Japanese OEM oils

[Primus]

Searching an info about performance of 0W-20 oils here at BITOG I was often finding some confusing and misleading info about manufacturers of Japanese OEMs oils. So, I decided to make my contribution that may help a little bit:

Code:
OIL 0W-20 Honda Subary Toyota Mazda Nissan Idemitsu

Ultra Leo GoldenEco StrongSave-X ZeproEcoMedalist*

SM SN SM SM SN SM SL SM SM

Base oil ……………………………… HC - HC HC - HC SS SS VHVI

Viscosity @40°C ……………… 40.2 34.6 51.1 41.5 37.4 38.5 38.6 61.8 38.5

Viscosity @100°C ………… 8.7 7.6 10.3 8.8 8.3 8.4 8.5 10.6 8.5

Visc.Index ………………………… 203 - - 198 171 158 208 163 206

Kyn.Visc.@-30C ……………… 3651 - - - 5987 - - - -

FP(COC)°C …………………………… 202 225 215 210 227 230 209 214 228

PP,°C ……………………………………… -47 - -40 -50 - -42 -49 -39 -50

Density @20°C ………………… 847 840 848 853 850 850 847 850 853

TBN …………………………………………… 5.68 6.49 6.51 5.53 7.01 5.54 5.78 5.23 7.87

Ash, % …………………………………… 0.89 0.87 0.87 1.05 0.87 1.08 1.02 0.82 -

Phosphorus, % ……………………… - 0.053 - - 0.057 - - - -

Manufacturer ………………………… 1 2 1 3 3 1 4 5 1





1 - Idemitsu Kosan Co.

2 - JX Nippon Oil & Energy Corporation

3 - ExxonMobil Yugen Kaisha

4 - Nisseki Mitsubishi Kabushiki Gaisya

5 - Nisseki Mitsubishi Co.



HONDA

ULTRA LEO SN 0W20 ............................... JX Nippon Oil & Energy Corporation

ULTRA LTD SN 5w30 .............................. JX Nippon Oil & Energy Corporation

ULTRA MILD SN 10w30............................. JX Nippon Oil & Energy Corporation

ULTRA GOLD SN 5W-40 ............................. JX Nippon Oil & Energy Corporation



ULTRA LEO SM 0W20 ............................... Idemitsu Kosan Co.

ULTRA GREEN SM 0W20 ............................. (Idemitsu Kosan Co. ?)

ULTRA LTD SM 5w30 .............................. Idemitsu Kosan Co.

ULTRA MILD SM 10w30............................. Shinihon Sekiyou Co.(Nippon Oil Corporation)

ULTRA GOLD SM 5W-40 ............................. Shinihon Sekiyou Co.(Nippon Oil Corporation)



MUGEN REV-R 5W-40 ............................... Idemitsu Kosan Co.



MAZDA

Golden Eco SM 0W-20 ............................. Idemitsu Kosan Co.

Golden SM 5W-20 ................................. Japan Energy Kabusiki Kaisha

Golden SM 5w30 ................................. Japan Energy Kabusiki Kaisha

MAZDA SPEED SPORTS OIL A-spec. SM 5W-40 ......... Japan Energy Kabusiki Kaisha





MITSUBISHI

Lubrolen SM-X 5w30 ............................. Aoki Science Institute Co.

Lubrolen SM-X 10w30 ............................ Aoki Science Institute Co.

Lubrolen SL-X 10w30 ............................ Aoki Science Institute Co.



NISSAN

EXTRA SAVE-X 0W-20 SM ........................... Nisseki Mitsubishi Co.

EXTRA SAVE-X 5w30 SM ........................... Showa Shell Sekiyu Kabushiki Gaisha

STRONG SAVE-X E Special 5w30 SM ................ ?



ENDURANCE 10W-50 SM ............................. Showa Shell Sekiju Co



STRONG SAVE-X OW-20 SL .......................... Nisseki Mitsubishi Kabushiki Gaisha (Nippon Oil Corporation?)

STRONG SAVE-X M Special 5w30 SL ................ ?

NISMO VERUSPEED SL 5W40 100% SYNTHETIC .......... ? (Nissan Motor & Sport Corporation Co.)



EXTRA SAVE-X 10w30 SJ .......................... Showa Shell Sekiyu Kabushiki Gaisha



SUBARU

SUBARU SM 0W-20 .......... ...................... Idemitsu Kosan Co.

SUBARU SM 5w30 ......... ....................... Idemitsu Kosan Co.



