Correlation between the Brazilian Test Procedure for Engine Oils - PROBOL IB - and ASTM VE Sequence

This is a report on a further phase of the work undertaken by PETROBRAS and General Motors do Basil in order to develop a test procedure to evaluate lubricant oils taking into account conditions peculiar to Brazil.

In a previous phase, the procedure designated as PROBOL IB was outlined. It's starting point was the VE Sequence of the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) and it used as test fuel a mixture of gasoline and 22% of anhydrous ethanol, which is the engine fuel usually marketed in the country.

In this present phase, a correlation was attained between results from PROBOL IB and the VE Sequence, using the reference oils utilized by ASTM accredited laboratories for calibration and determining severity on test benches.

It was also concluded that the PROBOL IB procedure presents a good repeatability and is less severe than the VE Sequence.