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| CLICK TO SEE LETTER |
On January 8, 2014, PQIA i
ssued an Advisory on a sample of Valvoline NextGen Conventional 5W-20 motor oil. The reason for the Advisory is that the sample tested failed the Noack Volatility requirements for an API SN/ILSAC GF-5.
Thom Smith, Vice President Lubricant Technology Ashland Consumer Markets, sent PQIA a letter on January 10th outlining Ashland's position on the analysis of the Valvoline NextGen 5W-20 sample and the Noack Volatility test. The letter was accompanied by an email noting that Mr. Smith would call PQIA to discuss their position. Mr. Smith contacted PQIA on Jan 15 to review the letter and its position. A copy of Ashland's letter on this subject can be seen by clicking letter above.
The essence of Ashland's position is expressed in Thom Smith's statement:
"As you are aware, the ASTM D5800 test results can vary significantly from one piece of test equipment to the next. We have experienced variances between calibrated units in excess of the published reproducibility when testing commercial formulations. We believe that this may explain the extreme difference in test results that we are seeing.
Valvoline has long been concerned that the ASTM D5800 test for volatility is prone to variation that may not appear when calibrating or when testing the oils included in the ASTM round robins and would actually prefer that alternative volatility tests be considered by the industry for future specifications. Given that D5800 is the industry standard today and the differences between our D5800 results we may want to jointly approach the ASTM Volatility Group requesting that they
take another look at the published D5800 repeatability and reproducibility values."
Whereas PQIA respects Ashland's position with regards to this issue, PQIA's approach is to use the industry standards when we perform an analysis. The industry standard for Noack Volatility is ASTM D-5800, Procedure B.
Advisory
