Royal Purple Email
03-01-2010, 01:03 PM
#1
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: 01-11-2010
Location: California
Posts: 72
Royal Purple Email
I sent this email to Royal Purple and thought I should share it with the all of you. I am noit trying to start a oil war however, I wanted you guys to see their response
I recently purchased a 2008 Chevy HHR with the 2.2 and an auto trans, I switched from conventional oil (or what ever was in there) to Royal Purple at 39,000 miles my question is in the manual for my car it states only use GM6094M an oil with a GM standard and a star burst, I have no idea what this means and was just wondering because on the RP quart I don't see either of these, if something was to happen internally to my engine would it still be covered under the GM 100,000 mile warranty due to my choice of oil thanks in advance for your reply.
John
Good Morning John,
The API starburst symbol is shorthand for ‘Energy Conserving’ oils that are licensed with whatever the current API rating happens to be (API SM is now current). Along with the new API SM rating came the ILSAC GF-4 rating (they usually go hand in hand). ILSAC GF-4 requires a reduction in anti-wear additive. The reduction was deemed appropriate by automakers because they are now required by the EPA to warranty a vehicles emissions system separately from the power train and phosphorus (a component of ZDDP) is detrimental to catalytic converters is introduced directly to the cat in sufficient quantities. We at Royal Purple believe this to be an incorrect finding an that trading engine wear protection for the possibility of extending catalytic converter life is a poor trade-off. The OEM perspective is understandable, though, because warranties represent a huge potential, and actual liability, and once the power-train warranty is expired, the vehicle owner is responsible for engine repair.
Most Royal Purple SAE oils are API SL rated (not 0W-40, 5W-40, or 20W-50) and meet the performance requirements of GM 6094M. However, to be certified GM 6094M compliant, the oil must be API SM rated. The 6094M spec is a cold flow requirement for motor oil; the oil must be no more viscous than the values shown. Below I have listed the GM requirements and Royal Purple’s performance.
GM6094M:
For 0W-XX oils - 30,000 cP@ -40°C
For 5W-XX oils - 40,000 cP@ -35°C
For 10W-XX oils -50,000 cP@ -30°C
Royal Purple:
For 0W-40 oils - 20,000 cP@ -40°C
For 5W-20 oils - 22,200 cP@ -35°C
For 5W-30 oils - 34,800 cP@ -35°C
For 5W-40 oils - 21,500 cP@ -35°C
For 10W-30 oils -18,000 cP@ -30°C
Higher numbers indicate a thicker, or more viscous fluid. As can easily be seen, Royal Purple motor oils have much better cold flow (lower pumping viscosities) than required. While the Royal Purple motor oil you are using meets or exceeds all the performance requirements of GM6094M, we cannot claim compliance because of what is basically an administrative requirement. However, we at Royal Purple do understand the warranty concerns of our customers so we offer a retail warranty to supplement the OEM warranty received with the purchase of a vehicle. Please see attached for more detail.
Thank you for using Royal Purple and have a great day!
Best Regards,
Christopher Barker
Tech Services
Royal Purple, Inc.
1 Royal Purple Ln.
Porter, TX 77365
281-354-8600
I recently purchased a 2008 Chevy HHR with the 2.2 and an auto trans, I switched from conventional oil (or what ever was in there) to Royal Purple at 39,000 miles my question is in the manual for my car it states only use GM6094M an oil with a GM standard and a star burst, I have no idea what this means and was just wondering because on the RP quart I don't see either of these, if something was to happen internally to my engine would it still be covered under the GM 100,000 mile warranty due to my choice of oil thanks in advance for your reply.
John
Good Morning John,
The API starburst symbol is shorthand for ‘Energy Conserving’ oils that are licensed with whatever the current API rating happens to be (API SM is now current). Along with the new API SM rating came the ILSAC GF-4 rating (they usually go hand in hand). ILSAC GF-4 requires a reduction in anti-wear additive. The reduction was deemed appropriate by automakers because they are now required by the EPA to warranty a vehicles emissions system separately from the power train and phosphorus (a component of ZDDP) is detrimental to catalytic converters is introduced directly to the cat in sufficient quantities. We at Royal Purple believe this to be an incorrect finding an that trading engine wear protection for the possibility of extending catalytic converter life is a poor trade-off. The OEM perspective is understandable, though, because warranties represent a huge potential, and actual liability, and once the power-train warranty is expired, the vehicle owner is responsible for engine repair.
Most Royal Purple SAE oils are API SL rated (not 0W-40, 5W-40, or 20W-50) and meet the performance requirements of GM 6094M. However, to be certified GM 6094M compliant, the oil must be API SM rated. The 6094M spec is a cold flow requirement for motor oil; the oil must be no more viscous than the values shown. Below I have listed the GM requirements and Royal Purple’s performance.
GM6094M:
For 0W-XX oils - 30,000 cP@ -40°C
For 5W-XX oils - 40,000 cP@ -35°C
For 10W-XX oils -50,000 cP@ -30°C
Royal Purple:
For 0W-40 oils - 20,000 cP@ -40°C
For 5W-20 oils - 22,200 cP@ -35°C
For 5W-30 oils - 34,800 cP@ -35°C
For 5W-40 oils - 21,500 cP@ -35°C
For 10W-30 oils -18,000 cP@ -30°C
Higher numbers indicate a thicker, or more viscous fluid. As can easily be seen, Royal Purple motor oils have much better cold flow (lower pumping viscosities) than required. While the Royal Purple motor oil you are using meets or exceeds all the performance requirements of GM6094M, we cannot claim compliance because of what is basically an administrative requirement. However, we at Royal Purple do understand the warranty concerns of our customers so we offer a retail warranty to supplement the OEM warranty received with the purchase of a vehicle. Please see attached for more detail.
Thank you for using Royal Purple and have a great day!
Best Regards,
Christopher Barker
Tech Services
Royal Purple, Inc.
1 Royal Purple Ln.
Porter, TX 77365
281-354-8600
03-01-2010, 08:27 PM
#5
Senior Member
Join Date: 01-26-2010
Location: Michigan
Posts: 118
03-01-2010, 08:55 PM
#6
Senior Member
Join Date: 01-13-2008
Location: Washington State, where it rains
Posts: 4,708
That was 40 years ago....we were still using plyers to change TV channels, using lead in gas and the common dog was a German Sheppard......oils today are all about foolproof...yes some better then others but none are actualy bad under normal conditions.You'll see mechanical non-oil related failures before you'll see oil related failures. And since this is a RP thread I am referencing synthetic oils.....
03-01-2010, 11:53 PM
#9
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: 01-11-2010
Location: California
Posts: 72
This is what I make of it, he was saying that the new standard removed some wear properties to help save cat converters and that RP does not agree so they left the oil as slick as possible and didnt change anything also that it falls perfectly into the gm standard however, I think if somthing was to happen and you took it to the dealer if they found out you were running RP it would not be covered, and he sent me a copy of the warranty they had but it was a pdf photo file so I cant copy and paste it plus it was alot of garbage like the moon has to be tilted to the left slightly on a wendsday for them to cover it haha. I think when its time to change the oil again I will go with mobil 1 so if ever the dealer will have to cover it and its not like mobil 1 sucks its great, honestly I went with RP because for 39.99 on sale I got 5qrts and a filter from kragen.
