Due to continued challenges relating to new tests for the new ILSAC GF-6 category, the earliest release of the new passenger car engine oil category being developed for North America and Japan, will be January 2018, according to Teri Kowalski, principal engineer at Toyota Motor Corp., speaking at F+L Week 2015 at the Pan Pacific Singapore on March 12, and as reported by a F&L Asia news article dated March 13, 2015.

In addition to GF-6, a new heavy-duty diesel category, PC-11, is being developed to replace the current API CJ-4. With both being developed at the same time, Kowalski said, both human and material resources are being taxed, as many of the same people are working on both categories.

It is therefore not surprising that the category has so far been about four and a half years in the making. With only one new test, GF-5 took four years to develop, Kowalski added. But, she said, “we are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.”

All parties involved have signed the Memorandum of Agreement and agreed on the Needs Statement last December. The International Lubricant Standardization and Approval Committee (ILSAC) issues GF- engine oil specifications to allow for improvements in fuel economy, emission system protection and engine oil robustness for gasoline engines.

PC-11 will be introduced before GF-6 and the oil marketers have requested that there be a nine-month separation between PC-11 and GF-6 first licensing date.

ILSAC GF-6 encompasses two potential specifications: GF-6A and GF-6B. The primary difference between the two categories of oils concerns viscosity grade and high temperature high shear (HTHS) performance. GF-6B oils would provide the same performance as GF-6A, but with the added aim of lower HTHS to deliver potential further fuel economy benefits. This offers the possibility of potential GF-6B oils operating at viscosity ranges of less than 0W-20 once these new viscosity grades are defined and accepted by SAE. GF-6A is fully backward-compatible.