|
Oil Specifications, Gasoline Engines:
What's Current? What's Coming? |
| The current passenger car gasoline engine motor oil specifications are API SJ and ILSAC GF-2. Oils meeting the next specifications are scheduled to be in the marketplace by 2000. |
|---|
|
In the U.S., three non-governmental trade organizations classify and set specification standards for passenger car and commercial vehicle motor oils. The Society of Automotive Engineers defines the need for new oil specifications. The ASTM (formerly the American Society for Testing and Materials) defines the test methods and performance targets for each specification. The American Petroleum Institute (API) administers the licensing and certification of engine oils and develops |
consumer language for new specifications. New specifications are implemented at the request of automakers when they find a specification does not provide the performance or protection required by engines in production. However, in 1992, the American Automobile Manufacturers Association (AAMA) and the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association Inc. (JAMA) felt the tripartite system responded too slowly to their needs, leaving them open to excessive warranty claims |
They formed the International Lubricant Standardization and Approval Committee (ILSAC), through which they set minimum lubricant performance standards for gasoline-fueled passenger car motor oils. ILSAC and the tripartite system ultimately collaborated to form the Engine Oil Licensing and Certification System, (EOLCS) through which ILSAC oils are licensed. API administers the EOLCS system. |
| Present Specifications |
|---|
|
Federally mandated fuel economy and emission control system durability requirements fueled the newest specification updates. API SJ and ILSAC GF-2 replaced API SH and ILSAC GF-1 August 1, 1997. API no longer licenses the older oils. ILSAC GF-2 applies to OW-XX, 5W-XX and 10W-XX viscosity grades. GF-2 oils must meet all the specifications required of GF-1 oils plus meet new or more rigorous specifications for fuel economy, high temperature deposit tendency, volatility for OW-XX and 5W-XX grades, |
foam control, low temperature gelation and phosphorus content. Synthetic oils more easily meet rigorous fuel economy, high temperature deposit and volatility limits than conventional oils do. In fact, some oil marketers are using synthetic and other unconventional basestocks to help their finished oils meet the new limits. API SJ oils also meet new, more rigorous limits on fuel economy, high temperature deposits, volatility for OW-XX and 5W-XX grades, foam, low temperature gelation and phosphorus than did their predecessors. |
API SJ applies to more viscosity grades than ILSAC GF-2 does. API SJ applies to the GF-2 grades plus 15W-XX oils and monogrades, which allows the specification to be applied to "universal" oils, such as 15W-40 viscosity grades, for mixed fleet use. Finally, the Energy Conserving II (ECII) designation may no longer be used with any API specification. It was based on the Sequence VI fuel economy test, which is now obsolete. API SJ and ILSAC GF-2 use the new Sequence VIA test for qualifying oil fuel economy. |
| Future Specifications |
|---|
|
ILSAC GF-3 and API SK are under discussion now. They are proposed to replace ILSAC GF-2 and API SJ in 2000. These specifications, as proposed, will be significantly different from their predecessors, featuring six new engine tests and one new bench test. The upcoming specifications are driven by federal mandates for longer emission control system durability and greater fuel economy and by the automakers’ desire for "general oil improvement" |
and extended drain intervals "General oil improvement" includes lower oil volatility and reduced additive depletion. Lower volatility reduces oil consumption rates and piston deposits and helps keep oil viscosity from rising over oil service life. Reduced additive depletion insures adequate protection over the course of the oil’s service life. Consumer preferences revealed through target group research and the rising popularity of vehicle lease programs drive the automaker |
desire for longer drains. Motorists have little incentive to perform regular oil changes on leased vehicles, which are normally leased for three years. Automakers think long drain oils are the best alternative for protecting the engines of leased vehicles. In terms of service life, volatility and additive durability, synthetic oils are preferable to conventional oils. |
|