I'd use it if you could actually find it on the shelves that is. It shows they have actually taken the time and the money to have it Dexos licensed but evidently the 5w20 is not which doesn't make sense unless they want to push the 0w20 instead. I would think if the 5w20 would pass they would've licensed that one as well.
New Castrol GTX Full Synthetic?
- Thread starter Dave P.
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I can't wait for the next generation of intelligent molecules!
GM doesn’t recommend 5W20 in any of their current offerings so there’s no reason to get a Dexos license for that grade.
wemay
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Valvoline Synpower is an entry level synthetic.
What about stuff like SynPower XL-III 5W-30 ?
It carries ACEA C3, MB 229.51, BMW LL-04,Porsche C30, VW 504.00/507.00
Does make sense but what do those people do with the older vehicles that still want to use it? You'd think they'd phase it out overtime instead of dropping it cold turkey, evidently GM is still providing the license for 5w20 for both Dexos1 Gen 2 & 3. I found there is one company listed that has the license for Gen 3.
I know the link says Gen 2 but it's really the Gen 3 page.
I don’t understand what you’re saying about phasing it out over time? Phasing what out? GM hasn’t required/recommended 5W-20 for several years, an oil company can choose to have their 5W-20 Dexos approved, as several have, but apparently Castrol didn’t.
I am not 100% certain about this, but I believe if a blender gets approval for a 0W-20, it automatically receives approval for a 5W-20 through API base-oil interchangeability guidelines, as a 5W-20 base-oil is more stout than a 0W-20 base oil. If you notice the licenses in the dexos1 links provided above, it's the same approval number for different viscosity grades. 5W-20 is an allowed dexos1 viscosity grade regardless of what is recommended for a vehicle.
Moreover, again I'm not 100% certain, but I believe the way these approvals work is that for most oil blenders, there is no actual engine testing required. All they have to do is to buy an approved additive pack, such as this, which already underwent all the engine tests. All the blenders are then required to do is to use an allowable base oil with an equal or higher quality than the one the additive company used in their tests, according to the API base-oil interchangeability guidelines. Blenders such as ExxonMobil use their own additive packages instead of from a third-party, and therefore, they need to do and pay for all the required engine tests.
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I suspect that you are correct, but I too don't know for sure.
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I always figured it was about $$$$. That the manufacturers pay the oil companies big bucks to have their logos and approvals stamped on the motor oil containers. That's just a hunch on my part and I may be completely wrong.
Its the other way around. To an oil company its not big bucks. I don't know why they are complaining about such minimal cost.
It would not even cover the management and approval process of the Licensing.
GM Switches to Flat Fee on Dexos - Lubes'N'Greases
General Motors has switched the licensing fee on its Dexos global engine oil specification from a royalty on every gallon of Dexos sold to a flat annual fee based on an oil companys market share, a GM official confirmed to Lube Report. Originally, licensees were to have paid a $1,000 annual fee...
www.lubesngreases.com
The EPA CAFE award is specific to the grade and the winter rating. API Annex E doesn't have anything to do with it.
This is not correct. The Sequence VIE fuel-economy test isn't required if HTHS (for untested oil) ≤ original HTHS (for tested oil). See Page E-8 in the guide.
That’s not the same thing as what results in a CAFE award letter nor are the requirements the same. CAFE awards are specific to the grade and the winter rating.
I was talking about engine-testing and certification, which includes the engine test for fuel economy, in the subject of certification without engine-testing.
Why would an oil blender be given a "CAFE award letter?" CAFE only applies to automotive manufacturers, and it does not care about the oil but only the actual EPA fuel economy.
Corporate Average Fuel Economy | NHTSA
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You’re still going around in circles here. No the blender is not given the award letter. But the manufacturer is. And the terms of the letter specify a grade and a winter rating. There is no exception for what is stated in the letter.
Of course, the EPA numbers are only valid for the specced viscosity. I never said the opposite; so, I don't know why you brought this up. I was explaining the oil-certification process, which has nothing to do with the oil specs for specific vehicles.
It goes back to why GM may not list a 5W-20 in the manual. It's not about the technical aspects of base stock interchange it's about CAFE. If GM wants to list 5W-20 as a recommendation then it would have to be part of the CAFE certification. It's not about properties and Annex E interchange it's about money and the law.
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