Confirmed position
  • API’s Motor Oil Guide marks GF-6A and GF-6B as obsolete from 1 October 2026.
  • The guide directs users to GF-7A where GF-6A is recommended and GF-7B where GF-6B is recommended.
  • GF-7B remains limited to SAE 0W-16 oils.
  • Brand owners should verify each licensed claim and package transition against current API requirements.

The technical category change is clear. The operational risk sits in the details: products still carrying an old claim, artwork not yet released, inventory in multiple markets, distributor stock and customer systems that still name GF-6.

What changes on 1 October 2026

Primary-source position: API’s Motor Oil Guide identifies ILSAC GF-6A and GF-6B as current categories that become obsolete on 1 October 2026. It lists GF-7A and GF-7B as the categories to use where the respective GF-6 category is recommended.

This does not mean every product, approval or customer specification changes automatically in the same way. Licensing status, product claims and market communication should be checked against the current API programme documents and any relevant OEM requirements.

Build one transition register

Create a controlled list covering every affected SKU and market. At minimum, record:

  • current API and ILSAC claims;
  • viscosity grade and whether the product is GF-7B eligible;
  • API licence status and supporting formulation reference;
  • label, technical data sheet, website and sales-system wording;
  • remaining packaging and finished-goods inventory;
  • customer registrations, tender documents and distributor listings;
  • owner, action date and evidence of completion.

Do not treat artwork as the whole project

A label update is visible, but the claim system is wider. Product data, ecommerce listings, distributor catalogues, certificates, sales presentations and customer master data can continue carrying obsolete language after packaging changes.

Technical, quality, regulatory, supply-chain and commercial owners should sign off the same transition register. This reduces the risk of one channel making a claim that another channel can no longer support.

Control old stock and market communication

Map packaging and finished-product inventory by location and expected depletion date. Where stock may remain after the transition, obtain the applicable current programme position rather than assuming that an obsolete category can be marketed indefinitely.

Customer communication should be factual. State the category transition, identify the replacement product or claim, and avoid implying that an obsolete category means the oil suddenly loses its physical performance on the transition date.

The deadline is a claim-management event as much as a formulation event.

Management questions for the next review

  1. Which active SKUs still show GF-6A or GF-6B in any controlled or public material?
  2. Which products have a confirmed GF-7 licensing and formulation path?
  3. Which markets or customers need advance notification?
  4. How much old packaging and finished stock could remain on 1 October?
  5. Who has authority to close each claim, artwork and system record?

The strongest transition plan is not the longest. It is the one that connects an authoritative category position to every product claim customers can see.