Shell Helix Essential Drive 10W-40

ShellShell Helix Essential Drive linepassenger cars10W-40 data partly verified

General-purpose 10W-40 engine oil rated API SP and ACEA A3/B4 for car petrol engines, diesels without a particulate filter and gas engines.

Classification
Product line Shell Helix Essential Drive 3 oils
SAE viscosity 10W-40What SAE means
Intended use passenger cars
API class What API means
ACEA class What ACEA means
Typical properties
Viscosity at 40 °C 92.4 mm²/s
Viscosity at 100 °C 13.9 mm²/s
Pour point -42 °C
Flash point 242 °C
Density 863 kg/m³

Description

Shell Helix Essential Drive 10W-40 is a general-purpose oil from the Helix Essential Drive line for the everyday running of North American, Japanese, other Asian and European cars with petrol, diesel and gas-fuelled engines.

The oil is rated API SP and ACEA A3/B4. The maker lists no car-maker approvals for it, so it suits engines whose service documentation asks for these classes alone.

Typical figures: 13.9 mm²/s at 100 °C, 92.4 mm²/s at 40 °C, pour point -42 °C, flash point 242 °C.

As a full-SAPS A3/B4 oil, it is not intended for diesels fitted with a particulate filter.

Application

North American, Japanese, other Asian and European cars with petrol, diesel (without a particulate filter) and gas-fuelled engines in everyday use.

Worth knowing

According to their data sheets, three Shell 10W-40 oils have the same typical figures: viscosity at 40 and 100 °C, pour point and flash point. Besides Essential Drive, they are Helix HX7 10W-40 and Helix HX6 10W-40, so only the codes on the label tell them apart. Essential Drive has only API SP and ACEA A3/B4. HX7, with the same classes, holds official VW 501.01 and VW 505.00 approvals and merely meets the requirements of MB 229.3, Renault RN0700 and Renault RN0710. HX6 has the same VW approvals, but lists API SN and API SN Plus instead of API SP.

Different sets of tests stand behind API SN Plus and API SP. The SN Plus designation added protection against low-speed pre-ignition (LSPI) to SN, while in SP this test became part of the class together with a new test for timing chain wear. What each API class from SM to SQ added is shown in the overview of the API SN, SP and SQ classes.

Data current as of data partly verifiedsome specifications could not be confirmed from an official sourceCheck the label and the current product data sheet before you buy.

Sources

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