A new standard of oil API SN and ILSAC GF-5 for better fuel economy and engine protection

Re: New standard of oil API SN and ILSAC GF-5 for better fuel economy and engine protection

Off topic: Can you buy Prius in Poland? I haven't seen any while I was in Poland last time. Small diesels seem to rule there.

 

Great! Anyone know of availability in 0W20 at big-chain auto stores or big boxes?

 

0W-20 has been seen at some Walmarts around the country.

Autozone shows M1 0W-20 on their website.

 

I did my first GF-5 (SN/Resource Conserving) oil change on my 1985 Toyota Corolla today! I used 5W-30 Pennzoil conventional. That, the Quaker State conventional, and FormulaShell conventional (all made by Sopus [Shell Oil Products US]) were the only GF-5 oils available at the auto store, as the manufacturing only started on October 1.

It's an exciting new quality grade, raising the fuel economy by at least 0.5% among stricter engine-protection and oil-durability requirements.

Another new exciting oil quality grade is the new GM dexos1. It imposes even stringer requirements on the fuel economy, requiring the use of the expensive molybdenum friction modifiers, and engine protection and oil durability.

The only GF-5 + dexos1 oils being made so far are the 5W-30 Pennzoil Platinum and 5W-30 Quaker State Advanced Durability, both full synthetics. I'm going to use the 5W-30 Pennzoil Platinum for my next oil change when it arrives in the auto stores.

Note that the only oil companies that agreed to make dexos1 oils are Exxon-Mobil (Mobil 1) and Shell (Pennzoil Platinum and Quaker State Advanced Durability). This is because the GM dexos1 requires the expensive molybdenum friction modifier (ultimate fuel economy) and also has a hefty royalty fee per quart.

GF-5 and dexos1 together = The ultimate in fuel economy, engine protection, and oil durability.

GF-5 and dexos1 together is only available in the 5W-30 grade because GM cars don't use the other grades. Therefore, the Prius and other hybrid drivers that use 5W-20 and 0W-20 oils will not be able to benefit from dexos1, which contain the expensive molybdenum friction modifiers that offer the ultimate in fuel economy and engine protection.


The only two must-have-both motor-oil certifications

 

It's good for Canadian drivers. Now, there is this 5W-30 in addition to Pennzoil Platinum 5W-30 and Quaker State Advanced Durability 5W-30, which meet both GF-5 and dexos1.

Note that Mobil 1 5W-30 meets dexos1 but not GF-5.

dexos1 and GF-5 together may boost the fuel economy by more than 1% -- a must-use 5W-30 oil for the ultimate in fuel economy.

Unfortunately dexos1 will not be available in the 5W-20 and 0W-20 grades for the Prius and other hybrid drivers to benefit from it because GM cars do not use these grades. Therefore, Prius drivers will only be able to get GF-5 but not the dexos1 oils, which contain the expensive molybdenum friction modifiers that offer the ultimate in fuel economy and engine protection.

 

Lets not get carried away with slick marketing scheme. Moly additives were utilized in engine oils for long time and especially common in many SM oils (when P limits were ratcheted down again). Perusing VOA and UOA threads on BITOG will show you that.

Oil Analysis Reports - Bob Is The Oil Guy

 

There are some companies that claim they have 0w-20 and/or 5W-20 oils that meet Dexos1 performance requirements. They haven't licensed them with GM, probably because there is no demand for them from GM products and manuals. Not licensing the xW-20 oils makes sense because few car owners will care if an oil meets Dexos1 if they aren't driving GM products.

 

It's partly marketing, sure, but then this is true with any product.

The reason they introduced dexos is because the ILSAC specs fall short of synthetic-oil specs and the synthetic-oil specs don't necessarily meet the latest ILSAC specs. It wouldn't make sense to say "get some synthetic oil that meets the ILSAC specs" because simply being synthetic doesn't make the oil good enough either. Therefore, introducing a simple spec -- dexos -- was the only thing that made sense.

It does raise the bar quite a bit over ILSAC but not in all areas. It's best to have the latest dexos and ILSAC specs at the same time. Sure, molybdenum disulphide has been around for a long time but dexos fuel-efficiency standards require much higher amounts than currently used, and moly sells for $25 per lb.

dexos will do surpass ILSAC especially in fuel economy but also in oil durability.

The downside is that it will only be available in 5W-30 in the near future -- good for older and some of the newer cars but not good for new Toyotas, Hondas, Ford, Nissan, and Chrysler. 5W-30 is also still being used by Hyundai, Subaru, etc. in their new cars.

By the way I am a huge fan of GM's chemical-standard innovations. GM DEXRON, the top-quality ATF was factory fill in Toyota automatic transmissions (such as the clockwork 4-speed Aisin-Warner ATM in my 85) until recently (when Toyota introduced their obscure spec). GM DEXCOOL coolant was another breakthrough introduction. So is dexos.

 

But again a claim doesn't mean anything and it's probably simply not valid. There would be little motivation for the oil manufacturer to spend extra $ on more moly to make the oil more fuel-efficient unless it's licensed for dexron1 by GM.

 

Actually, engine oils don't use molybdenum sulfide but rather organic moly compounds.

If one is looking for higher quality oils, ECEA rated oils is a good bet as ECEA testing is more rigorous than API.

I'm surprised you brought up Dexcool that is also known as Deathcool.

 

Dexos1 isn't a recipe, it's a performance standard that doesn't seem very difficult to meet with a synthetic oil.

Thanks for the laugh about Dexcool. It's the perfect coolant for anyone who believe they deserve a sledged cooling system if they have a leaky radiator cap.

 

This is absolutely correct and that's what makes it a true spec. dexos' main goal is to bring a fair game field between conventional and synthetic oils, without referring to complicated and obscure European standards (ACEA). Indeed, a good synthetic oil with sufficient friction modifiers should be easily able to meet both dexos and GF-5. Mobil1 meets dexos but can't meet GF-5. The same is true for AC Delco (which is Mobil 1 I think). Pennzoil Platinum meets both standards.

Here are good reads on dexos:

National Oil & Lube News magazine
JobbersWorld magazine

Regarding DEX-COOL, if you were using the Prestone brand, you were fine. Prestone introduced the revolutionary organic-acid technology and patented it, which is now standard in any good-quality coolant, DEX-COOL-licensed or not. There it was either the other coolant manufacturers (Texaco Havoline probably) or car owners who screwed up. I would never use any brand other than Prestone. I think the Prestone DEX-COOL and "All Makes" formulations are identical except for the licensing.

 

And finally Pennzoil Platinum Full Synthetic with ILSAC GF-5 (API Service SN, Resource Conserving) arrives in Autozone!



The Web site says 5W-30 is fully approved for GM dexos1 but no hint of it can be found on the label. Go figure.

This is great motor oil. Run to Autozone and get some full-synthetic GF-5 oil to boost your fuel economy.

Happy oil changes!

 

Did I get it correctly that you recommend 5W30 over 0W20 to save on fuel?

I would wait for GF-5 0W20 to get excited about.

 

Nope, I recommend 5W-30 only for those whose engines use 5W-30, like mine.