Trucks

Choosing a heavy-duty diesel oil for the Iraqi fleet

Step one: does the engine have a particulate filter or SCR?

This is the only question in the whole selection that costs real money when it is answered wrong — and it costs money in both directions.

• No after-treatment — Euro II, Euro III and most Euro IV and V engines without a DPF, which is the bulk of the Iraqi fleet. These take a high-SAPS super high performance oil: EVO MAXIMUM 15W-40, EVO SHPD 15W-40, EVO SHPD PLUS 10W-40, or MAX EXTRA and MAX MULTI for mixed and older depots. A low-SAPS oil in these engines delivers nothing extra and costs more.
• DPF or SCR fitted — Euro IV, V and VI. These need low-SAPS: EVO MAXX 10W-40, PRO MAXX 10W-40, EVO ULTRA LS 5W-30, PRO ULTRA HD 5W-30, or the re-refined ECO HD R2 VDS and ECO HD R2 E6. A high-SAPS oil here loads the filter with ash that regeneration cannot remove, and the filter eventually has to be replaced.

If nobody at the depot knows which they have, look for the AdBlue tank and the canister in the exhaust line. It takes thirty seconds and it decides the whole specification.

Step two: fuel sulphur and soot

Diesel available across Iraq commonly carries far more sulphur than these engines were designed around in Europe, and high-sulphur fuel does two things: it becomes acid in the crankcase and it generates more soot. Where the fuel is poor, the EVO VDS range is built for higher-sulphur operation, and for older naturally aspirated engines where a monograde is specified, MAX S-3 carries detergents chosen to neutralise those acids. Whatever the oil, the correct response to poor fuel is a shorter drain interval, not a longer one, and used-oil analysis is what should set the number.

Step three: viscosity

• 15W-40 — the default across the Iraqi fleet and correct for nearly all older and mid-generation engines.
• 20W-50 — high-hour engines with worn clearances and rising oil consumption, where a thicker film restores oil pressure.
• 10W-40 — the synthetic and semi-synthetic step up: better cold starting through a northern winter and genuine extended-drain capability.
• 5W-30 and 5W-20 — modern low-viscosity oils for Euro V and VI units. Only where the manufacturer specifies them, but these are the ones that produce measurable fuel savings across a long-haul fleet.
• Monogrades (MAX PRIME, MAX S-3) — older engines, specific manufacturer instruction, and top-up stock in mixed depots.

Step four: how many oils a depot actually needs

A yard running Mercedes-Benz, MAN, Volvo, Howo and Caterpillar plant side by side does not need five different drums. EVO MAXIMUM and EVO SHPD are built as mixed-fleet oils, with approval lists spanning European, American, Chinese and Japanese engines together with off-road plant. For most operations the right answer is two oils: one high-SAPS multigrade for the older fleet, one low-SAPS for the after-treatment units. Fewer part numbers means less stock tied up, fewer mis-fills and a simpler conversation with every driver.

One habit worth building into the workshop: off-road machines are serviced on engine hours, not kilometres. A loader working a quarry accumulates more engine life in a month than a truck does in a quarter, and the odometer will never tell you.

Frequently asked questions

Not sure which product a vehicle, machine or fleet needs? Try the Cyclon oil selector, or send us the details and we will specify it in writing.