July 31, 2019—Long-running motor oil and automotive repair forum Bobistheoilguy.com hosted some experts from Shell/Pennzoil for a Q & A session. The questions came from forum members, who elicited some useful answers about the new GF-6 specs, related testing, drain intervals and some technical information.
The session featured Richard Dixon, Pennzoil technology manager; Eric Kalberer, Shell global product application specialist; and Sean Nguyen, Pennzoil scientist and technology specialist. The forum didn’t say who specifically answered each question.
Here’s a couple of the responses:
Q:I have a normally aspirated, non-gasoline direct injection engine. Why should I care about GF-6?
A: The new GF-6 category is a replacement for GF-5 which will become obsolete. You should care because the category has been split into two pieces: GF-6A and GF-6B. GF-6A is backwards compatible and is a direct replacement for the existing GF-5 category. GF-6-B includes the new 0W-16 viscosity grade and will not be backwards compatible to cover previous GF specifications. As always, you should follow the manufacturer’s oil recommendation and specification for the correct type of motor oil to use.
Q: How (or will) GF-6 impact drain intervals?
A: GF-6 oils do not affect oil drain intervals. Always follow your owner’s manual for the recommended oil drain interval. It is always worth checking with your vehicle’s manufacturer to see if there are any service advisories issued. Always work from the latest information.
Like those who participate in the Bob Is The Oil Guy forum, those in and around the oil industry are curious to see how the products produced under new engine oil standards will address newer issues, such as low-speed pre-ignition in turbo direct-injection engines. The new oils are also supposed to protect engines even at lower viscosities than were previously common.
See the entire Q & A here from BITOG.
