I read somewhere on the internet that Euro spec oils were designed for engine performance, protection, and longevity where as American spec oils were only concerned about energy conservation or gas mileage. Is there any truth to this? I'm not sure about Japanese oils, but I love Yamalube!
Euro spec oils vs North American
- Thread starter magicbeers
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Sounds like you've heard yet another case of people turning shades of grey into black and white. 
The Euro specs that get a lot of attention on the Internet do seem to put more emphasis on performance under high temp, high stress conditions. Most American and Japanese oil specs tend to be milder and focused more on emissions and fuel economy. But Euro brands do care about fuel economy, just as American and Japanese brands care about longevity and performance. This is about more vs. less, not all-or-nothing.
Keep in mind the cars' target audiences. Most of the European cars we see are German and built for high performance. Most of the American and Japanese cars we see are designed for people who just want to dawdle to work and back. The cars and the oil specs are designed accordingly.
And, of course, there are exceptions. Honda's HTO-06 spec is one of the toughest around, at least in terms of high temp deposit prevention. GM's long-drain specs are fairly serious, as well.
Hope that makes sense.
The Euro specs that get a lot of attention on the Internet do seem to put more emphasis on performance under high temp, high stress conditions. Most American and Japanese oil specs tend to be milder and focused more on emissions and fuel economy. But Euro brands do care about fuel economy, just as American and Japanese brands care about longevity and performance. This is about more vs. less, not all-or-nothing.
Keep in mind the cars' target audiences. Most of the European cars we see are German and built for high performance. Most of the American and Japanese cars we see are designed for people who just want to dawdle to work and back. The cars and the oil specs are designed accordingly.
And, of course, there are exceptions. Honda's HTO-06 spec is one of the toughest around, at least in terms of high temp deposit prevention. GM's long-drain specs are fairly serious, as well.
Hope that makes sense.One also must remember that European drain intervals would make even some of the long drain proponents here blush.
Originally Posted By: magicbeers
I read somewhere on the internet that Euro spec oils were designed for engine performance, protection, and longevity where as American spec oils were only concerned about energy conservation or gas mileage. Is there any truth to this? I'm not sure about Japanese oils, but I love Yamalube!
Originally Posted By: d00df00d
Sounds like you've heard yet another case of people turning shades of grey into black and white.
The Euro specs that get a lot of attention on the Internet do seem to put more emphasis on performance under high temp, high stress conditions. Most American and Japanese oil specs tend to be milder and focused more on emissions and fuel economy. But Euro brands do care about fuel economy, just as American and Japanese brands care about longevity and performance. This is about more vs. less, not all-or-nothing.
Keep in mind the cars' target audiences. Most of the European cars we see are German and built for high performance. Most of the American and Japanese cars we see are designed for people who just want to dawdle to work and back. The cars and the oil specs are designed accordingly.
And, of course, there are exceptions. Honda's HTO-06 spec is one of the toughest around, at least in terms of high temp deposit prevention. GM's long-drain specs are fairly serious, as well.
Hope that makes sense.
The Euro specs that get a lot of attention on the Internet do seem to put more emphasis on performance under high temp, high stress conditions. Most American and Japanese oil specs tend to be milder and focused more on emissions and fuel economy. But Euro brands do care about fuel economy, just as American and Japanese brands care about longevity and performance. This is about more vs. less, not all-or-nothing.
Keep in mind the cars' target audiences. Most of the European cars we see are German and built for high performance. Most of the American and Japanese cars we see are designed for people who just want to dawdle to work and back. The cars and the oil specs are designed accordingly.
And, of course, there are exceptions. Honda's HTO-06 spec is one of the toughest around, at least in terms of high temp deposit prevention. GM's long-drain specs are fairly serious, as well.
Hope that makes sense.Originally Posted By: Garak
One also must remember that European drain intervals would make even some of the long drain proponents here blush.
Originally Posted By: mcallister
Not uncommon for the european folks to go 12-15K.
ok, our peugeot 1.6 has a 30000 km/18000mi oci, or one year. No one questions that and if someone are a few months late, no questions asked. I read bitog and do some extra changes when new just to calm my senses, but really not necessary.
But look at the lubrizol performance charts; check api sm and the just about any euro spec and you will probably see a bigger performance area, a lot bigger.
http://sas-origin.onstreammedia.com/origin/lubrizol/EOACEA2009/RPTOOL2010Dep/rp/pc/index.html
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: lars11
ok, our peugeot 1.6 has a 30000 km/18000mi oci, or one year. No one questions that and if someone are a few months late, no questions asked. I read bitog and do some extra changes when new just to calm my senses, but really not necessary.
But look at the lubrizol performance charts; check api sm and the just about any euro spec and you will probably see a bigger performance area, a lot bigger.
http://sas-origin.onstreammedia.com/origin/lubrizol/EOACEA2009/RPTOOL2010Dep/rp/pc/index.html
lars11 is right. According to the lubrizol spider chart tool he cited the URL for 2 posts above, THE toughest standard for wear and deposits together is the Porsche C30 (same as VW 504/507), so any oil meeting that must be a synthetic of the best kind. I'm considering using Pennzoil Ultra Euro L 5w-30, as it should be closely related to the Ferrari factory fill and Helio Castroneves indycar race oil, and of course carries the VW 504/507 Porsche C30 spec.
.....factory Ferrari fill is VW 502.
Originally Posted By: dbrowne1
Originally Posted By: felixthecat
.....factory Ferrari fill is VW 502.
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: felixthecat
Originally Posted By: dbrowne1
Originally Posted By: felixthecat
.....factory Ferrari fill is VW 502.
Originally Posted By: felixthecat
Originally Posted By: dbrowne1
Originally Posted By: felixthecat
.....factory Ferrari fill is VW 502.
Originally Posted By: dbrowne1
Originally Posted By: felixthecat
Originally Posted By: dbrowne1
Originally Posted By: felixthecat
.....factory Ferrari fill is VW 502.
Originally Posted By: d00df00d
Originally Posted By: felixthecat
Originally Posted By: dbrowne1
Originally Posted By: felixthecat
.....factory Ferrari fill is VW 502.
Originally Posted By: felixthecat
Maybe we should tell Ferrari to use VW 504/507 oils.
I realize VW 502 specs have a norrow scope, but it does not change the fact that it is the VW spec that is "more like" Ferrari,BMW LL01 and MB 229.5 specs.
Interestingly the newest oil released by Castrol is Castrol Edge Ow-40 with FST ( Fluid Strenght Tecnology)
It is A3 / B4 (having dropped ACEA C2/C3 specs of their previous formulation) and VW 502
http://castroledge.de/motorenole/
Ferrari factory fill in the United States is Pennzoil Ultra Euro 5w-40, which also meets all the tougest European specs like VW 504/507, Porsche C30, and Mercedes. and Helio Castroneves uses it in his indycar race cars off-the-shelf. Also, Lubrizol engineers say the VW 504/507 has the best "wear" specs.
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