A3 requirements

[haley10]

I went to Castrol's website and found all their oils meet A3 except 5-30 and 10-30 (Syntec).

Is this all that relevant, since 5-50 meets it??
Since 5-30 and 10-30 are North American grades, maybe it's not worthwhile to test??

I hear a lot about A3, but what does it mean??

 

[jason07-1zzfe]

One thing is for sure, their HTHS is too low for them to meet it.

http://www.acea.be/ACEA/20020618PublicationsOilSequences.pdf

 

[haley10]

I think high HT/HS is a good thing generally, but this argument never-ending.

American and Japanese engines work fine with oils not meeting this spec.

Bogus Euro stuff.

 

[TR3-2001SE]

I think it is something that was good at some point in time but now the oils are so good that the A3 spec. is about as necessary as having windows 95 on your computer.

 

[Patman]

quote:

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Originally posted by TR3-2001SE:
I think it is something that was good at some point in time but now the oils are so good that the A3 spec. is about as necessary as having windows 95 on your computer.

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Hey, I'm still running Windows 98!

 

[moribundman]

Sure, new oil lower HTHS oil may be fine for engines that were designed with that oil in mind. Ye those oils are not optimal in engine that require better protection at high operating temperatures. Sure, you can't compare driving 130 mph (high load due to air resistance) for half an hour or longer to cruising at 70 mph. I think that's why most drivers can get away with using lower HTHS oil in Nort America, as long as they don't track the car. Just ask yourself, why do European and Japanese makers routinely specify different viscosities and in other parts of the world? I'd rather use the oil my engine was designed for.

[ January 13, 2004, 05:30 PM: Message edited by: moribundman ]

 

[Tones]

Agreed. These kind of standards are what has forced oil companies to improve their formulations to prove they can go the distance. As the spec. in the link above specifies, the A3 designation is a series of tests that proves the oil can stay in grade for high performance engines and/or longer durations. None of Castrol's dinos state they meet the spec. The only 30 weight Syntec that makes the cut is the 0W-30, which we know is full synthetic.

As far as American and Japanese cars working fine without meeting it, it has been mentioned before that it is due to the fact that in America,

people rarely go over 5k miles without changing oil--and if they do, we look at 'em funny. Are you going 10k mile OCIs on dinos?

 

[haley10]

Patman, that's why you're able to make so many posts. hehe

 

[Patman]

quote:

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Originally posted by haley10:
Patman, that's why you're able to make so many posts. hehe

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Actually the real reason is because I'm a robot!

 

[Dr. T]

In order for an oil to be A3, it needs to have a HT/HS of 3.5 or greater. It is a worthwhile spec because it spells out a film desired film strength under high temperature and shear conditions.

This is a European spec'd entity because there has been problems with using A1 oils in these cars as they are designed to undergo 10k oil change intervals.