Originally Posted By: OVERKILL
Originally Posted By: zuluplus30
I don't mind the Dexos spec either. It takes GM's two previous oil specs 6094M and 4718M and combines them into one. The old 6094M was just a change in low temp pumpability and was easily met by almost all conventional oils on the shelf. The 4718M was originally a Corvette spec that required lower NOACK volatility and a cap on oxidation at high temps (which were more stringent than the GF4 specs at the time). It's how GM got away with no oil cooler on the Vette because they were struggling with how to package it in the bumper and plumb it. It later found its way into a myriad of other 6.0/6.2+ applications. Currently, it is near impossible to find a DEXOS oil that isn't at least a synblend, most being a full synthetic. It makes me feel much better about going the full life of the OLM, something I've never done on conventional oil. GM also uses it as a way to tout lower overall TCO when they sell a vehicle, which is something all manufacturers are in too right now. That's all worth $.07 a gallon if you ask me.
The point is not the specs but the royalties, something other OEM's don't do with their certifications/approvals.
Specs like LL-01, LL-98....etc are also long-life oil specs and the euro marques maintain lists of approved lubricants. But there are no royalties associated with this, only the cost of obtaining the approval, which is the case for I believe all brands that aren't GM.
If you were EM/SOPUS/Ashland, wouldn't you be happy to pay the royalty now that millions of cars are required to use your higher margin top shelf synthetics vs the traditionally prices conventionals? I'd jump on it in a heartbeat. And so far, the royalty doesn't appear to have been passed on to the consumer.