Decide Whether or not to Use Older CI-4 Rated Diesel Oil Instead of the Newer CJ-4?
It is common to hear individuals talking about the relative positives & negatives of the CJ-4 vs. the older CI-4 diesel motor oils. So, it seems worthwhile to layout the relative similarities and differences between using diesel engine oils that meet each of these respective API classifications.
Quite a few folks are wanting to purchase our 15w40 viscosity AMSOIL synthetic diesel engine oil. Generally, this is either because they fear moving to a "lower" viscosity 5w30, 10w30, 5w40 or 10w40 oil or because they've heard horror stories regarding the new CJ-4 rated oils.
CJ-4 Rated Oils Suffer from Key Additive Reductions
We want our customers to know that, our AME 15w40 oil has not been blended to meet API CJ-4 specs because in order to meet CJ-4 classification requirements motor oil producers were required to make significant reductions in the levels of key additives in fighting acid - and thus corrosion within the engine (TBN was lowered).
Are Oil Drain Intervals Shortened?
Because the TBN of CJ-4 oils has dropped, many diesel owners are making the assumption that the extended drain capabilities of API CJ-4 oils should be much less as compared to the older CI-4 oils with better acid fighting ability in order to make the oils more compatible with Exhaust Gas Recirculation systems found on those vehicles sold as a 2007 model or beyond.
Exhaust Gas Recirculation units installed on 2007 model and newer diesels are leaving very HEAVY soot load on the lubricant in the crankcase. This has necessitated an increase in detergents and dispersants in the new CJ-4 oils - keeping things clean is always a good thing.
Moreover, lesser quality CI-4 oils (those using petroleum or lower quality synthetic basestocks) have been forced to make improvements to their base stock quality in order to successfully meet CJ-4 specs. As a result, the API CJ-4 oils are, in respects to their basestock, a more advanced motor oil. However, if you are making comparisons between premium SYNTHETIC CJ-4 rated oils, the basestocks are likely pretty similar to their CI-4 precursors since the original basestocks were likely already able to meet CJ-4 classification requirements.
The truth is, in most respects, API CJ-4 rated diesel oils offer better performance than oils meeting only the CI-4 or CI-4+ classification. In actuality, the shorter drain interval possibility is really the only potential drawback to moving from a CI-4 to a CJ-4 oil. But, you may very well not even notice the difference between a CI-4 and a CJ-4 rated oil if you typically don't extend your drain intervals all that far.
It's actually very common for users to change their oil before it's really necessary simply because they don't trust the longer drain intervals to protect their expensive engines. Hence, even though the CI-4 15w40 oil MIGHT offer a longer drain than our CJ-4 5w40, it's likely that most end users will not notice because they never take their oil to the limit anyway.
An additional valid consideration is that oil analysis results of CJ-4 users are painting a differnt picture - one which suggests that CJ-4 oils, even though lower in INITIAL TBN, may actually have the capability to RETAIN their ability to fight acid build-up better than CI-4 rated oils. Time will tell if these initial oil analysis results prove to hold true and CJ-4 rates oils will be able to offer long drain capability such as that found in higher TBN CI-4 rated oils.
In the end, if you don't intend on trying to take your oil to the max drain intervals possible, it's likely that you won't notice the drain interval difference between the two oils. Even better, wear protection and detergency of a CJ-4 oil can only help make the switch to a CJ-4 oil a beneficial one. Hence, for many companies and individuals owning diesel engines, the API CJ-4 rated oil could be the better oil, even if you don't own a 2007 or newer diesel engine. - 21393
Quite a few folks are wanting to purchase our 15w40 viscosity AMSOIL synthetic diesel engine oil. Generally, this is either because they fear moving to a "lower" viscosity 5w30, 10w30, 5w40 or 10w40 oil or because they've heard horror stories regarding the new CJ-4 rated oils.
CJ-4 Rated Oils Suffer from Key Additive Reductions
We want our customers to know that, our AME 15w40 oil has not been blended to meet API CJ-4 specs because in order to meet CJ-4 classification requirements motor oil producers were required to make significant reductions in the levels of key additives in fighting acid - and thus corrosion within the engine (TBN was lowered).
Are Oil Drain Intervals Shortened?
Because the TBN of CJ-4 oils has dropped, many diesel owners are making the assumption that the extended drain capabilities of API CJ-4 oils should be much less as compared to the older CI-4 oils with better acid fighting ability in order to make the oils more compatible with Exhaust Gas Recirculation systems found on those vehicles sold as a 2007 model or beyond.
Exhaust Gas Recirculation units installed on 2007 model and newer diesels are leaving very HEAVY soot load on the lubricant in the crankcase. This has necessitated an increase in detergents and dispersants in the new CJ-4 oils - keeping things clean is always a good thing.
Moreover, lesser quality CI-4 oils (those using petroleum or lower quality synthetic basestocks) have been forced to make improvements to their base stock quality in order to successfully meet CJ-4 specs. As a result, the API CJ-4 oils are, in respects to their basestock, a more advanced motor oil. However, if you are making comparisons between premium SYNTHETIC CJ-4 rated oils, the basestocks are likely pretty similar to their CI-4 precursors since the original basestocks were likely already able to meet CJ-4 classification requirements.
The truth is, in most respects, API CJ-4 rated diesel oils offer better performance than oils meeting only the CI-4 or CI-4+ classification. In actuality, the shorter drain interval possibility is really the only potential drawback to moving from a CI-4 to a CJ-4 oil. But, you may very well not even notice the difference between a CI-4 and a CJ-4 rated oil if you typically don't extend your drain intervals all that far.
It's actually very common for users to change their oil before it's really necessary simply because they don't trust the longer drain intervals to protect their expensive engines. Hence, even though the CI-4 15w40 oil MIGHT offer a longer drain than our CJ-4 5w40, it's likely that most end users will not notice because they never take their oil to the limit anyway.
An additional valid consideration is that oil analysis results of CJ-4 users are painting a differnt picture - one which suggests that CJ-4 oils, even though lower in INITIAL TBN, may actually have the capability to RETAIN their ability to fight acid build-up better than CI-4 rated oils. Time will tell if these initial oil analysis results prove to hold true and CJ-4 rates oils will be able to offer long drain capability such as that found in higher TBN CI-4 rated oils.
In the end, if you don't intend on trying to take your oil to the max drain intervals possible, it's likely that you won't notice the drain interval difference between the two oils. Even better, wear protection and detergency of a CJ-4 oil can only help make the switch to a CJ-4 oil a beneficial one. Hence, for many companies and individuals owning diesel engines, the API CJ-4 rated oil could be the better oil, even if you don't own a 2007 or newer diesel engine. - 21393
About the Author:
If you could use more details in relation to CJ-4 synthetic diesel oil (and CI-4 rated oils) as well as numerous other filter & lube related articles and FAQs see my AMSOIL website at BestSyntheticOil.com.
posted by X - Men @ 3:19 AM
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