Unconfirmed Minutes from the last Management Board meeting, held on 6th August 2010 are available to CEC Group members on the CEC Web Site.

Companies interested in this new test development should review the details now available on the public part of the CEC Web Site.
Low Temperature Operability problems have been seen in the field and a need established to develop a test to address this in relation to Used Oils.  There are currently 2 bench tests in development within Daimler and GFC which, though too severe for current requirements, are a good starting point for a CEC test development.  
Board Members are informed that ACEA want a CEC test that can be included in their Sequences and OEMs have confirmed that they will use only this test once it is developed.  A number of oils are expected to be made available with known field performance.
Go to www.cectests.org and select ‘Tenders’ at the top of the page and view the Introductory Letter, the Template and draft Terms of Reference with attachments.  Companies interested in bidding to be the Lead Laboratory should note that an investigatory meeting will take place in Brussels on Thursday 16th September.  If your company is interested in bidding, please indicate your attendance at the meeting by no later than Wednesday 8th September 2010.  The Introductory letter provides full details of the timing associated with this test development.  Indications of interest in sponsoring this test should also be advised to the CEC Secretariat as soon as possible.

Work is taking place on a replacement for the DV4 test (CEC L-93-04).  Also, a VAMAC Seal Test is likely to be added to the existing CEC Elastomer test later this year.

PSA continues to support the test.  The 2009RR has been completed and test precision is similar or poorer to the previous RR.  
A Task-Force has been formed to investigate why some labs ranked fuels differently to other labs in the last RR.  Some labs are not adhering to the test method requirements and have been excluded in the RR analysis.  Other labs are being asked to verify certain RR test details. Some labs have expressed concerns over the injector nozzles, which can now only be obtained from the Far East.  This needs to be resolved as this part is critical for the future of the test.

Daimler has 4 further engines in stock for this test and spare parts continue to be available.  A timeline for supply of spare parts needs to be advised as, in the longer term a new engine will needed for a replacement test.

The Reference Fuels Supplier has now been selected and the test matrix designed.

The Group has completed its test development and presented data to the Board. 
The Test has been accepted into CEC and will be published as CEC L-94-10.  Congratulations have been sent to the Group for their excellent work.

Another batch of non-machined camshafts has been located for the TU3 Test CEC L-38-94, but the tools to machine them are no longer available at PSA.  Attempts are being made to locate a suitable place to do this.

SDG has made a proposal about how best to introduce new reference oils to existing tests, whilst keeping the period of uncertainty as short as possible.  CEC Guideline 18 and the Statistics Manual will be updated accordingly.

Guidelines have been updated to cover non-sponsor companies joining a Sponsored Surveillance Group after a test has been developed, in Guideline 5 and improvements made to the Tendering Process in Guideline 10.

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New Ideas?  Questions to Ask?  Guidance Required?  Support is available from Lyn, Barry and Monique.  See the CEC Web Site for details:  www.cectests.org