Oil API classifications
23 January 2005, 10:54 PM
#2
Hopefully this will help, ACEA is also useful as it's the european equivalent and also tougher in many areas to meet.
API = American Petroleum Institute
S = Service - Petrol Engine Performance
C = Commercisl - Diesel Engine Performance
PETROL
SG - Introduced 1989 has much more active dispersant to combat black sludge.
SH - Introduced 1993 has same engine tests as SG, but includes phosphorus limit 0.12%, together with control of foam, volatility and shear stability.
SJ - Introduced 1996 has the same engine tests as SG/SH, but phosphorus limit 0.10% together with variation on volatility limits
SL - Introduced 2001, all new engine tests reflective of modern engine designs meeting current emmissions standards
DIESEL
CD - Introduced 1955, international standard for turbo diesel engine oils for many years, uses single cylinder test engine only
CE - Introduced 1984, improved control of oil consumption, oil thickening, piston deposits an wear, uses additional multi cylinder test engines
CF4 - Introduced 1990, further improvements in control of oil consumption and piston deposits, uses low emmission test engine
CF - Introduced 1994, modernised version of CD, reverts to single cylinder low emission test engine. Intended for certain indirect injection engines
CF2 - Introduced 1994, defines effective control of cylinder deposits and ring face scuffing, intended for 2 stroke diesel engines
CG4 - Introduced 1994, development of CF4 giving improved control of piston deposits, wear, oxidation stability and soot entrainment. Uses low sulphur diesel fuel in engine tests
CH4 - Introduced 1998, development of CG4, giving further improvements in control of soot related wear and piston deposits, uses more comprehensive engine test program to include low and high sulphur fuelsSG - Introduced 1989 has much more active dispersant to combat black sludge.
If your owner's manual calls for an SJ rated oil, and you can’t find any oils that list the SJ Rating, don’t worry. All API ratings are backward compatible. Therefore, an SL rated oil will be just fine for an SJ, SH or SG rated vehicle. However, on a newer vehicle that calls for an SL rated oil, it is not recommended that you use an oil that does not indicate that it meets the SL standard.
One point about API specifications.
API specifications are minimum specifications for oils. They exist for your safety so that you have reasonable assurance that an oil will "adequately" protect your engine. However, these are not, by any means, a standard by which you could determine whether an oil was good or not. As an example, you'll find that even a cheap oil which costs next to nothing will most likely carry the API SL rating. That should tell you something about how hard it is to attain that rating.
ACEA Specifications
(Association des Constructeurs Europeens d’Automobiles)
ACEA ratings are prefixed with “A” for petrol, “B” for light or passenger car diesel and “E” for heavy duty diesel.
The current specifications are:
A1 Fuel economy petrol
A2 Standard performance level
A3 High performance and/or extended drain
A4 Reserved for future use in certain direct injection engines
A5 Combines A1 fuel economy with A3 performance
B1 Fuel economy diesel
B2 Standard performance level
B3 High performance and/or extended drain
B4 For direct injection car diesel engines
B5 Combines B1 fuel economy with B3/B4 performance
E1 Non-turbocharged light duty diesel engines
E2 Standard performance level
E3 High performance and extended drain
E4 Higher performance and longer extended drain
E5 High performance and long drain plus API performances
At the end of the day it's more important that you use a known quality oil and that you are getting what you pay for. Just PM me if you'd like advice.
Cheers
Simon
API = American Petroleum Institute
S = Service - Petrol Engine Performance
C = Commercisl - Diesel Engine Performance
PETROL
SG - Introduced 1989 has much more active dispersant to combat black sludge.
SH - Introduced 1993 has same engine tests as SG, but includes phosphorus limit 0.12%, together with control of foam, volatility and shear stability.
SJ - Introduced 1996 has the same engine tests as SG/SH, but phosphorus limit 0.10% together with variation on volatility limits
SL - Introduced 2001, all new engine tests reflective of modern engine designs meeting current emmissions standards
DIESEL
CD - Introduced 1955, international standard for turbo diesel engine oils for many years, uses single cylinder test engine only
CE - Introduced 1984, improved control of oil consumption, oil thickening, piston deposits an wear, uses additional multi cylinder test engines
CF4 - Introduced 1990, further improvements in control of oil consumption and piston deposits, uses low emmission test engine
CF - Introduced 1994, modernised version of CD, reverts to single cylinder low emission test engine. Intended for certain indirect injection engines
CF2 - Introduced 1994, defines effective control of cylinder deposits and ring face scuffing, intended for 2 stroke diesel engines
CG4 - Introduced 1994, development of CF4 giving improved control of piston deposits, wear, oxidation stability and soot entrainment. Uses low sulphur diesel fuel in engine tests
CH4 - Introduced 1998, development of CG4, giving further improvements in control of soot related wear and piston deposits, uses more comprehensive engine test program to include low and high sulphur fuelsSG - Introduced 1989 has much more active dispersant to combat black sludge.
If your owner's manual calls for an SJ rated oil, and you can’t find any oils that list the SJ Rating, don’t worry. All API ratings are backward compatible. Therefore, an SL rated oil will be just fine for an SJ, SH or SG rated vehicle. However, on a newer vehicle that calls for an SL rated oil, it is not recommended that you use an oil that does not indicate that it meets the SL standard.
One point about API specifications.
API specifications are minimum specifications for oils. They exist for your safety so that you have reasonable assurance that an oil will "adequately" protect your engine. However, these are not, by any means, a standard by which you could determine whether an oil was good or not. As an example, you'll find that even a cheap oil which costs next to nothing will most likely carry the API SL rating. That should tell you something about how hard it is to attain that rating.
ACEA Specifications
(Association des Constructeurs Europeens d’Automobiles)
ACEA ratings are prefixed with “A” for petrol, “B” for light or passenger car diesel and “E” for heavy duty diesel.
The current specifications are:
A1 Fuel economy petrol
A2 Standard performance level
A3 High performance and/or extended drain
A4 Reserved for future use in certain direct injection engines
A5 Combines A1 fuel economy with A3 performance
B1 Fuel economy diesel
B2 Standard performance level
B3 High performance and/or extended drain
B4 For direct injection car diesel engines
B5 Combines B1 fuel economy with B3/B4 performance
E1 Non-turbocharged light duty diesel engines
E2 Standard performance level
E3 High performance and extended drain
E4 Higher performance and longer extended drain
E5 High performance and long drain plus API performances
At the end of the day it's more important that you use a known quality oil and that you are getting what you pay for. Just PM me if you'd like advice.
Cheers
Simon
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