April 18, 2005
Automotive Diesel Engine Oil Standard Is Revised
to Include Two Additional Types of Oil
-Application Manual Incorporates the Revision-
On April 11, 2005 the Society of Automotive Engineers of Japan (JSAE) officially revised its automotive diesel engine oil standard (JASO M355:2005) [see note *1] to include DH-2 engine oil for trucks and buses and DL-1 engine oil for passenger cars.
In response, the JASO Engine Oil Standards Implementation Panel [see note *2]—whose membership includes the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association and the Petroleum Association of Japan—revised its Automotive Diesel Engine Oil Standard (JASO M355:2005) Application Manual to incorporate those additions.
Background
In the ongoing quest to achieve cleaner diesel vehicle tailpipe emissions, the motor industry has made steady improvements in fuel-injection systems, cooled exhaust-gas recirculation equipment (cooled EGR), and other aspects of automotive engines. Advances have also been made in after-treatment systems using such devices as diesel particulate filters (DPFs) and catalysts, in voluntary efforts to introduce to the market diesel vehicles whose particulate matter (PM) emissions are far below the levels mandated by Japan’s most recent short-term exhaust emission regulations.
Towards that end, JAMA and PAJ established in April 2003 engine oil quality guidelines targeting new diesel vehicles equipped with DPFs and complying with the then newly-implemented short-term emission regulations. Those provisions took into account diesel engine lubrication as well as DPF conformity, and included guidelines for DH-2 truck and bus engine oil and DL-1 passenger car engine oil. In addition to the engine detergency, wear prevention and other performance benchmarks stipulated in the existing diesel engine oil (DH-1) standard, the DH-2 and DL-1 classifications include requirements with respect to, for example, the reduction not only of combustion sediment (soot) that is responsible for DPF clogging, but also of oil constituents that may impede catalyst performance.
The JSAE’s recent updating of the automotive diesel engine oil standard (JASO M355:2005) was implemented on the basis of those guidelines.
Revision of the Application Manual
Subsequent to the revision of the standard, the JASO Engine Oil Standards Implementation Panel in turn revised its Automotive Diesel Engine Oil Standard (JASO M355:2005) Application Manual accordingly. The purpose of this manual is to promote correct product identification on oil cans and other oil containers so as to provide consumers with product compliance information when they purchase diesel engine oil. The manual therefore stipulates that diesel oil suppliers must indicate on the label of every oil container the specific JASO-designated oil type (DH-1, DH-2 or DL-1) contained therein.
Furthermore, the revisions to the manual allow engine oil suppliers to adopt, for the DH-2 and DL-1 oils, the same self-certification system that has been in place for DH-1 oils [see note *3], provided they notify the JASO Engine Oil Standards Implementation Panel to that effect. The Panel will accept such notifications beginning on August 1, 2005, and engine oil suppliers will be authorized to label their own oil containers with the DH-2 and DL-1 oil type designations effective as of October 1, 2005 [see label samples below]. The text of the application manual can be accessed by visiting the Japan Lubricating Oil Society’s Web site at www.jalos.or.jp/index.htm.
Product Compliance Labels for the DH-2 and DL-1 Engine Oil Types
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| JASO M355 Compliance ProductDH-2 performance quality guarantor:_____ Co., Ltd. | JASO M355 Compliance ProductDL-1 performance quality guarantor:_____ Co., Ltd. |
Notes:
*1:JASO: The Japan Automobile Standards Organization. Automotive standards are, however, determined by the Society of Automotive Engineers of Japan (JSAE).
*2:The JASO Engine Oil Standards Implementation Panel: A deliberation body formed voluntarily by numerous industry groups, academic institutes and other entities concerned with automotive engine oil in Japan, for the purpose of promoting the correct application of Japan's engine oil standards domestically and abroad. Panel membership includes the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association (JAMA), the Petroleum Association of Japan (PAJ), the JSAE, the Japan Land Engine Manufacturers Association, the Japan Lubricating Oil Society, and the Japan Boating Industry Association (and related companies).
*3:The self-certification system only enables engine oil suppliers, through the channel of the JASO Engine Oil Standards Implementation Panel, to give notice of and register on-file engine oil products that comply with the JSAE’s automotive diesel engine oil standard (JASO M355:2005). It does not establish and certify product performance, etc., per se.
