With the latest gasoline engine oil performance specification scheduled to come to market next month, automakers in North America are wasting no time launching work on the next standard.
The International Lubricants Standardization and Advisory Committee formally asked the American Petroleum Institute and the Auto/Oil Advisory Panel to begin the evaluation process for the next spec, which presumably will be called ILSAC GF-8.
According to the request, American and Japanese carmakers want the next spec to contribute to better fuel economy. They also asked the advisory panel and API to consider requiring improvements in oils’ ability to avoid thickening as they age and to accommodate fuels containing up to 20% ethanol.
They also asked to replace the Sequence VH engine test for deposit control and the Sequence VIE/F test for fuel economy and asked developers to consider replacing two more tests for prevention of low-speed preignition and timing chain wear. They set a target date of the spec coming to market by the third quarter of 2028.
Industry finished developing ILSAC GF-7 last year, and commercial licensing for that spec is scheduled to launch on March 31. While written for the North American market, ILSAC specs and their companion API engine oil standards are used around the world where North American and Japanese cars operate.