The first licencing date for GF-6, the next passenger car engine oil upgrade, will now be January 2017.
The upgrade of the GF specifications to the new GF-6 has hit delays. As a result, the American Petroleum Institute (API) will continue to license new International Lubricants Standards Advisory Committee (ILSAC) GF-5 products using all of the current tests until the sanctioning body has declared the GF-6 category finally ready.
GF-6 will include 6 new engine tests from GF-5, with only the Sequence VIII test being carried over from previous specs.
ILSAC first asked for a new passenger car engine oil category in November 2011. According to Lube Report, the delay has been caused by heavy-duty engine manufacturers simultaneously proposing a diesel oil upgrade, requiring new tests to be included.
The upgrade for auto lubes will take five years from test development to API first licencing products for market.