What does the "API" symbol on the engine oil label mean?

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What does the "API" symbol on the engine oil label mean?

 API is an acronym for American Petroleum Institute which is one of the organizations that set the engine oil performance standards for each type of vehicle, both gasoline and diesel engines, in order to certify the qualifications and quality that meet the requirements to support the engine technology that has been continuously developed from the past to the present. Most automakers in Thailand and many regions around the world refer to this API standard to specify the recommended engine oil quality in the manual for each car model.

The API standard for gasoline engine oils begins with the letter “S” followed by the English alphabet in ascending order as the standard evolves, starting from API SA to the latest API SP standard that was introduced in 2020 (2563 B.E.).

The API SP standard has been developed to outperform the previous API SN and API SN PLUS in almost every aspect. It was designed to support and be suitable for modern gasoline engines that are rapidly developing, whether reducing engine size (Engine Downsizing), the use of direct injection fuel system (GDI) or the air compressing system with a turbocharger. Due to these developments, it is necessary to have an engine oil that can support these advanced technologies in order to improve driving performance, engine protection as well as the fuel economy.

So how is the new API SP engine oil superior to the previous AP SN?

With features that have been developed in many aspects, the API SP engine oil meets the needs of modern gasoline vehicles very well. The advantages of the API SP are as follows:

  • Help prevent severe engine damage from the risk of low speed pre-ignition (LSPI) that can occur in modern vehicles with direct-injection systems (GDI and Turbo-GDI).
  • Protects the timing chain from wear and elongation in all driving conditions to maintain the efficiency of the precise valve timing and good performance of the engine for a long time.
  • Helps to control cleanliness of internal engine parts, especially piston and rings. The ability to prevent sludge and varnish in the engine is better than the previous standards as well.
  • Better heat and oil degradation resistance to support smaller size of engine which has higher build-up heat in the engine

And today, let PTT Lubricants introduce you to one of the latest engine oils guaranteed by global standard API SP and ACEA A3/B4-21, PERFORMA SUPER SYNTHETIC SAE 0W-40 which is a fully synthetic engine oil. 

Developed from the existing API SN and ACEA A3/B4-16 standards, PERFORMA SUPER SYNTHETIC is meant to outperform the previous version in all aspects, including:

  • Superior cleaning power in the engine with the unique innovation of high quality additives SMART Molecules
  • Superior heat and oil degradation resistance to prevent sludge formation and provide long service life.
  • Superior maximum engine protection from starting to high speed and high temperature
  • Superior low-friction engine lubrication with a strong oil film developed on the EVOTEC Technology platform
  • Superior acceleration response and maintaining engine compression for excellent performance
  • Superior environmental friendliness as it helps reduce exhaust gas and carbon dioxide emission. The PERFORMA SUPER SYNTHETIC is also not harmful to the exhaust gas treatment equipment.

Therefore, PERFORMA SUPER SYNTHETIC SAE 0W-40 is ideally suitable for high performance direct injection gasoline engines (GDI/Turbo-GDI) of passenger cars, sports cars, sport utility vehicles (SUVs), and all gasoline engines with conventional fuel injection (PFI) that are compatible with unleaded gasoline (ULG) and gasohol (E10, E20 and E85).

Elevate your driving experience to the next level with PERFORMA SUPER SYNTHETIC SAE 0W-40, the new formula ‘API SP’ from PTT Lubricants, available now at stores near you.