Is there a list of ACEA A3 or A5 approved oils anywhere?

[tessaseveride]

I'm looking for an oil that's 5W-30 with ACEA A3 or A5 approval. Is there a list of these approved oils anywhere? Through manual searching, I've only really been able to find Castrol Edge Euro 5W-30 and potentially the recently released Mobil 1 FS Euro 5W-30, although I haven't actually seen it being sold anywhere. A lot of 5W-30 Euro oils seem to be low-SAPs C3 approved. Also, is there any clear disadvantage to using Castrol Edge nowadays? It doesn't seem to get much attention and I can't find recent VOAs or UOAs. Is there a reason why it's not a popular oil and I should avoid using it? Thanks.

 

[BMWTurboDzl]

Depending on where you live any euro spec oil in 5w30 will meet A3 or A5. C3 oils meet the same performance requirements of A3 but are developed for use with ULSD/ULSG so keep that in mind.

Furthermore if you're only shopping ACEA specification then just buy whichever is cheaper.

 

[kschachn]

For one thing ACEA Sequences are not approvals, and are self-certified. So even if there was a list it would only contain oils that were reported to the ACEA and it wouldn’t be complete.

Just go to Walmart and find something on the shelf that has the Sequence you want. Or buy it online from AMZ or Walmart. Brand is going to be nearly irrelevant. If it were me I’d skip that and buy Pennzoil Euro L on the Walmart shelf for $26.44. It has a dexos 2 license, BMW Longlife-04 approval and is ACEA C3. About as universal an oil as you can find and a very good price.

 

[userfriendly]

An option in NA would be a 5w30 that meets CK-4/SN plus.
That will give you the 3.5 HTHS you are looking for.
Delo 400 synthetic is one example.

 

[tessaseveride]

Depending on where you live any euro spec oil in 5w30 will meet A3 or A5. C3 oils meet the same performance requirements of A3 but are developed for use with ULSD/ULSG so keep that in mind.

Furthermore if you're only shopping ACEA specification then just buy whichever is cheaper.

I will continue manually searching. My local area seems to carry mostly Pennzoil Euro L and Mobil 1 ESP, which are both C3. If anyone is aware of any 5W-30 A3 or A5 oils, posting the names of them here would be helpful for me. Thank you.

For one thing ACEA Sequences are not approvals, and are self-certified. So even if there was a list it would only contain oils that were reported to the ACEA and it wouldn’t be complete.

Just go to Walmart and find something on the shelf that has the Sequence you want. Or buy it online from AMZ or Walmart. Brand is going to be nearly irrelevant. If it were me I’d skip that and buy Pennzoil Euro L on the Walmart shelf for $26.44. It has a dexos 2 license, BMW Longlife-04 approval and is ACEA C3. About as universal an oil as you can find and a very good price.

Thank you for educating me on ACEA. I didn't know that the oils were self-certified. My understanding is that C3 is a low-SAPS formulation. Is there concern with using C3 in place of A3 outside of shorter OCIs?

 

[kschachn]

Thank you for educating me on ACEA. I didn't know that the oils were self-certified. My understanding is that C3 is a low-SAPs formulation. Is there concern with using C3 in place of A3 outside of shorter OCIs?

Not really with low-sulfur fuels.

 

[tessaseveride]

Not really with low-sulfur fuels.

Forgive my ignorance, but is gasoline in NA predominantly low-sulfur now? Or does that only apply to diesel?

 

[BMWTurboDzl]

I will continue manually searching. My local area seems to carry mostly Pennzoil Euro L and Mobil 1 ESP, which are both C3. If anyone is aware of any 5W-30 A3 or A5 oils, posting the names of them here would be helpful for me. Thank you.

Thanks. My understanding is that C3 is a low-SAPs formulation. Is there concern with using C3 in place of A3 outside of shorter OCIs?

Okay so your country is on ULSG/ULSD. I'm not going to post names of oil companies in your country but all the majors sell product which fits your requirements.

Depending on the age of your vehicle the automaker may not have chosen to add C3 oils as acceptable. What vehicle are we talking about? If it's a Euro make just shop by their certs.

 

[BMWTurboDzl]

Forgive my ignorance, but is gasoline in NA predominantly low-sulfur now? Or does that only apply to diesel?

The majority of the US is on ULSG. I don't know about Canada and Mexico but you could look it up..

 

[tessaseveride]

Okay so your country is on ULSG/ULSD. I'm not going to post names of oil companies in your country but all the majors sell product which fits your requirements.

Depending on the age of your vehicle the automaker may not have chosen to add C3 oils as acceptable. What vehicle are we talking about? If it's a Euro make just shop by their certs.

I'm trying to find an oil that will satisfy multiple vehicles that I will be servicing. I will continue manually searching for A3 and A5 sequences. Thank you.

 

[slo town]

Castrol Edge 5W-30 meets A5.

