RCinNC
Well-Known Member
A few years back I stopped using Rotella T4 15W-40 oil because it stopped carrying an API certification for gasoline engines. It still carried (and carries to this day) the JASO MA/MA2 certification for wet clutch engines. I was sorry to I had to stop using it, as I found that it performed just fine in the S10.
I was doing some research recently and learned that, in order for an oil to carry the JASO MA, MA1, MA2 and MB certification, it must also meet the standards for at least one of the following certifications:
API SG, SJ, SL, SM
ILSAC GF-1, GF-2, GF-3
ACEA A1/B1, A3/B3, A3/B4, A5/B5, C2, C3
ACEA is a European standard, so I thought it was less likely that Shell’s JASO certification was attached to that, rather than to the API or ILSAC standard.
I found a graph on line from the Petroleum Quality Institute of America that shows a comparison between the API and the ILSAC oil standard. It looks like this:
The Super Tenere requires oil with an API certification of SG or higher. The API SG standard is obsolete, as is the higher standard of SH. The ILSAC GF-1, GF-2, GF-3 and GF-4 standards are also obsolete. Because both the API and the ILSAC standards are backwards compatible, a JASO certification should meet the criteria for any currently produced API standard of SJ, SL, SM, SN and SN Plus, or any currently produced ILSAC standard of GF-5, or both.
It appeared to me that, even if Rotella no longer carries an official API certification for gasoline engines, the fact that it still maintains the JASO MA/MA2 certification meant it has to meet the gasoline certification of either API or ILSAC or both.
So, I emailed Shell at their general inquiries address and asked them. I got a response back very quickly, and was advised that Rotella T4 still meets the API SN standard, which is a current API standard for gasoline engines. Since the API standard is backwards compatible, the Rotella T4 still meets Yamaha’s requirement for an oil with an API rating of SG or higher.
I thought this might be of interest to any T4 users like me, who stopped using it when the API standard for gasoline engines stopped appearing on their product. My next oil change is coming up at 101,000 miles, and I’m putting the T4 back in.
I was doing some research recently and learned that, in order for an oil to carry the JASO MA, MA1, MA2 and MB certification, it must also meet the standards for at least one of the following certifications:
API SG, SJ, SL, SM
ILSAC GF-1, GF-2, GF-3
ACEA A1/B1, A3/B3, A3/B4, A5/B5, C2, C3
ACEA is a European standard, so I thought it was less likely that Shell’s JASO certification was attached to that, rather than to the API or ILSAC standard.
I found a graph on line from the Petroleum Quality Institute of America that shows a comparison between the API and the ILSAC oil standard. It looks like this:
The Super Tenere requires oil with an API certification of SG or higher. The API SG standard is obsolete, as is the higher standard of SH. The ILSAC GF-1, GF-2, GF-3 and GF-4 standards are also obsolete. Because both the API and the ILSAC standards are backwards compatible, a JASO certification should meet the criteria for any currently produced API standard of SJ, SL, SM, SN and SN Plus, or any currently produced ILSAC standard of GF-5, or both.
It appeared to me that, even if Rotella no longer carries an official API certification for gasoline engines, the fact that it still maintains the JASO MA/MA2 certification meant it has to meet the gasoline certification of either API or ILSAC or both.
So, I emailed Shell at their general inquiries address and asked them. I got a response back very quickly, and was advised that Rotella T4 still meets the API SN standard, which is a current API standard for gasoline engines. Since the API standard is backwards compatible, the Rotella T4 still meets Yamaha’s requirement for an oil with an API rating of SG or higher.
I thought this might be of interest to any T4 users like me, who stopped using it when the API standard for gasoline engines stopped appearing on their product. My next oil change is coming up at 101,000 miles, and I’m putting the T4 back in.
