Oil Comparison Tool - Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Oil Comparison Tool?

The Oil Comparison Tool is a web application that is designed to help you find lubrication products that are similar to the one you are looking for. It can also find products that meet the specification or approval you select.

Why is this tool useful?

Sometimes the product that you are looking for is not available and you must find a substitute. This tool helps you to find them and also shows you how similar those similar products are.

What factors are taken into account when determining similarity?

Similarity is determined using the products' approval list and viscosity. Base oil type, additives and other physical and chemical data are not taken into account.

Are the listed products really approved by the vehicle manufacturers?

An approval is listed for a product if at least one of the following is true: the product is officially approved by the company or institution responsible for the approval, the oil manufacturer claims that the product meets all criteria demanded by the specification or the approval of the product is pending. However, all information about the listed products and their approvals were gathered from publicly available sources that may or may not be completely up to date.

How accurate are the similarity results?

Due to the nature how similarity is determined the results can be more accurate or less accurate. For example if a manufacturer produces a high quality product but doesn't get relevant approvals for it then it will not considered similar to other high quality products by this tool. In other cases when the product is 'properly' approved then the result will more accurately show it in the same group with other similar products.

Can I use a similar product instead of the original?

It depends. You should know that it is never the lubricant brand that is the decisive element. This is always up to the approvals and specifications. So if you find a product that has all the approvals and specifications demanded by the manufacturer of your automobile, motorcycle, truck, bus, motorboat or industrial device then you can use it as a substitute even if it's not the brand the manufacturer originally recommended. Before using a substitute product make sure that it really bears all necessary approvals just in case the information you found on this site is wrong or outdated.

Why are some approvals in the result list black while others are grayed out on the similarity list?

Approvals shown in black are the ones that match the approval of the selected product. Approvals grayed out are those that are unique to the product in the result list meaning that the selected product does not have them.

Why can't I see any similarity above 90%?

In order to avoid misleading anyone with a very high similarity result we maximized the maximum possible similarity in 90% to reflect that some factors were not taken into account. For more info read the answer to the question: "What factors are taken into account when determining similarity?"

I found a product that has all the necessary approvals and it's still less than 90% similar. Why?

Our engine that determines similarity works both ways. Maybe product A has all the approvals that product B has. But if product B doesn't have all the approvals product A has then they are not considered very similar by this tool.

What brand and product range does this tool cover?

This tool currently covers many top quality oil brands but certainly not all and not even most of them. We plan to add more brands in the future. Product wise at the moment the tool covers only motor oils for passenger cars. We plan to add trucks and buses later and we also plan to add support for gear oils and other types of lubricants.

I live in America/Asia/Africa/Australia and I can't find these products on my local market. Why is that?

This tool is designed mainly with the European market in mind since that is probably the most versatile considering the many different demands related to the oils.

This is all well and nice, but I don't care about approvals. I want to find out what oil can I use in my vehicle. Can you tell me?

This tool has no access to a vehicle database so it can't tell you what products you can use for your specific vehicle. However, many lubricant manufacturers have such tools on their website so you can start by selecting a product there and then come over here to check out the similar products.

I found an error in the provided results. What should I do?

Please send us an e-mail using the link at the top of the page explaining the specifics.

What guarantee do you provide with the information provided by this tool?

All the information provided on this website is correct to the best of our knowledge. However, all information come without any legal guarantee. For the specifics please read our terms of use.

I represent an oil company and I would like my products to be listed. Is it possible?

Please send us an e-mail using the link at the top of the page.

I've got a question that is not listed here. What should I do?

Please send us an e-mail using the link at the top of the page.

Back to the Oil Comparison Tool...