Any reason not to use Euro L or Euro AV in...

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Any reason not to use Euro L or Euro AV in a non-Euro speced car? Specifically a, 06 Chevy Cobalt. I have a bunch of Pennzoil Platinum 5w30 from one of the Autozone clearances. TIA.

Add: Any issues if the car consumes a bit of oil between changes - 1/2 qt? (In other words anything to be concerns around the add pack and potential burning if I know the car already consumes?)
 
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Aren't those diesel oils? Probably ok to run in a gas engine, but I wouldn't bother with long change intervals.
 
Yes, that's what I have picked up, that these are low SAPS oils and should be good for 3K-5K interval.

Not intended for any longer OCIs.
 
A half quart during the entire OCI is no problem at all. Are using the OCI suggested by the OLM?

The PP Euro L 5w30 is licensed dexos2, and in Europe, GM uses dexos2 for all their cars (both gas/petrol and diesel).
 
Those are the EXACT oils you want in your car if you consume oil. They have lower SAPS than typical PCMO oils and therefore leave less ash to accumulate in the catalyst. Low SAPS oils contain Expensive high performance anti wear polymers not in your typical engine oil. They don't show up in a VOA or UOA.
I think the Euro AV might be a mid SAPS oil or the same as Euro L? The reported specs can be skewed by the maker to hide it. Make one product appear worse than it is. It is done to save on licensing fees. SOPUS doesn't wanna pay GM for people buying oil for a VW as an example.
 
Thanks all, seems like I should have no concern, as long as the OCI is reasonable.

Originally Posted By: slacktide_bitog
Are using the OCI suggested by the OLM?


I try to keep it to 5K. It's my parent's car, just helping out with the maintenance when I can. I ask them to keep it around 5K miles, which sometimes gets pushed if they forget. OLM takes the OCI out to ~7K or 7.5K. I think it is just a countdown clock, as my OLM (also an '06 Cobalt) does the same, even though it sees a ton of short trips.
 
No issues with low SAPS anymore, Tier 3 took care of that issue. Many Euro dealers are no longer stocking obsolete specs oils like VW 502 and BMW LL-01 anymore for the shop. Now its mostly 504/507 and LL-04
 
Originally Posted By: Trav
No issues with low SAPS anymore, Tier 3 took care of that issue. Many Euro dealers are no longer stocking obsolete specs oils like VW 502 and BMW LL-01 anymore for the shop. Now its mostly 504/507 and LL-04


They have bouth. Do you know if low saps oil is good for ethanol fuels like e10?
 
Originally Posted By: 99Saturn
I ask them to keep it around 5K miles, which sometimes gets pushed if they forget. OLM takes the OCI out to ~7K or 7.5K


I highly highly highly doubt changing the oil before 7,500 miles -
is going to extend the life of that car AT ALL..... Not even a tiny bit.
 
Originally Posted By: Bjornviken
Originally Posted By: Trav
No issues with low SAPS anymore, Tier 3 took care of that issue. Many Euro dealers are no longer stocking obsolete specs oils like VW 502 and BMW LL-01 anymore for the shop. Now its mostly 504/507 and LL-04


They have bouth. Do you know if low saps oil is good for ethanol fuels like e10?


Sure it is, Germany has had E10 available for a while now but not mandatory, no alternative oil required per new car owners manual.

Edit: You should use Euro V or VI fuel, 10 ppm sulfur, the old Euro IV had 50 and requires mid SAPS for longest oil life.
 
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I keep hearing that the certifications are what counts, not the VOAs.

So, if this oil is API SN certified, why is it good for only half of the OCI of other API SN oils?

Are the API SN tests defective in some way?
 
Particularly if one isn't running ULSG, it makes a difference, since starting TBN is lower. This has been going on for some time with there being a disparity as to what oil a car should run in Europe versus North America, with European OEMs even having different OCIs and/or different specs on either side of the pond. Using LL01 in North American BMW gassers versus LL04 in Europe is a prime example.