Scott

https://www.castrol.com/en_us/unite...astrol-edge-brand/castrol-edge.html#tab_5w-30

 

[SR5]

Castrol Edge 5W-30 meets A5.

Scott

https://www.castrol.com/en_us/unite...astrol-edge-brand/castrol-edge.html#tab_5w-30

Yep, Castrol Edge 5W30 black bottle

• API SP/SN PLUS/SN

• ILSAC GF-6
• ACEA A1/B1, ACEA A5/B5, ACEA C2
• GM dexos1® Gen 3*
• GM 4718M
• GM 6094M
• Meets Ford WSS-M2C946-B1
• Meets Ford WSS-M2C961-A1
• Meets Engine Test Requirements of Chrysler MS 6395
• Meets Engine Test Requirements of Chrysler MS 13340
• Honda HTO-06

 

[tessaseveride]

I found Mobil 1 FS 5W-30 on sale and it checks most of the boxes for what I'm looking for, however it does have a large amount of calcium. I heard calcium can promote LSPI. Is this something I should be worried about? This will be going in a 2023 BRZ, FA24 which has port and direct injection and may be supercharged at some point.

 

[userfriendly]

I found Mobil 1 FS 5W-30 on sale and it checks most of the boxes for what I'm looking for, however it does have a large amount of calcium. I heard calcium can promote LSPI. Is this something I should be worried about? This will be going in a 2023 BRZ, FA24 which has port and direct injection and may be supercharged at some point.

I think that the magic trick would be to keep the oil out of the combustion chamber in the first place.
That might require a thicker oil than 5w30.

 

[BMWTurboDzl]

I found Mobil 1 FS 5W-30 on sale and it checks most of the boxes for what I'm looking for, however it does have a large amount of calcium. I heard calcium can promote LSPI. Is this something I should be worried about? This will be going in a 2023 BRZ, FA24 which has port and direct injection and may be supercharged at some point.

LSPI is a potential problem with only a handful of TGDI engines. Consequently the impacted automakers recommend API SN+ or SP in those instances OR they have their own approval which contains an LSPI test (ex, Mercedes 229.52).

 

[ka9mnx]

ACEA A3 (and possibly A5) are slated to be dropped in the near future in favor of C oils.

 

[tessaseveride]

LSPI is a potential problem with only a handful of TGDI engines. Consequently the impacted automakers recommend API SN+ or SP in those instances OR they have their own approval which contains an LSPI test (ex, Mercedes 229.52).

Gotcha. So don't worry much about LSPI unless it's regarding a TGDI engine. Would you personally use something like the mentioned Mobil 1 FS or should I just use something C3 rated instead like the ESP? Predominant use would be for the Subaru FA24, but I also service a few FK Civics that are all driven fairly hard. I'm looking at Euro oils for the increased HTHS and the FA24 specs 5W-30 ACEA A3 or A5, so I was trying to follow that spec if possible.

 

[BMWTurboDzl]

Gotcha. So don't worry much about LSPI unless it's regarding a TGDI engine. Would you personally use something like the mentioned Mobil 1 FS or should I just use something C3 rated instead like the ESP? Predominant use would be for the Subaru FA24, but I also service a few FK Civics that are all driven fairly hard. I'm looking at Euro oils for the increased HTHS and the FA24 specs 5W-30 ACEA A3 or A5, so I was trying to follow that spec if possible.

It's a combination of the software (ie. Tune) the automaker chooses to implement with a TGDI. For a catch all oil just go M1 0w40 and call it a day. You can find it just about anywhere.

 

[UG_Passat]

I'm looking for an oil that's 5W-30 with ACEA A3 or A5 approval. Is there a list of these approved oils anywhere? Through manual searching, I've only really been able to find Castrol Edge Euro 5W-30 and potentially the recently released Mobil 1 FS Euro 5W-30, although I haven't actually seen it being sold anywhere. A lot of 5W-30 Euro oils seem to be low-SAPs C3 approved. Also, is there any clear disadvantage to using Castrol Edge nowadays? It doesn't seem to get much attention and I can't find recent VOAs or UOAs. Is there a reason why it's not a popular oil and I should avoid using it? Thanks.

ACEA A3 is usually combined with B4.

So, look for those VW502.00/BMW LL-01, Porsche A40, MB 229.3/229.5 etc oils, and you get your A3 list.

 

[tessaseveride]

ACEA A3 is usually combined with B4.

So, look for those VW502.00/BMW LL-01, Porsche A40, MB 229.3/229.5 etc oils, and you get your A3 list.

That's good to know. Makes sense why most of the oils I've looked at list ACEA A3/B4 together. I think I'm going to go with BMWTurboDzl's suggestion and get some M1 FS 0W-40. Long list of approvals including SP for the LSPI test. Hopefully it should work in my Subaru as well as some of the Turbo Civics I service. Thanks for the replies.