With a furious debate on a single bench test (legitimate or not) sparking all kinds of posts about ranking oils I thought I'd provide a little insight into industry specifications.
Read Here about the most recent ASTM committee meeting on Lubricant Test Methods - Steve does an excellent job here discussing the major changes that are currently underway replacing old sequence engine tests that are used for ASTM, ACEA and other credentials, as well as talks about the challenges of the new tests that are being developed an how they apply to your new engines.
You may not know this, but the OEM's wanted GF-6 rolled out already, this is because the technology making up the 2017 model year cars needs engine oil to address new issues. It's kind of a big deal if you have a new car and are using GF-5 based oils with some manufacturers. Unfortunately the testing and certification process for new technologies is taking longer than it should. This is why you are seeing OEM's push even more for their own specifications vs the one-size-fits-all approach of the API.
This information from Lubrizol is a good look at the new Dexos1 specification and what these tests are actually evaluating. You can see from the description (and if you compare it to the GF-5 current standard) that this program is focusing on alot more than making GM money in registrations and royalty fees - although that is happening too.
You can download the 2016 ACEA Oil Sequences here and again - looking at the testing requirements and the list of OEM's involved (BMW Group,DAF Trucks NV,Daimler AG,Fiat SpA,Ford of Europe GmbH,General Motors Europe AG,Hyundai Motor Europe GmbH,IVECO SpA,Jaguar Land Rover,PSA Peugeot Citroen,Renault SA,Toyota Motor Europe SA,Volkswagen AG,AB Volvo,Volvo Car Corporation) you can see that OEMs are again highly engaged in trying to make sure that the engines they design can be maintained with quality oils. This requires a lot of testing which is expensive, but can clearly demonstrate that an oil operates in the conditions that the engines were designed for. Also if you want to see Videos about how these tests are run, they are available.
On top of this there are also the extensive list of OEM credentials - which aren't designed to make one oil (say the one that meets them all) better than another. There is no all encompassing list of oils or method to rank and get the "Holy Grail" of engine oil technology. We aren't able to definitively say which oil is best because the market is always changing and no two vehicles are exactly alike. In fact if you read the Motor Oil University on the main page, we included a section all about that: Motor Oil 106
If you have questions about any of the above specifications, or others, I am happy to help out. I'm not always on the board, but when I am I will try to respond in this thread. There are also several others that are very knowledgeable about these specifications and would be able to chime in.
Read Here about the most recent ASTM committee meeting on Lubricant Test Methods - Steve does an excellent job here discussing the major changes that are currently underway replacing old sequence engine tests that are used for ASTM, ACEA and other credentials, as well as talks about the challenges of the new tests that are being developed an how they apply to your new engines.
You may not know this, but the OEM's wanted GF-6 rolled out already, this is because the technology making up the 2017 model year cars needs engine oil to address new issues. It's kind of a big deal if you have a new car and are using GF-5 based oils with some manufacturers. Unfortunately the testing and certification process for new technologies is taking longer than it should. This is why you are seeing OEM's push even more for their own specifications vs the one-size-fits-all approach of the API.
This information from Lubrizol is a good look at the new Dexos1 specification and what these tests are actually evaluating. You can see from the description (and if you compare it to the GF-5 current standard) that this program is focusing on alot more than making GM money in registrations and royalty fees - although that is happening too.
You can download the 2016 ACEA Oil Sequences here and again - looking at the testing requirements and the list of OEM's involved (BMW Group,DAF Trucks NV,Daimler AG,Fiat SpA,Ford of Europe GmbH,General Motors Europe AG,Hyundai Motor Europe GmbH,IVECO SpA,Jaguar Land Rover,PSA Peugeot Citroen,Renault SA,Toyota Motor Europe SA,Volkswagen AG,AB Volvo,Volvo Car Corporation) you can see that OEMs are again highly engaged in trying to make sure that the engines they design can be maintained with quality oils. This requires a lot of testing which is expensive, but can clearly demonstrate that an oil operates in the conditions that the engines were designed for. Also if you want to see Videos about how these tests are run, they are available.
On top of this there are also the extensive list of OEM credentials - which aren't designed to make one oil (say the one that meets them all) better than another. There is no all encompassing list of oils or method to rank and get the "Holy Grail" of engine oil technology. We aren't able to definitively say which oil is best because the market is always changing and no two vehicles are exactly alike. In fact if you read the Motor Oil University on the main page, we included a section all about that: Motor Oil 106
If you have questions about any of the above specifications, or others, I am happy to help out. I'm not always on the board, but when I am I will try to respond in this thread. There are also several others that are very knowledgeable about these specifications and would be able to chime in.