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.