S
SkyPup
Guest
Unlike North America, the passenger car engine oils market in Europe has several distinct tiers of performance. The
performance claims, viscosity grade, and type of base stock used differentiate these. A major part of the market is
driven primarily by ACEA performance requirements. A large portion of this market is driven by SAE 10W-40
products claiming ACEA A3/B3 along with some OEM requirements, such as VW 500 (though now obsolete) and
505, which are similar to this performance level. A higher tier of products are typically considered to be ‘semisynthetic’
and normally are 5W-40 or 5W-30 products. These products claim ACEA performance but also add a
number of upper tier OEM approvals such as BMW, Porsche, and DaimlerChrylser. Finally, at the top of the market
are fully synthetic products that are now moving to grades such as 0W-40. A distinguishing feature of almost all of
these products is the maintenance of a high temperature high shear rate (HTHS) viscosity of 3.5 cP in order to meet
the majority of European OEM requirements.
In addition to consumer products, a recent phenomenon is the development of OEM-specific factory fill lubricants
meeting the unique requirements of the OEM. What distinguishes these new generation factory fill oils is that they
are focusing on providing top level performance designed specifically for the OEM’s engine. The first generations
of these oils have been low viscosity products with reduced HTHS viscosity in order to improve fuel economy. The
current Volkswagen TDI factory fill specification 521.73 is an example of such oil. This VW OEM requirement specifies a
high performance 0W-30 for factory fill purposes. Both Mercedes Benz and Opel are also targeting similar specific
high performance fluids for factory fill application,
performance claims, viscosity grade, and type of base stock used differentiate these. A major part of the market is
driven primarily by ACEA performance requirements. A large portion of this market is driven by SAE 10W-40
products claiming ACEA A3/B3 along with some OEM requirements, such as VW 500 (though now obsolete) and
505, which are similar to this performance level. A higher tier of products are typically considered to be ‘semisynthetic’
and normally are 5W-40 or 5W-30 products. These products claim ACEA performance but also add a
number of upper tier OEM approvals such as BMW, Porsche, and DaimlerChrylser. Finally, at the top of the market
are fully synthetic products that are now moving to grades such as 0W-40. A distinguishing feature of almost all of
these products is the maintenance of a high temperature high shear rate (HTHS) viscosity of 3.5 cP in order to meet
the majority of European OEM requirements.
In addition to consumer products, a recent phenomenon is the development of OEM-specific factory fill lubricants
meeting the unique requirements of the OEM. What distinguishes these new generation factory fill oils is that they
are focusing on providing top level performance designed specifically for the OEM’s engine. The first generations
of these oils have been low viscosity products with reduced HTHS viscosity in order to improve fuel economy. The
current Volkswagen TDI factory fill specification 521.73 is an example of such oil. This VW OEM requirement specifies a
high performance 0W-30 for factory fill purposes. Both Mercedes Benz and Opel are also targeting similar specific
high performance fluids for factory fill application,
