By David McFall

Last Wednesday ILSAC/Oil approved the final draft limits for GF-4, and on Monday unveiled the new passenger car engine oil specification to all interested parties. Barring any roadblocks, very unlikely at this point, this clears the way for the new specification to be published by the American Petroleum Institute and for licensing of the new oils to begin in time for the 2005 model year vehicles.

Two documents relevant to the new specification were distributed on Aug. 4 by ILSAC/Oil Chairman Bob Olree of General Motors, along with the request that comments from interested parties be received by Thursday, Sept. 4. In addition to laying out the technical need for the new spec, Olree also noted that GF-4's first licensing by the American Petroleum Institute is expected to be not later than July 2004, with GF-3 oils no longer eligible for licensing after April 2005.

The documents issued by ILSAC/Oil (a six-person committee representing U.S. and Japanese automobile manufacturers and the petroleum industry) include the actual specification, and a preamble. Both, along with Olree’s cover letter, can be accessed via the link below in their entirety. Comments on the two documents are due by close of business, Eastern Time, Sept. 4. After that, ILSAC GF-4 will be published in API Publication 1509.

Developing GF-4's companion API "S" Service Category (probably API SM), is API's next chore, and is under way already. This second specification is needed because while ILSAC specifications are applicable for North American and Japanese vehicles, they are less accepted in Europe, Asia or elsewhere. API Service Categories have a global reach and wide acceptance.

In addition, specifications for the new API S Category are very likely to be published in ASTM D-4485, Standard Specification for Performance of Engine Oils, a standard which is referenced worldwide.

To access the GF-4 documents, click here:

http://api-ep.api.org/industry/index.cfm?objectid=58ACF5ED-6D38-48E5-A867E639FBDD3449&method=display_body&er=1&bitmask=002007007000000000