CCMC Classification

In fact, the CCMC oil-quality classification was originally conceived as an adaptation of the API quality classes for the European market, and so at first all the CCMC quality classes matched the equivalent API categories, with some technical additions and reservations, since European requirements were traditionally higher than American ones.

The one substantial difference between the CCMC and API classifications was that while API split all engine oils into just two main categories — petrol and diesel — the CCMC classification singled out a third category — diesel engines for trucks.

By analogy with the API quality classes, categories were created in sequence, by tightening the requirements for engine oil quality. The following CCMC quality classes existed:

• For petrol engines: G1, G2, G3, G4, G5.
• For the diesel engines of passenger cars: PD1, PD2.
• For truck diesel engines: D1, D2, D3, D4, D5.

In 1990 the CCMC organisation was reorganized into the Association of European Automobile Constructors (ACEA — Association des Constructeurs Europeens de L'Automobile), and already in 1996 the first edition of the ACEA engine oil quality classification was released, fully replacing the CCMC classification.