deposit formulation, more than met the latest requirements by original equipment manufacturers. It was able to offer extended oil drain intervals by keeping higher levels of piston cleanliness which resulted in better fuel efficiency.

Swan Haulier’s decision to switch to Shell Rimula R6 LM 10W quickly paid dividends. The company was able to more than double the oil drain interval of its trucks to 36,000 km. This drastically reduced downtime of the fleet, making them available to take on more business.

As a result, the company was able to save more than RM40,000 annually in lower operating costs. While the tangible benefits were already significant with the previous generation of the product, a fleet operator like Swan Haulier could look forward to even better returns with the new improved Shell Rimula R6 LM 10W-40 which now features Dynamic Protection Plus Technology.

Dynamic Protection Plus Technology combines Shell’s proprietary PurePlus Technology, which produces an ultra-clean base oil made from natural gas, and Adaptive Additive Technology to deliver excellent all-weather protection, longer engine life, extended oil drain intervals, and reduced fuel consumption, all of which ultimately helps customers to lower the total cost of ownership.

This latest innovation by Shell enables the new Rimula R6 LM to offer up to 53% better protection (Compared with the revised more stringent MB 228.51 limit, as measured in the MB OM 646 LA engine test.) against engine wear and deposits, especially cam wear and up to 45% lower oil consumption (Compared with the Volvo VDS-4 limit, as measured in the Mack T12 300 h engine test.).

The oil’s upgraded CJ-4 specification now exceeds ACEA, MAN and Mercedes-Benz specifications for engine wear and cleanliness to ensure extended oil drain intervals and lower emissions. Its low SAPs formulation also significantly reduces downtime from clogging of diesel particulate filters by ash. This means that the new Rimula R6 LM is especially recommended for highly rated engines meeting Euro 5 to 6 emission requirements while being backward compatible to older generation engines. More information can be found on www.shell.com.my/rimula