API Specifications for Diesel Engines
Types Status Description
CA Obsolete Mid/moderate duty, naturally aspirated high-quality fuel, 1940/50s
CB Obsolete Mid/moderate duty, naturally aspirated low-quality high-sulphur fuel, 1949
CC Obsolete Moderate/severe duty, naturally aspirated, supercharged/some heavy-duty gasoline,
1961
CD Obsolete Naturally aspirated, turbo supercharged over a wide range including high-sulphur, 1955
CD II Obsolete Severe duty 2-stroke engines requiring excellent control over wear and deposits, pre-
1985
CE Obsolete Direct injection high-performance turbo supercharged engines low-speed–high-load,
high-speed–low-load conditions, 1984
CF Obsolete High-speed, 4-stroke engines (on-highway heavy-duty trucks), 1990
CF2 Obsolete Indirect injection, non-emission-control atmospheric/turbo supercharged engines using a
wide quality fuel range (CD applicable), 1994
CF4 Obsolete 2-stroke engines requiring control over scuffing and deposits (CD II applicable), 1994
CG4 Obsolete High-speed 4-stroke, heavy-duty on-off highway (CD, CF-4, CH-4 applicable),1994
CH4 Obsolete High-speed 4-stroke, heavy-duty on-off highway (CD, CF-4, CH-4 applicable),1999
CF-4 Obsolete High-speed, 4-stroke, naturally aspirated, turbocharged engine, 1990
CG-4 Obsolete Severe-duty, high-speed 4-stroke engines, using fuel with less than 0.5% weight
sulphur, 1995
CH-4 Current High-speed 4-stroke engines, sulphur content up to 0.5% weight (meet 1998 exhaust
emission standards), 1998
CI-4 Current High-speed 4-stroke engines, sustain engine durability, sulphur content up to 0.5%
weight (meet 2004 exhaust emission standards), 2002
CI-4+ Current Used in conjunction with API CI-4 and CJ-4, formulated to provide a higher level of
protection against soot-related viscosity increase and viscosity loss due to shear in high-
speed 4-stroke diesel engines.
CJ-4 Current High-speed 4-stroke engines (meet 2007 model year on-highway exhaust emission
standards), diesel fuels ranging in sulphur content up to 500 ppm, 2006
CK-4 To be Enhanced protection against oil oxidation and protection against engine wear,
and released in particulate filter blocking, piston deposits, and degradation of low- and high-temperature
FA-4 Dec-2016 properties.
API Specifications for Diesel Engines
To give you a better idea of how each specification under API is different from each other look at this diagram.
This measures the performance of different types of oil. The dividing line represents the scale for functions of oil.
E.g. CH4 is best in sheer stability and piston deposit, good in corrosion, and zero in used oil cold pumpability.