Technology
Encyclopedia of lubricants
Functions of oil
In addition to reducing friction between mechanical parts, oils or Lubricants have a variety of functions. These include
- Cooling
- Corrosion protection
- Cleaning (binding of particles caused by wear in engines and gearboxes)
- sealing
Approvals & suitability
Describe which oil must be used for which engine or transmission. API or ACEA values (see below) are not sufficient to determine the correct application for a particular type of oil. The principles at Hengst are the same for oil as for filtration products: Original Equipment (OE) standards are the benchmark. Sometimes specific customer market requirements may differ from Hengst's recommendations.
EURO standards
Determine the emission values for fuel-powered engines. A higher EURO standard means stricter emission requirements or lower emissions. Both fuel and oil play an important role in keeping emissions low. For example, an engine oil developed for the EURO3 standard cannot be used for EURO6 engines. Using the wrong or inferior oil can damage your engine and clog the entire exhaust system.
Viscosity
Describes the extent to which a fluid resists a tendency to flow. "Low viscosity" Lubricants are thinner than "high viscosity" or viscous fluids. Warm or cold temperatures, oil pressure and changing engine loads influence the oil viscosity. Determining the correct oil viscosity for each engine application is critical to achieving the best possible performance without damaging the engine or transmission. If the oil is too "runny", the oil film can "crack" and prevent proper lubrication. Viscous oil is sluggish and cannot move quickly through the engine or gearbox, making lubrication impossible. In both cases, engine damage can occur.
Oil viscosity is represented by a number. The higher the number, the more viscous the fluid. The first number in engine oils describes the viscosity at cold temperatures (W = winter), the second number describes hot temperatures (summer). To ensure low fuel consumption, viscosities of 0W or 5W 20/30 are often used in modern engines.
Mineral oils
Can be modified with additive packages to improve their performance and extend their range of applications. The current trend is clearly towards semi-synthetic and fully synthetic oils.
Semi- or semi-synthetic oils
They are somewhere between a mineral and a fully synthetic oil. The different molecular structures of semi-synthetic oils ensure optimum lubrication of older engines with greater tolerances. These oils also offer longer service intervals and better lubricating properties than pure mineral oils, without the high cost of fully synthetic oils.
Fully synthetic oils
They use complex additive packages to achieve viscosity values that mineral or semi-synthetic oils cannot produce. Fully synthetic oils are mainly used in modern engines with smaller tolerances, higher performance and longer maintenance intervals. They are also generally more expensive than mineral or semi-synthetic oils.
ACEA (European Automobile Manufacturers' Association)
Defines the quality standards and requirements for engine oil in Europe. ACEA categorizes products with a combination of letters, numbers and year. For example: A3/B3 describes different properties than A1/B1, but higher numbers do not necessarily mean better quality.
API (American Petroleum Institute)
Is an American interest group (like the ACEA) of the oil and gas industry. The API defines technical standards and requirements for Lubricants and assigns quality levels for engine oils. In general, the higher the letters, the higher the quality requirements for the crude oil. These values only apply to crude oil, not to finished products. However, the API values alone are not specific enough to determine the overall quality of the engine oil and its performance.
ACEA classes
A - Passenger cars (gasoline engines)
B - Passenger cars, vans, light commercial vehicles (diesel engines)
C - Passenger cars for petrol and diesel engines with new exhaust aftertreatment systems (e.g. DPF)
E - Heavy-duty diesel engines
SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers)
Founded in 1911 to standardize oil and its viscosities. A distinction is made between monograde oils (e.g. SAE 20) and multigrade oils (e.g. SAE 15W40). Monograde oils are mainly used for applications with unchanging operating conditions. Monograde oils are no longer used in modern engines or applications.
Base oils
Consist of five types of oil from which all engine and Transmission oils are made:
Group I
Most natural base oils for blending oil products with low performance requirements.
Group II
Common base oils for blending mineral oil-based products. The lubricating properties are rated as sufficient to good.
Group III
Group III oils are refined to the highest level. The oil molecules remain stable and uniform and offer a wide range of applications. Although not chemically produced, these base oils are often used for blending fully and semi-synthetic oils.
Group IV
Chemically produced base oils that offer amazing performance potential for Lubricants. Stable compounds and uniform molecules make these oils a perfect base for blending fully and semi-synthetic oils.
Group V
Mainly used for the production of additives to improve other base oils and not as a base oil itself.
