The Petroleum Quality Institute of America (PQIA) recently issued an advisory for Valvoline NextGen 5W-20 Motor Oil. After twice testing a sample of the oil acquired at a retail store in New Jersey, PQIA determined it did not meet volatility requirements set by the American Petroleum Institute (API) and the International Lubricants Standardization and Approval Committee (ILSAC). While the sample passed viscosity and elemental requirements for the API SN and ILSAC GF-5 specifications, its weight losses of 18.4 and 18.3 percent in the NOACK Volatility Test (ASTM D5800) are about 22 percent higher than the 15 percent maximum required for the specifications.
