( from previous post oil-bible link )
" It doesn't matter what sort of fancy marketing goes into an engine oil, or how many naked babes smear it all over their bodies, or how bright and colourful the packaging is, it's what's written on the packaging that counts. Specifications and approvals are everything.
There are two established testing bodies. The API (American Petroleum Institute), and the European counterpart, the ACEA (Association des Constructeurs Europeens d'Automobiles - replaced CCMC in 1996). Most people will never have heard of either of them, but their stamp of approval will be seen on the side of every reputable can of engine oil.
The API The API classifications are different for petrol and diesel engines: For petrol, listings start with 'S' (meaning Service category, but it can also be thought of as Spark-plug ignition), followed by another code to denote standard. 'SN' is the current top grade but 'SH' is still the most popular.
For diesel oils, the first letter is 'C' (meaning Commercial category, but it can also be thought of as Compression ignition). 'CJ' is the highest grade at the moment, (technically CJ-4 for heavy-duty) but 'CH' is the most popular and is well adequate for passenger vehicle applications.
Note:
Castrol recently upgraded all their oils and for some reason, Castrol diesels now use the 'S' rating, thus completely negating the little aid-memoire above. So the older CC,CD,CE and CF ratings no longer exist, but have been replaced by an 'SH' grade diesel oil.
The CCMC/ACEA The ACEA standards are prefixed with an 'A' for petrol engines, 'B' for passenger car diesel, 'C' for diesel with particulate filter, or 'E' for heavy-duty diesel. (The older CCMC specifications were G,D and PD respectively). The ACEA grades may also be followed by the year of issue which will be either '04 or '07 (current). Coupled with this are numerous approvals by car manufacturers which many oil containers sport with pride.
The full ACEA specs are:
A1 Fuel Economy Petrol †
A2 Standard performance level
A3 High performance and / or extended drain
A5 Fuel economy petrol with extended drain capability †
B1 Fuel Economy diesel †
B2 Standard performance level (now obsolete)
B3 High performance and / or extended drain
B4 For direct injection passenger car diesel engines
B5 Fuel economy diesel with extended drain capability †
† Not suitable for all engines - should ONLY be used in engines specifying this fuel efficient grade. Refer to the manufacturer handbook of contact your local dealer if you're not sure.
Mineral oils:
E1 Non-turbo charged light duty diesel
E2 Standard performance level
E3 High performance extended drain
E5 (1999) High performance / long drain plus American/API performances. - This is ACEAs first attempt at a global spec.
E7 Euro 4 engines - exhaust after treatment (EGR / SCR)
Part / full synthetic oils:
E4 Higher performance and longer extended drain
E6 Euro 4 specification - low SAPS for vehicles with PDF (see below)
Low SAPS diesel (Sulphated Ash, Phosphorous, Sulphur):
For diesel engines fitted with a diesel particulate filter (DPF) - a filter unit in the exhaust that takes out the microscopic soot particles. Regular diesel oils used in engines that have a DPF can cause the filter to become blocked with ash.
C1 Low SAPS (0.5% ash) fuel efficient
C2 Mid SAPS (0.8% ash) fuel efficient, performance
C3 Mid SAPS (0.8% ash)
Many OEM are now using their own specifications to capture these specifications. eg. Mercedes 229.31/51, BMW Longlife 04, VW 507 00 etc.
There is also a trend now towards manufacturers requiring their own specifications - in this case the OEM specification is the one that needs to be adhered to. If it says BMW Longlife 04, the oil must say this on the pack to be suitable for use. "
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