Survey of the Low Temperature Viscosity of Passenger Car Engine Oils from Asia Pacific

In 2003 the Institute of Materials (IOM) collected 246 samples of multigrade passenger car engine oils in Asia Pacific. These oils were evaluated in the CCS (ASTM D5293), the MRV TP-1 (ASTM D4684) and the Scanning Brookfield (ASTM D5133). We have used these results to assess how well these samples comply with the low temperature viscosity requirements included in the SAE J300 viscosity classification and the ILSAC GF-2, GF-3 and GF-4 specifications. These findings have been compared to data obtained on 268 samples of multigrade passenger car engine oils from Asia Pacific that were collected by IOM in 2000. This analysis provides interesting insights on the way oils are formulated in the region and in the ability of the MRV TP-1 and of the Scanning Brookfield to identify oils that may perform poorly in terms of low temperature pump,ability.