Are the SN tests defective in some ways? Perhaps. They're not terribly demanding, but aside from that, there's only so much SN can tell you. Just having SN doesn't automatically qualify it as a long drain oil. SN can be anything from the a very basic SAE 30 conventional to a C3 like in this thread or an A3/B4 or an E7, E9. Yes, the certifications do count, and a C3 oil isn't the same as an ILSAC oil which isn't the same as an A3/B4.

All other things being equal and you were solely trying to maximise your OCI, would you choose an A3/B4 or a C3, with both having SN, assuming the vehicle just called for an SN multigrade of some sort?
 
Well the C3 doesn’t carry LL too, so if I’m looking for an LL oil I would pick one that says so on the bottle.

My question is whether, in a car where the manual specifies just “API SN” (without any LL etc), the OCI recommended in said manual would still be valid for an API SN oil that also carries the C3?
 
Originally Posted By: Trav
Originally Posted By: Bjornviken
Originally Posted By: Trav
No issues with low SAPS anymore, Tier 3 took care of that issue. Many Euro dealers are no longer stocking obsolete specs oils like VW 502 and BMW LL-01 anymore for the shop. Now its mostly 504/507 and LL-04


They have bouth. Do you know if low saps oil is good for ethanol fuels like e10?


Sure it is, Germany has had E10 available for a while now but not mandatory, no alternative oil required per new car owners manual.

Edit: You should use Euro V or VI fuel, 10 ppm sulfur, the old Euro IV had 50 and requires mid SAPS for longest oil life.


We have had the fuel many years and have non free ethanol fuels over here. Only bad thing with the acea c oils is the low tbn.
 
Originally Posted By: nap

My question is whether, in a car where the manual specifies just “API SN” (without any LL etc), the OCI recommended in said manual would still be valid for an API SN oil that also carries the C3?


Yes I would think so.

Euro C3 is a mid-SAPS oil, the ACEA sequences requires TBN > 6 and SA < 0.8 % with most sitting at or just below this 0.8 % mark. Once they fall below 0.5 % Sulphated Ash they become a low-SAPS C4 oil.

The A3/B4 oils are the high-SAPS oils with TBN > 10 and SA > 1.0 % and < 1.6 %.

Let's look at two typical M1 oils.

First regular M1 5W30 (SN, GF-5, Dexos1-Gen1) has a SA = 0.8%
Second Euro rated M1 0W40 FS (A3/B4) has SA = 1.34 % and TBN = 12.6

So to me, typical US oils rated SN / GF-5 / Dexos1 have roughly the same TBN & SAPS levels as a mid-SAPS Euro C3 oil. The C3 oil has a higher HTHS (> 3.5 cP) so it doesn't pass GF-5 fuel economy tests, but they should be similar with respect to TBN & ZDDP & SAPS levels. I consider typical US GF-5 oils to be mid-SAPS oils myself, they just don't call themselves mid-SAPS oils.

I think a Euro rated oil that is ACEA C3 and API SN and possible Dexos2, to be a good "do anything" PCMO oil. I run full SAPS A3/B4 oils myself, but I have 1 L of Nulon 5W30 Euro C3 oil at home, it's PAO based and is also rated API SN, VW 504/507, MB 229.51 and BMW LL-04. This way I can top up everything from a German light-duty diesel to a Japanese petrol engine without concern.
 
Originally Posted By: nap
Well the C3 doesn’t carry LL too, so if I’m looking for an LL oil I would pick one that says so on the bottle.

There are LL04 C3 oils out there, though.

Originally Posted By: nap
My question is whether, in a car where the manual specifies just “API SN” (without any LL etc), the OCI recommended in said manual would still be valid for an API SN oil that also carries the C3?

Yes. For example, my G37 calls for SM or newer 5w-30, ILSAC optional. Castrol's lube selector for Canada recommends Castrol C3 5w-30 (that one has SN and dexos2, and LL04 if I recall correctly) as a choice for the vehicle. Now, the G37 doesn't call for long intervals in any event, with a 3750 mile OCI being the severe service interval. Someone following 3750 miles with a C3 in a G37 shouldn't have any concern.
 
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