TOYOTA

Toyota SN OW-20 ................................. ExxonMobil Yugen Kaisha

Toyota SN 5W-20 ................................. Esso Sekiyu Yugen Kaisha

Toyota SN 5w30 ................................. ExxonMobil Yugen Kaisha

Toyota SN 10w30 ................................ ExxonMobil Yugen Kaisha



Toyota SM OW-20 ................................. ExxonMobil Yugen Kaisha

Toyota SM 5W-20 ................................. Esso Sekiyu Yugen Kaisha

Toyota SM 5w30 ................................. ExxonMobil Yugen Kaisha

CASTLE SM 5w30 ................................. ExxonMobil Yugen Kaisha

CASTLE SM 10w30 ................................ ExxonMobil Yugen Kaisha





Toyota SL 5W-20 ................................. Esso Sekiyu Yugen Kaisha

Castle SL 5W-20 ................................. Esso Sekiyu Yugen Kaisha

Toyota SL 5w30 ................................. Nippon Oil Corporation

CASTLE SL 5w30 ................................. Nippon Oil Corporation

Toyota SL 10w30 ................................ Nippon Oil Corporation

CASTLE SL 10w30 ................................ Nippon Oil Corporation



Some values are rounded off.

 

[buster]

Hi Primus, thanks for sharing that. I wonder if the Japanese formulation of the 0w20 is different than the U.S. version? VI of 171 is a lot lower than the 216 that was reporter here via a VOA.

 

[Quattro Pete]

According to SAE J300, an Xw-20 oil should have 100C viscosity of no more than 9.3, so how can the Subaru and the Nissan oils be 0w-20?

 

[buster]

The VI of 171 is on par with the Mobil 1 0w20.

 

[Primus]

Hi friends,
Except Idemitsu which is PDS all data came from homologation protocols. I wonder too, but I am afraid there were no lab errors. I will try to check somehow.

 

[Pablo]

Are these actual analyses or as reported on datasheets/websites?

 

[Primus]

Data on Zepro Eco Medalist 0W-20 is provided by Idemitsu, all others are provided by an importer based on homologation protocols. I can add nothing for the moment. Now it's 4:38, so it's time to sleep a couple of hours. Sorry.

 

[CATERHAM]

Thanks for posting.
Very interesting as to what's available in Europe.
The one Japanese company that doesn't sell oil in NA is Nisseki Mitsubishi. Mitsubishi uses Idemitsu for their 0W-20 over here.

 

[Primus]

Originally Posted By: buster
I wonder if the Japanese formulation of the 0w20 is different than the U.S. version? VI of 171 is a lot lower than the 216 that was reporter here via a VOA.

Hi Buster,
Sorry not to reply at once. Writing a post so early morning after hours of gathering pieces together, cross-checking and in addition making this info readable I was really exhausted. As for your question, like many others I may only guess. Most likely today many formulations are very close. I don't see real reasons why the US stuff should be better or worse than that in Japan. Well, operation conditions vary, but in fact only logistic issues and traditions could have an impact and bring some slight deviations. Some manufacturers in N.America could use more expensive stuff like, for example, in SM 0W-20 Honda Ultimate Full Synthetic (silver bottle with blue stripe) or Mazda Energy Conserving Full Synthetic, but we don’t know it for 100 %. Besides, as I understand availability of these oils is reduced now. Once I already gave here a link to European Honda 0W-20 MSDS made by Total and it is not 100% synthetic. Similar situation with Toyota 0W-20 in Japan . Unlike Toyota Japanese Mobil 1 0W-20 is a blend of gr.IV and gr.III
As for viscosity index, it is an important value, but to my view it should not be a key factor in oil rating. Besides, “our” measurements may differ from those made by manufacturer itself. For example, according to TACTI presention Toyota Castle SM 0W-20 had the following properties:

Viscosity @40°C ............................. 43.3
Viscosity @100°C ............................. 8.9
Viscosity Index ............................... 193
FP(COC),°C ................................... 200
PP,°C ......................................... -42.5

If you could notice all Japanese 0W-20 brands use hydrocracked base stock. It may differ by quality, contain some other base stocks, but primarily it’s HC. And this is openly declared by manufacturers. Toyota SN 0W-20 is not an exception and I will add this point to the table also correcting my misprint with Honda SN viscosity @100°C. Seems with 5W-20/30 and 10w30 they go even further (down). In fact, if not to take oils which may be considered special for JDM the majority of Japanese OEM oils are mineral oils. This is how they are perceived in Japan. Unlike VI I would be more sceptic as for indicated Pour Points. If they show -35-42°C, it would be OK, but not -47-50°C. To my view it’s too optimistic.

 

[Primus]

The main purpose of my post was to provide BITOG community with more info about who is who. The info about properties of 0W-20 was a bonus. So, don’t blame me. I corrected Honda SN viscosity @100°C and added type of base stock with Toyota SN. This morning I aslo tried to get clarifications from the importer and the lab's head, but people was already going to leave job - after all 9 hours difference with Vladivistok. Nevertheless, both promised to check docs though without a big enthusiasm. Such unexpected call from unknown person and questions related to problems usually put our people on alert and they start to search for ulterior motives.

