International standards to which the compliance of this brand of oil is declared. In modern oil brands, the following options can be found:
— API — a standard developed in the USA by the American Petroleum Institute. It provides for two separate classifications — for gasoline engines (
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,
FA-4); in the first case, the letter S comes first in the standard designation (e.g., API SL), in the second C (e.g., API CI-4). If the oil is suitable for both types of engines, a dual designation is used — for example, API SL/CI-4; with the index of the type for which the oil is best suited coming first (in our example, it is gasoline). The standard also includes a classification
...of two-stroke engines — TA, TB, TC, TC+, TD.
— ACEA — a standard used by the European automobile manufacturers' association of the same name, an alternative to the American API. It includes three classes:
A/B — all oils developed before 2004 for different types of engines. In fact, before 2004, there were two classes here — A for gasoline engines and B for diesel ones; then they were combined (A1/B1, A3/B3, A3/B4, A5/B5, A7/B7). However, separate designations can still be used.
C — oils for all types of engines complying with the Euro-4 environmental standard and compatible with additional equipment such as catalysts and particulate filters. Includes APEA C1, C2, C3, C4, and C5.
E — a separate class for heavy machinery diesel engines, including special purposes. It is marked as APEA E4, E6, E7, and E9.
— ILSAC — a standard created jointly by the American and Japanese Automobile Manufacturers Associations. It is applied to oils designed for passenger cars with gasoline engines. ILSAC has five categories (GF-2, GF-3, GF-4, GF-5, GF-6A, GF-6B, GF-7A, GF-7B), which are generally similar to certain API categories (see above), but have higher requirements for energy savings and emission reduction.
The 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.
