ACEA requires that any claims for Oil performance to meet these sequences must be on credible data and controlled test laboratories.
ACEA requires that engine performance testing used to support a claim of compliance with these ACEA sequences should be generated according to the European Engine Lubricants Quality Management System (EELQMS), but ACEA reserves the right to define alternatives in exceptional cases. EELQMS which is described in the ATIEL Code of Practice1, addresses product development testing and product performance documentation, and involves the registration of all candidate and reference oil testing and defines the compliance process. Compliance with the ATIEL Code of Practice is mandatory for any claim to meet the requirements of the 2008 issue of the ACEA sequences. Therefore ACEA requests that claims against the ACEA oil sequences can only be made by oil companies or oil distributors who have signed the EELQMS oil marketer’s Letter of Conformance (for details: www.atiel.org).
The ACEA oil sequences are undergoing constant development. Replacement tests and other changes requested by the European automobile manufacturers are integrated and new issues are published on a regular basis. As new editions are published older editions have to be withdrawn. Validities of new and old editions are overlapping for limited periods of time as shown in the following table.
First allowable use means that claims cannot be made against the specification before the date indicated.
All new claims by means that from this date onward all claims for new oil formulations must be according to the latest ACEA release. Until that date new claims can also be made according to the previous ACEA release. (For example until 1st February 2008, oil marketers can make claims against the ACEA 2004 release even though the 2007 release is active. After 1st February 2008, any new oil claims must be according to the ACEA 2007 sequences.)
Withdrawn means that no claims can be made against the issue after the date indicated.
The marketer of an oil claiming ACEA performance requirements is responsible for all aspects of product reliability.
Where limits are shown relative to a reference oil, then these must be compared to the last valid Reference Result on that test stand prior to the candidate and using the same hardware. Further details will be in the ATIEL Code of Practice.
Where claims are made that Oil performance meets the requirements of the ACEA sequences (e.g. product literature, packaging, labels) they must specify the ACEA Class and Category (see Nomenclature & ACEA Process for definitions).
The categories A2 and B2 are not included in this edition of the ACEA European Oil Sequences because they are unsuitable for some of the current engines and will be unsuitable for many future engines. Misuse may cause engine damage. However, the use of A2/B2 oils for older engines (where owner’s or workshop’s literature recommends this use) is still appropriate and can be done according to the categories A2-96 Issue 3 and B2-98-Issue 2.
1 Reproduced with kind permission of the European Automobile Manufacturers Association