To choose engine oil for a car, several identification signs should be understood, otherwise the wrong oil may be added and unnecessary vehicle failures may occur. In the motor oil industry, there are four main identity standards, namely SAE, API, ACEA and ILSAC standards.
1. What is the SAE standard?
SAE (abbreviation of Society of Automotive Engineers): It is a very authoritative motor oil standard, which is widely used in the automotive industry and other industries. SAE is the viscosity standard for motor oil, which is represented by numbers and letters W, and the common viscosity of motor oil is 0W-20, 5W-30, 10W-40, etc. The smaller the value in front of W, the better the fluidity of the oil at low temperatures. 0W means low temperature resistance -35°C, 5W means oil resistance low temperature -30°C, 10W means oil resistance low temperature -25°C. The number after W represents an indicator of the viscosity of the oil at high temperatures. The higher the value, the thicker the oil film, and the oil film is not easy to tear at high temperatures.
2. What is API Standard?
API (short for American Petroleum Institute): Indicates the quality grade of the engine oil, S stands for gasoline engine oil, and C stands for diesel engine oil. For gasoline engine oil, the common product grades on the market now include SJ, SL, SM, SN, SP grades, and the letters after S indicate the higher the grade, so SP grade engine oil is the highest standard of current engine oil.
API standards have a certain authority in the lubricant industry, but for EU countries have their own engine oil standards, that is, ACEA standards.
3. What is the ACEA standard?
ACEA (short for European Automobile Manufacturers Association): This association is jointly initiated by European automobile manufacturing plants, taking into account engine performance requirements and environmental protection requirements. In the ACEA standard, there are four letter types A/B/C/E, A for gasoline engine for cars, B for diesel engine for cars, E for diesel engine for trucks, and C for low ash gasoline and diesel engine oil.
ACEA standard engine oil has high ash content and medium and low ash content, high ash engine oil such as A3B4, A5B5, A7B7, etc., medium and low ash engine oil has C2, C3, C5, C6, of which C5 and C6 pay more attention to fuel economy. After the implementation of the China VI B standard, many vehicles are equipped with exhaust after-treatment systems, and the requirement for engine oil is to use low ash engine oil to reduce the blockage of particle traps, so China VI B models need to choose ACEAC series engine oil.
4. What is the ILSAC standard?
ILSAC (International Lubricant Standardization and Certification Council) is a joint initiative of the American Automobile Manufacturers Association and the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association. It has formulated the specifications of the motor oil as GF-1, GF-2, GF-3, GF-4, GF-5 and GF-6. The GF standard actually adds energy-saving requirements to the API specification. Therefore, GF-1 is equivalent to SH+ energy-saving requirements, GF-2 is equivalent to SJ+ energy-saving requirements, GF-3 is equivalent to SL+ energy-saving requirements, GF-4 is equivalent to SM+ energy-saving requirements, GF-5 is equivalent to SN+ energy-saving requirements, and GF-6 is equivalent to SP energy-saving requirements.
If you want to match the right oil for your car, you need to understand the above four oil standards. In the actual vehicle maintenance, many old drivers also have the situation of indiscriminate use of engine oil, which will undoubtedly have a certain impact on the performance and service life of the car. If you still want to know more about engine oil, welcome to pay attention to Dihang lubricants and share car maintenance knowledge every day!