Code:
OIL 0W-20 Honda Subary Toyota Mazda Nissan Idemitsu

Ultra Leo GoldenEco StrongSave-X ZeproEcoMedalist*

SM SN SM SM SN SM SL SM SM

Base oil ……………………………… HC - HC HC HC HC SS SS VHVI

Viscosity @40°C ……………… 40.2 39.6 51.1 41.5 37.4 38.5 38.6 61.8 38.5

Viscosity @100°C ………… 8.7 7.6 10.3 8.8 8.3 8.4 8.5 10.6 8.5

Visc.Index ………………………… 203 - - 198 171 158 208 163 206

Kyn.Visc.@-30C ……………… 3651 - - - 5987 - - - -

FP(COC)°C …………………………… 202 225 215 210 227 230 209 214 228

PP,°C ……………………………………… -47 - -40 -50 - -42 -49 -39 -50

Density @20°C ………………… 847 840 848 853 850 850 847 850 853

TBN …………………………………………… 5.68 6.49 6.51 5.53 7.01 5.54 5.78 5.23 7.87

Ash, % …………………………………… 0.89 0.87 0.87 1.05 0.87 1.08 1.02 0.82 -

Phosphorus, % ……………………… - 0.053 - - 0.057 - - - -

Manufacturer ………………………… 1 2 1 3 3 1 4 5 1

 

[Primus]

Originally Posted By: CATERHAM
Very interesting as to what's available in Europe.


You may meet these oils in Eastern Europe only and even here they are not widely available. They firstly appeared in Far East region of Russia and then permeated slowly into the west and then to other CIS countries. Far East region lives its own life: in the country where left-hand driving is addopted 80-85% is using right-hand cars from Japan. Right-hand ambulances are not uncommon too. In the past there were aslo police cars. So, it's seems quite logic that they have started to use oils from Japan.

 

[Garak]

Originally Posted By: Primus
The main purpose of my post was to provide BITOG community with more info about who is who.


Thanks for all your hard work, Primus. I was always curious what was used in Nissan in Japan, anyhow. Is what you listed used as factory fill in the Japanese produced Nissans and Infinitis?

Service fill for Nissan and Infiniti dealerships in Canada is Mobil Super 1000 conventional, Mobil Super 2000 semi-synthetic high mileage, and Mobil 1, with 5w30 usage pretty much across the board.

 

[dparm]

Garak, in the US it seems to vary from dealer-to-dealer, but our local Infiniti dealer has been using Pennzoil Platinum 5w30 for many years.

 

[buster]

Thanks Primus!!!

 

[Garak]

Originally Posted By: dparm
Garak, in the US it seems to vary from dealer-to-dealer, but our local Infiniti dealer has been using Pennzoil Platinum 5w30 for many years.


That's interesting to know. Mobil Super 1000 is a quality oil, but it's far from the ideal choice for a Saskatchewan winter if one is choosing 5w30s.

Up here, they even have posters at all the dealers, with the Mobil and Infiniti logos prominently displayed, showing the conventional and synthetic lineups. It's actually a pretty good looking poster. They need to give me one for my garage. The poster and the G won't know that there's actually Pennzoil Conventional in the sump, anyhow.

The nasty thing is that they charge more for a conventional oil change up here (i.e. $70) than an Infiniti dealer probably would for synthetic down there.

 

[dparm]

Last I checked, my folks are getting charged about $70-80 for a syn change at the dealer. Both have VQ35-powered cars (DE, HR variants).

 

[Primus]

Originally Posted By: Garak
Is what you listed used as factory fill in the Japanese produced Nissans and Infinitis?


Hi Garak,
To my regret I would not risk to ensure you for 100%, but from logic point of view oils of equal grades and application for service and factory fill should be the same. It think it's easier and more cost effective for both parties.

Day before yesterday spoke with true lab's head - very nice guy. He said viscosity @100°C over 10 with 0W-20 was an evident misprint at distrubutor's page because these oils could not get a certificate of conformity. He kindly suggested to call him in mid day so that he could retrieve original protocols and check true values. Unfortunately I couldn't because of time difference, but when I called him my morning he already left the office. Anyway, I will find a time to reach him and get more info. Right now I feel guilty not to check such suspicious values before posting.

 

[dparm]

I don't remember, is Nissan using break-in oils?

 

[Garak]

Originally Posted By: Primus
To my regret I would not risk to ensure you for 100%, but from logic point of view oils of equal grades and application for service and factory fill should be the same. It think it's easier and more cost effective for both parties.


Thanks for the info. It makes sense to me, especially since my G was assembled in Japan.

@dparm: As for special break in oils, it's possible, but I've seen no indication of it in anything I've read. I don't think I've seen any used oil analysis of factory fills, but there's nothing in the manuals warning people to not change the factory fill early, either, for whatever that's worth.

 

[Primus]

One important detail as for TBN of oils indicated in the table: Russian lab tested OEM oils using ASTM D4739 that gives about 15% less value than ASTM-D2896. Idemitsu TBN is measured as per ASTM-D2896. I discovered this thanks to series of articals on oils prepared by BMW enthusiast who is also a technical director of one of technical centers. This center makes quite sophisticated diagnostics like high resolution video-endoscopy, vacuum diagnostics of cylinder-piston group, wideband audiospectrometry, vibration acceleration study, but recently they ordered VOA of oils from different well-known manufacturers and regions. Articals are in Russian, but test protocols are easy to read:

VOAs - Part I
VOAs - Part II
VOAs - Part III

Very interesting comments, but translation of texts from Russian to English by actual engines is usually horrible.