International standards, compliance with which is stated in the characteristics of this brand of oil. In modern brands of oil the following options may be found:
— API is a standard developed in the USA by the American Petroleum Institute. Provides two separate classifications - for gasoline (
API SG,
SH,
SJ,
SL,
SM,
SN,
SN Plus) and for diesel engines (
API CI-4,
CH-4,
CG-4,
CF,
CE,
CD); in the first case, the first letter in the standard designation is S (for example, API SL), in the second it is C (for example, API CI-4). If the oil is suitable for both types of engines, a double designation is used - for example, API SL/CI-4; in this case, the index of the type for which the oil is best suited is put first (in our example, this is gasoline). The standard also includes the classification of two-stroke engines - TA, TB,
TC,
TC+,
TD.
— ACEA is a standard used by the association of European automakers of the same name,
...an alternative to the American API. Includes three classes: A/B - all oils developed before 2004 for different types of engines. Actually, until 2004 there were two classes here - A for gasoline engines and B for diesel engines; then they were combined ( A1/B1, A3/B3, A3/B4 and A5/B5). However, separate designations can still be used. C - oils for all types of engines, meeting the Euro-4 environmental standard and compatible with additional equipment such as catalysts and particulate filters. APEA C1, C2, C3, C4 and C5 occur. E - a separate class for diesel engines of heavy equipment, including special ones. It is marked APEA E4, E6, E7 and E9.
— JASO — developed by the Japanese Auto Standards Association. It is one of the main modern standards for oils for gasoline motorcycle engines, within this purpose it has two classes - F for two-stroke engines, namely FA, FB, FC, FD and M for four-stroke (subclass MA for wet clutch MA-1 and MA -2, MB for dry). As well as a new GLV-1 approval for ultra-efficient gasoline engines and hybrid power plants.
— ILSAC is a standard created jointly by the American and Japanese Automobile Manufacturers Associations. Used for oils designed for passenger cars with gasoline engines. There are only five ILSAC categories ( GF-2, GF-3, GF-4, GF-5, GF-6A), in general they are similar to certain API categories (see above), but differ in increased requirements for energy saving and limitation of harmful emissions .
A list of specific oil standards recommended by the manufacturer for a particular engine is usually indicated in the official vehicle specifications. Note that many standards are interchangeable; compatibility data (as well as a description of each individual category) can be found in specialized sources.Tolerance can be described as an individual automaker's own standard, developed for a specific engine or engine line. It includes all the requirements that an oil must meet in order to be optimally suited for a particular engine. The list of these requirements is much wider than in generally accepted standards (see above). This is due to the fact that many of the manufacturer's developments applied in the motor and affecting the requirements for oil are still too specific and cannot be included in the general rules (and some cannot be taken into account also because they are classified information) . Many famous car brands have their approvals (
BMW,
Fiat,
Ford,
MAN,
Mercedes-Benz,
Opel,
Renault,
Peugeot and Citroen,
Volvo and
VW concern); to obtain approval, each brand of oil undergoes very rigorous tests, and only after them does it receive the right to indicate information on compliance on the packaging.
This information, of course, is not necessarily indicated for all car models. However, if the tolerance data is in the official specifications of your car, the search for the right brand of oil is greatly simplified — the complia
...nce of the oil with this tolerance automatically guarantees optimal compatibility with the car. In other words, instead of specifying a whole set of parameters (appointment, viscosity, etc.), it will be enough to make sure that there is a tolerance.
