The European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association issued a revision to its 2016 European oil sequences last week, ahead of the anticipated release of the new 2018 iteration at the end of the year.
ACEA’s oil sequences are a set of standards that establish a minimum quality level for engine oils used by the association’s members – 16 automakers that do business in Europe. Some member companies require additional, more stringent performance parameters on top of ACEA’s.
Last week’s revision includes the new CEC L-107-19 test evaluating the ability of engine oils to prevent sludge formation in crankcases. It replaces the Daimler M271 test and is now part of the specifications for A/B class passenger car motor oils and C class motor oils compatible with engines equipped with catalysts used to control emissions. The revision also includes an update to ASTM D892, which tests for an engine oil’s tendency to foam, ACEA explained in a press release.
The association aims to publish a more extensive update to its engine oil sequences, its first major one since 2016, by the end of 2020, but it decided to make these changes now, an ACEA employee told Lube Report via email.
“Several test methods were not ready, so we decided to wait – hence the delays with the next release, now foreseen [by] end-2020,” Paul Greening, ACEA’s emissions and fuels director, told Lube Report via email. “However, the new L107 test became available and, since the oil and additive industries preferred a new version release, we agreed to formally release [it]. The change … in the ASTM D892 method is a minor update,” Greening told Lube Report.
The more extensive update was originally scheduled to be adopted by the end of 2018, but it was held up by delays to the completion of its North American counterpart GF-6, devised by the International Lubricants Standardization and Advisory Committee. The 2018 ACEA sequences include several engine tests developed by ILSAC for GF-6.