International standards that are claimed to be met in the specifications of this brand of oil. In modern oil brands, the following options may be found:
— API — standard developed in the USA by the American Petroleum Institute. It provides for two separate classifications — for gasoline (
API SG,
SH,
SJ,
SL,
SM,
SN,
SN RC,
SN Plus,
SN Plus RC,
SP,
SP RC,
SP Plus),
SQ and for diesel engines (
API CI-4,
CH-4,
CG-4,
CF,
CE,
CD); in the first case, the standard designation starts with the letter S (for example, API SL), in the second with C (for example, API CI-4). If the oil is suitable for both types of engines, a dual 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 placed first (in our example it's gasoline)
.... The standard also includes a classification for two-stroke engines — TA, TB, TC, TC+, TD.
— ACEA — standard used by the European Automobile Manufacturers Association, alternative to the American API. It includes three classes:
A/B — all oils developed before 2004 for different engine types. In fact, before 2004, there were two classes here — A for gasoline engines and B for diesel; then they were combined (A1/B1, A3/B3, A3/B4 and A5/B5). However, separate designations may still be used.
C — oils for all types of engines that comply with the Euro-4 environmental standard and are compatible with additional equipment such as catalysts and particulate filters. They include APEA C1, C2, C3, C4 and C5.
E — a separate class for diesel engines of heavy machinery, including special equipment. They are marked with APEA E4, E6, E7 and E9.
— JASO — developed by the Japanese Automobile Standards Association. It is one of the main modern standards for oils for gasoline motorcycle engines and within this purpose 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 clutch). Also the new approval GLV-1 for ultra-efficient gasoline engines and hybrid power units.
— ILSAC — standard created jointly by the American and Japanese Automobile Manufacturers Associations. It is used for oils designed for passenger cars with gasoline engines. There are five categories of ILSAC (GF-2, GF-3, GF-4, GF-5, GF-6A, GF-6B, GF-7A, GF-7B), they are generally similar to certain API categories (see above), but differ in increased energy-saving requirements and emission limitations.
A list of specific oil standards recommended by the manufacturer for a particular engine is usually indicated in the official specifications of the vehicle. Note that many standards are interchangeable; information on compatibility (as well as a description of each individual category) can be found in specialized sources.
