A1 Fuel economy petrol
A2 Standard performance level (now obsolete)
A3 High performance and/or extended drain
A4 Reserved for future use in certain direct injection engines
A5 Combines A1 fuel economy with A3 performance
B1 Fuel economy diesel
B2 Standard performance level (now obsolete)
B3 High performance and/or extended drain
B4 For direct injection car diesel engines
B5 Combines B1 fuel economy with B3/B4 performance
C1-04 Petrol and Light duty Diesel engines, based on A5/B5-04 low SAPS, two way catalyst compatible.
C2-04 Petrol and light duty Diesel engines, based on A5/B5-04 mid SAPS, two way catalyst compatible.
C3-04 Petrol and light duty Diesel engines, based on A5/B5-04 mid SAPS, two way catalyst compatible, Higher performance levels due to higher HTHS.
Note: SAPS = Sulphated Ash, Phosphorous and Sulphur.
Put simply, A3/B3, A5/B5 and C3 oils are the better quality, stay in grade performance oils.
APPROVALS
Many oils mention various Car Manufacturers on the bottle, the most common in the UK being VW, MB, BMW, Ford or Vauxhall but do not be misled into thinking that you are buying top quality oil because of this.
Oil Companies send their oils to OEM’s for approval however some older specs are easily achieved and can be done so with the cheapest of mineral oils. Newer specifications are always more up to date and better quality/performance than the older ones.
Some of the older OEM specifications are listed here and depending on the performance level of your car are best ignored if you are looking for a quality high performance oil:
VW – 500.00, 501.00 and 505.00
Later specs like 503, 504, 506 and 507 are better performing more up to date oils
MB – 229.1
Later specs like 229.3 and 229.5 are better performing more up to date oils.
BMW – LL98
Later specs like LL01 and LL04 are better performing more up to date oils.
FINALLY
Above is the most accurate guidance we can give without going into too much depth however there is one final piece of advice regarding labelling.
Certain statements are made on labels that are meaningless and just marketing hype, here are a few to avoid!
Recommended for use where……………
May be used where the following specifications apply……………
Approved by………………………..(but with no qualification or specification)
Recommended/Approved by (some famous person, these endorsements are paid for)
Racing/Track formula (but with no supporting evidence)
Also be wary of statements like “synthetic blend” if you are looking for a fully synthetic oil as this will merely be a semi-synthetic.
Like everything in life, you get what you pay for. The cheaper the oil the cheaper the ingredients, lower the performance levels and older the specs it meets so beware!
If you would like further advice then please feel free to ask here or contact us via our website or email.
Guy
www.opieoils.co.uk
