Petroleum Quality Institute of America

PETROLEUM QUALITY INSTITUTE OF AMERICA TEST PROGRAM

The Petroleum Quality Institute of America (PQIA) is an independent resource for information and insights on the quality of lubricants in the marketplace. Our mission is to serve the consumer of lubricants by randomly sampling and independently testing lubricants taken from the field. Test results are posted along with the brand names on the PQIA website. This webpage provides an analysis on the brand detailed below.

The following are the test results for the sample examined.

Everclear 10-40
No API Service Categories or other approvals specificed on the labels

Everclear Oil 10-40

Manufactured by: Everclear of Ohio, Ltd.

Youngstown, Ohio

Purchased at: Metuchen, NJ

Date of purchase: 12-26-2014

Test Results and Assessment:

CONSUMER ALERT: This product is labeled as a 10-40 Motor Oil. Whereas a reasonable person would likely interpret this to mean it's an SAE 10W-40 viscosity grade, the label also says Viscosity Range 10 to 40. Before using this product read the information on the back panel. The back panel goes on to says, 10-40 means the viscosity ranges from 10 to 40. With that said, it's clear that the manufacturer is not stating what the viscosity of the oil is other than it ranges from 10 to 40 something, as no units are specified. For this reason alone, PQIA advises consumers to not buy this product. This is the seventh time PQIA has issued Consumer Alerts on lubricants marketed under the Everclear brand. The results of the tests conducted on this sample do NOT meet the SAE J300 specifications for a 10W-40. The Kinematic Viscosity @ 100°C is less than the minimum viscosity specification for this SAE grade, and the Low-Temperature Cranking Viscosity is 11% higher than the maximum viscosity specification for this SAE grade. Further, the organometallic additive levels in this sample indicate the product is NOT suitable for use in the majority of automobile engines currently on the road. The metal analysis results for this sample indicate the product may be contaminated with used oil and abrasive material. Use of this product in modern automobile engines may cause harm to the engine.
	Physical Properties/span>
	Elemental Analysis
	Labeling

Note: Although laboratory tests alone cannot be used to establish if engine oil meets an API Service Category, they can be used to determine if it doesn't.

PHYSICAL TESTS (click test for details)	Standard	Everclear Motor Oil Sample Test Results
TBN, mg KOH/g, (ASTM D2896)		0.14
Viscosity @ 100ºC, cSt, (ASTM D445)	12.5 to <16.3	12.1
Viscosity @ 40ºC, cSt, ASTM D445		79.0
Viscosity Index (ASTM D2270)		149
Viscosity @ -25ºC mPa s (cP) (ASTM D5293)	7,000 Max	7,764
Volatility, mass % loss, 1 hr, @ 250ºC (ASTM D5800)	15 Max -c	n/a
ELEMENTAL ANALYSIS^-b
Additives
Calcium		<1
Magnesium		<1
Phosphorus, ppm		1,470
Zinc, ppm		4
Molybdenum, ppm		1
Barium, ppm		<1
Boron, ppm		<1
Silicon, ppm		212
Potassium, ppm		<1
Manganese, ppm		<1
Titanium, ppm		1
Copper, ppm		141
Sodium, ppm		<1
Vanadium, ppm		<1

Silver, ppm		<1
Aluminum, ppm		5
Chromium, ppm		1
Iron, ppm		28
Nickel, ppm		<1
Lead, ppm		3
Antimony, ppm		<1
Tin, ppm		24
a- Standards, shown in yellow are established by API, SAE and others. b-Test Method for metal analysis is ASTM D5185. c - This specification is expressed to two significant figures, therefore results up to 15.5 are considered on specification.