What is OEM oil?

Generally speaking, OEM is an abbreviation for “Original equipment manufacturer,” which usually means assembling a finished product from components made by outside manufacturers. In the context of producing lubricants, this works as follows: the manufacturer (in this case, an oil-blending plant, or blender) buys base oils from one set of manufacturers and ready-made additive packages from another, and simply blends them together, getting finished products with the specified characteristics. These products are usually made to order for brands and later bottled into their own containers (cans, drums, tanks, and so on).

Needless to say, this kind of production scheme for lubricants has no need to keep an army of development managers, marketers and chemists busy planning and developing new products, which is why oils like this, depending on transport distance, usually fall into the mid price range.

What about quality?

The quality of OEM oils depends directly on the quality of the base oils and additive packages used, on adherence to the blending technology, and on the quality of control, both incoming and outgoing (of the finished products). Given quality components and strict quality control of the finished products on the way out, OEM oils have more than acceptable quality and excellent performance characteristics, and lag only slightly behind (if at all) their pricier, more “hyped” competitors. Good-quality OEM oils have no trouble getting official car manufacturer approvals and international specifications, and can be used in practically any engine, including the latest designs (in line with the car manufacturer's recommendations and official approvals).

By the way, it's precisely the official approvals from car manufacturers that, to a certain extent, guarantee the consistent quality of a given OEM oil. The thing is, the process of obtaining approvals and specifications is fairly involved and costs money, which is essentially an investment in the trademark (the brand).

The point is, printing specifications and approvals on a label requires far more than the fact that, say, an identical specification was granted to a similar product made at the same plant from the same components. Specifications and approvals aren't granted to additive packages, base oils, or even oil producers (blenders) — they're granted to specific oils under specific brands!

Many “newborn” brands use the term “Exceeds” when referring to approvals and specifications. In an English rendering this usually reads as “Meets and exceeds requirements,” and this wording on the label is far from always visible. Often the only basis for claims like this on the label and in the documentation is the documentation for the additive package used. The place of manufacture, the components used, and whether the brand's own lab testing was carried out (quality control of the finished product) usually go unreported, whether on the label or even on such brands' official websites.

How do you check for specifications and approvals?

You won't be able to check every approval yourself, because car manufacturers usually don't publish that kind of information. That said, information on approvals and lists of approved oils is usually available at authorised service centres.

The one thing you'll definitely be able to verify is the presence of an MB approval, as well as an API specification. Links to regularly updated lists of approved oils are in a dedicated topic on our forum.

Is it okay to use OEM oils?

You need to understand that OEM oil is a method of production, nothing more, which is why the quality of different oils of this type can be worlds apart. Essentially, all the genuine oils sold by official representatives and service centres of the leading car manufacturers are the very same OEM oils, just made at serious plants and put through multiple levels of quality control (first at the place of production, then in the car manufacturer's own lab).

That's why, before deciding to use an OEM oil, you need to very carefully study all the available information about that particular brand — how long the brand has existed, exactly where the oils are made, where they're sold, whether that brand's oils hold car manufacturer approvals and specifications (and whether the information on the label is actually confirmed), and so on.

Oils from brands sold only in the CIS that have no approvals or specifications of their own (if the claims on the label aren't backed up by official sources, see above), and that also don't disclose a single piece of concrete information about their place of manufacture and the quality of their products — are simply not worth buying, no matter the sweet advertising slogans about “European quality” and a “beneficial effect” on engine performance. This is outright fraud and consumer deception, plain and simple, and even if you get lucky and the first can you buy turns out to hold reasonably decent oil (which is highly unlikely), within a few months the odds of buying oil of the same quality again are extremely low.