STP 1388 examines 11 peer-review papers that focus on the latestissues involved in oil flow related engine operation at lowtemperatures in modern engines (lubricated with modern oils), andprovides a good basis for future specification development.
Over the last six years, at the request of SAE's Fuels andLubricants Division, ASTM conducted an extensive industry programon cold start and pumpability with modern oils in modern engines.The first seven papers in STP 1388 explore the results of the ASTMLow Temperature Engine Performance (LTEP) task force, whichaddressed some of the following concerns:
To determine if modern engines start on average at lowertemperatures than earlier engines designs do
To determine if there a "safety margin" between limitingcranking and pumping viscosities in modern engines
To determine the cranking and pumping limitations of singlegrade (non-VI improved) engine oils
To assess the benefits and limitations of current methods foridentifying oils that could result in pumpability failure inengines.
The remaining papers address future challenges in the area ofpumpability or address work conducted outside the ASTM LTEPProgram.