Worries are surfacing over a gap between ILSAC GF-5 and GF-6 engine oil specifications.
According to Lube Report, formulators are concerned that some GF-5 equipment for certain tests may not be available before the GF-6 rollout date of 1st April 2018. “The industry has never faced a situation of more than one test at a time becoming unavailable or out of control,” said Marco Corradi, technology manager at Infineum U.K. Ltd, in conversation with Lube Report.
July 2016 should see completion of the technical details of the GF-6 tests, but this leaves a very tight timeline which may slip further given the previous history of delays.
Lube Report also stated that Ford is working hard to try and smooth out the overlap in GF5 and GF-6 testing, while Lubrizol commented that the seven new engine tests for the latest specification will certainly stretch the skills of the formulators.
GF-6 will include two sub-specs: GF-6A which will be backward-compatible with GF-5 and previous specifications, but ensure enhanced fuel economy and engine protection; and GF-6B, which will offer similar performance to GF-6, but include lower-viscosity products.
The latest concerns reflect comments made recently, and reported by OATS, by Infineum CEO Xavier le Mintier, who has called for simplification of lubes specs.