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As costs, particularly fuel continue to rise, the haulage industry and fleet operators are constantly reviewing all costs, to find relief somewhere to reduce the burden. However, this relief is few and far for businesses and the onus now is to seek alternative cost reduction methods. Many are looking towards parts, coolants & lubricants and finding ways to reduce their costs as a method to gain easy short-term cost reductions. However, this can prove to be a false saving as the long-term effects of using cheap and inferior parts or fluids may not only reduce the performance and lifespan of the vehicle but also increase the downtime due to breakages, thus resulting in higher costs further down the line.
Modern trucks & vans are manufactured and tested to their limits to get the maximum performance and every component used to make these vehicles has been chosen by the manufacturer to contribute towards achieving that. As well as working alongside the parts manufacturers to choose each component, vehicle manufacturers work with the leading lubricant companies who they partner with to develop the perfect fluids to protect the moving components of the vehicle, keep them clean and cool so that the vehicles perform at their best. Therefore, it is very important to follow the manufacturers’ guidelines and use high-quality genuine or approved parts and lubricants to get maximum performance from your vehicle.
Like genuine parts, high quality approved lubricants or lubricants meeting the manufacturers’ requirements are designed and manufactured to perform to the vehicle manufacturers’ approval performances. Approved products are rigorously tested to ensure they exceed these performance levels. These lubricants are formulated to ensure they help the vehicle perform to its full potential. Whereas cheaper, lesser-quality lubricants do not go through these rigorous tests and are usually blended to the minimum requirements, using a limited amount of additives to meet the lower end of the tolerance levels to cut costs and have a cheaper product. Thus, not being as reliable to ensure your vehicle is performing to its potential.
Higher quality lubricants designed to exceed the vehicle manufacturers’ performance levels can be more expensive upfront but thanks to the numerous benefits over the cheaper options, these higher-quality lubricants can significantly lower your overall costs and save you money in the long term through:
- Vehicle Longevity: They ensure your vehicle’s components last longer, reduce breakdowns, and extend the life of the vehicle.
- Longer Drain Intervals: Synthetic lubricants have a longer lifespan which depending on the vehicle and usage allows for the drain intervals to be extended, reducing the amount of oil and the labour required for oil changes.
- Vehicle Performance: High-quality lubricants prevent the formation of deposits in the engine allowing it to run more efficiently, thus increasing reliability, boosting performance, and enhancing productivity.
- Fuel Economy: lowering the lubricants\’ viscosity and enhanced lubricity at lower temperatures allows for lower overall friction and easier start-up, delivering less resistance and reducing the fuel usage of the engine.
These products cut your maintenance costs through reduced oil usage, lower maintenance labour hours, fewer parts replacement, less waste oil disposal, and minimising costs of lost earnings due to vehicle downtime. You also reduce your carbon footprint through these reductions in fuel & lubricant usage and waste oil disposal.
Finol Oils, the Irish distributor for TotalEnergies lubricants can help in cost reduction methods to haulage & fleet operator customers who service their fleet in house. One such customer is McArdle Skeath whom Finol helped to reduce their fuel bills by switching to a fuel economy oil which resulted in a 1.16L/100km reduction in fuel usage. Which at the time of the trial in 2021 for their 30-unit fleet, was a potential saving of €21,924.00 and a 55,123Kg reduction in CO2.
You can see the results in the graph below and read the full details of the trial at www.finol.ie/about-finol/testimonials
In addition to this proven result of fuel economy savings, Finol’s highly skilled technical team can work with operators to further reduce costs using their manufacturer-approved lubricants from Total Energies & Petro Canada, by helping reduce downtime, maintenance labour, parts and lubricant usage costs and waste oil disposal whilst achieving optimum performance levels of the vehicles and within the allowances of your manufacturer’s warranty leaving your fleet protected for any unexpected issues.
To learn more about how we can potentially help you start reducing your maintenance and fuel costs, contact us today on 01 4555 484 or visit www.finol.ie/fuel-economy-calculator to see how much fuel you can start saving and set up a meeting with one of our technical team to discuss how we can further reduce your maintenance costs. Anyone who uses our fuel economy calculator between now and 10th April 2022 will be entered into our Fleet competition where winners can win free lubricants, coolants, screen wash and traffic film remover. So, don\’t wait and contact us today or fill in your details on www.finol.ie/contact-us/ and one of our experts will call you at your convenience.
