Originally Posted By: akela
But, I didn't know about non-certified HM oils. I thought they all carry some API grade, maybe obsolete, like SL or SM.
Some HM oils have had nothing on them whatsoever for API markings, and they, too, were from the majors. Some claimed outdated specs, some have current certifications, too. That last one I saw that definitively had no API certifications was when I looked at some Pennzoil High Mileage stuff shortly after the SN rollout. There was no SL, even, on the jug.
Originally Posted By: akela
I'd think there must be some reason justifying the absence of the API grade. Be it either some special properties (HM, racing) or extremely cheap price. Neither of these is applicable to this one... Maybe special need for Euro oil, like you pointed out.
I still say it's the Euro thing, and the more I think of it, the more I'm certain it's a Petro-Canada product, probably their 5w-40 Euro only oil. Last time I checked, it had no formal certifications at all, and wasn't even marketed in North America. There is no way Petro-Canada or Walmart would or should seek to have this one oil API approved. Wakefield does distribute a 5w-40 A3/B4 oil, but it has formal approvals, so it's no that one. And Wakefield/Castrol may have dumb data sheets, but they are never, ever ambiguous about their specifications or certifications. Imperial Oil has no 5w-40 that would fit the bill either, nor does Shell. RP does, but there's no way that Walmart Canada is using Royal Purple as a house brand. Safety-Kleen doesn't make synthetics, to my knowledge. Petro-Canada has been identified as the supplier of Walmart Canada's Tune It synthetics before, and considering their 5w-40 has the same claims, yet no real specifications, that's my guess. There's no reason it couldn't be SN, I'm sure, but name one vehicle out there that calls for an SN rated 5w-40. There's no reason to obtain API certification for a gasoline engine oil that was, at least until recently, only exported to Europe for non-ILSAC applications and was not intended for CJ-4 or ACEA E sequence type engines.
Originally Posted By: sprite1741
If it has no API donut or starburst certification don't use it. Unless Canada is different than the states. SuperTech here in the US has an API SN rating donut and the starburst certification. It's fine.
See above. There is no need for M1 0w-40 or Castrol 0w-40 to have API certification; they have it, but it's far from essential. People buying them tend to be looking for Euro approvals, or at least A3/B3 A3/B4, not an API SN rating. And they aren't eligible to receive a Starburst either, since 40 grades are not resource conserving grades and cannot obtain ILSAC certification. No matter what the additive levels are, you'll never see a current 40 grade with a Starburst. In fact, if I saw one, I'd steer clear since it would be a fraudulent claim or the oil's been on the shelf for the better part of two decades and predates the tightening of 40 grade HTHS requirements.
Every other Tune It oil in Canada has been certified, and, in fact, Walmart Canada's conventional provided a much greater choice in packaging sizes than down south, by a long shot. Their synthetic offerings are, at least from my estimation, a marketing nightmare, with this being a perfect example. They have high prices and do nothing to reinforce the quality of the product in the mind of the consumers.
I can get Castrol A3/B4 5w-30, A3/B4 0w30, and A3/B4 0w-40, not to mention M1 0w-40 and Delvac 1 ESP 5w-40, all with various formal approvals, at regular prices any day of the week cheaper than Tune it 5w-40. What does Tune It 5w-40 offer me?
You can't swing a dead cat in an oil aisle almost anywhere in Canada without knocking over a bottle of GC, so what's the point?
