Castrol VECTON 10W-40 E4/E7

Worth knowing

The words “Long Drain” are absent from this oil’s name, yet of the two VECTON 10W-40 oils in the catalogue it is this one that has DTFR 15B120 (formerly MB 228.5), a Daimler Truck approval for an extended interval on an oil of conventional ash content, and alongside it ACEA E4, MAN M 3277 and MTU Oil Category 3. At 1.75 %, the sulphated ash here sits nearer the upper limit of the E4 and E7 classes: they permit up to 2.0 %, and ACEA does not recommend them for Euro VI engines, as the article on the current ACEA truck classes explains.

The other VECTON of this viscosity grade, VECTON Long Drain 10W-40 E8/E11, has the opposite profile: ash 0.97 %, base number 8.3 mg KOH/g against 13.2, and approvals DTFR 15C100, DTFR 15C110, DTFR 15C120, MAN M 3775 and Volvo VDS-4.5. ACEA E4, DTFR 15B120 and MAN M 3277 are absent from its list. So the choice between these two 10W-40 oils comes down not to the words “Long Drain” in the name but to whether a particulate filter is fitted and to the code in the engine documentation.