Really looking for some input on this one. I have been talking to oil industry people over the last couple of weeks about European OEM approved oils. I have looked at quite a few product data sheets and oil analysis of many the usual brands and while they all seem acceptable they all appear much the same in formulation. Not finding products that really stand out from the crowd. Here is how the approval process has been explained to me. So Infinium, Afton and Lubrizol have the formulations for various OEM motor oils. All formulations are on the minimum requirement side and very close in formulation. Any company seeking an OEM approval simply purchases one of these formulations and pays the OEM the $25,000 or so and Wala they are on the company website as an approved motor oil. The process of a company certifying a unique formulation on their own has been described to me as either not possible or far too expensive to venture into. If in fact this basic process as I outlined is correct then I see value in this process for creating peace of mind and confidence that a product meets minimum requirements. What bothers me though is that consumers and repair facilities interpret these approvals as a stamp of superior quality and that is not the case. Companies making far superior and Unique products are often stigmatized. A friend of mine recently took a vehicle into a repair facility with a very high end PAO oil that outperforms the OEM fill in every way and ended up in a ridiculous argument that use of this fluid would void the warranty. I’m not sure how you fix the system but it seems The current one does not encourage creativity and innovation in the market.