Hello everyone,
I've been already asking if low saps oils are any good for the engines where they were not specifically demanded to be used by manufacture.
The general answer I got on this forum is that since this is low saps oil, it will do a worse engine wear protection than ACEA A3/B4.
However, if I compare on lubrizol https://www.lubrizol.com/apps/relperftool/pc.html these specifications (ACEA 2012) I can see that ACEA C3 has the same engine wear protection as ACEA A3/B4 (index 6) however it outperforms A3/B4 on fuel economy, oxidation thickening and catalyser protection.
http://pasteboard.co/2gGbz30U.png
I can also see that Castrol is not selling in Europe 5W-30 viscosity (which is quite popular) with ACEA A3/B4 only. Instead they sell Castrol EDGE FST 5W-30 ACEA C3 here.
Does it mean that Castrol is moving away from A3/B4 towards C3? Is there any criteria why A3/B4 may be better than C3?
I read somewhere that if you live in area where fuel has high sulphar quantities A3/B4 is better, I wonder if this is true or not.
The reason I am asking is because all my cars allow ACEA A3/B4 or ACEA C3, however I choose A3/B4 thinking it will do a better engine wear protection. Now, I can see that this is not necessary the truth ...
Another thing which worry me is that if I take Valvoline SynPower oils for example, I can see that:
- ACEA A3/B4 Valvoline oil is called "Valvoline SynPower 5W-30"
- ACEA C3 Valvoline oil is called "Valvoline SynPower Xtreme XL-III 5W–30"
It looks like they use the word "xtreme" with ACEA C3 which I guess means it has some better protection in extreme conditions?
Overall, I am trying to determine if I should switch to C3 oils in my next oil change ...
I've been already asking if low saps oils are any good for the engines where they were not specifically demanded to be used by manufacture.
The general answer I got on this forum is that since this is low saps oil, it will do a worse engine wear protection than ACEA A3/B4.
However, if I compare on lubrizol https://www.lubrizol.com/apps/relperftool/pc.html these specifications (ACEA 2012) I can see that ACEA C3 has the same engine wear protection as ACEA A3/B4 (index 6) however it outperforms A3/B4 on fuel economy, oxidation thickening and catalyser protection.
http://pasteboard.co/2gGbz30U.png
I can also see that Castrol is not selling in Europe 5W-30 viscosity (which is quite popular) with ACEA A3/B4 only. Instead they sell Castrol EDGE FST 5W-30 ACEA C3 here.
Does it mean that Castrol is moving away from A3/B4 towards C3? Is there any criteria why A3/B4 may be better than C3?
I read somewhere that if you live in area where fuel has high sulphar quantities A3/B4 is better, I wonder if this is true or not.
The reason I am asking is because all my cars allow ACEA A3/B4 or ACEA C3, however I choose A3/B4 thinking it will do a better engine wear protection. Now, I can see that this is not necessary the truth ...
Another thing which worry me is that if I take Valvoline SynPower oils for example, I can see that:
- ACEA A3/B4 Valvoline oil is called "Valvoline SynPower 5W-30"
- ACEA C3 Valvoline oil is called "Valvoline SynPower Xtreme XL-III 5W–30"
It looks like they use the word "xtreme" with ACEA C3 which I guess means it has some better protection in extreme conditions?
Overall, I am trying to determine if I should switch to C3 oils in my next oil change ...
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