Premium oils for construction machinery. Is it worth to use them insted of cheaper substitutes?

Wide range of products on the market

The reliability of construction machinery is often determined by the oils properly matched to it. Those on the market can be located in different price ranges. Cheaper products admittedly meet the necessary standards because only on this basis do they make sense from the point of view of application. On the other hand, they do not necessarily guarantee the highest possible performance.

Even if a given oil for a construction machine is promoted as a “perfect replacement” for a more expensive article from a reputable brand, there is still no certainty about it. One can only “blindly” trust but with no guarantee that the promises will coincide with the assumptions. Besides, such a purchase is risky, because you don’t know how it will translate into the life of the machine in the long run. So the stakes are high, especially if we’re talking about an industry where one outage threatens more.

Cheaper oils for construction machinery. The savings are illusory

Let’s not deceive ourselves: times are tough, especially for entrepreneurs. But is that a reason to look for savings at all costs? It’s worth considering. Does basic oil, often cheap, pay off? Well, not necessarily.

• First of all, if you buy such oil you may unknowingly end up with a product that will not meet the requirements of the machine manufacturer. The result? Glued or burned friction discs, noise when braking, quick wear of gear teeth.
• Second, products that meet low standards equate to short replacement intervals. If construction machinery operates in a strenuous manner, more frequent servicing is required. And this generates unnecessary expenses.
• Third, the issue of safety also comes to the fore. Reliable operation of equipment is a guarantee that work will be carried out under optimal conditions, with fewer undesirable situations. The opposite is true for non-original oils with underperformance which do not always provide an adequate level of reliability.

Is it worth to provide with UTTO premium oils for construction machinery?

Premium oil costs more, and this has to be said openly. But the higher price is also followed by measurable benefits that can really tip the scales.

With the right choice of a premium product you are assured of wet brakes that will effectively stop a heavy construction machine without disturbing sounds coming from friction components. You’ll avoid costly breakdown-related downtime and extend replacement intervals. And, as you know, fewer failures and less frequent service means savings in the long run.

Besides, better quality oil will last up to twice as long as mileage¹, so this is another unassailable argument.

Simply put: more expensive products ensure cheaper explotation. It is therefore worth considering premium oils, e.g. TITAN UTTO PRO. It’s definitely one of those investments that pays off.

Always the same parameters?

One more important thing needs to be said. The labels of different products from different manufacturers may list the same standards. In that case, is even the more affordable oil exactly the same? Well, no, because the actual parameters may be different.

At FUCHS, we strive to ensure that our oils not only meet the minimum specified by a given standard, but even exceed the requirement. We also ensure high production repeatability.

So when you choose products with our logo, you can be sure that the product meets the standards and its technical parameters are at a high level. The same can often not be said of cheaper counterparts.

1 An example is the differentials in VOLVO construction machines, found in wheel loaders. In some differentials (“bridges”), oil with WB 102 standard is approved for twice as long as that meeting WB 101 standard.