The Gear Oils doesn’t have CF4, CI classification but something else.

I will explain that in the

last part of the answer.

The CF4, CI4, CF, CI etc. are categories laid down by American Petroleum institute (API) to
classify the various generations of Diesel Engine oils.

For a layman , I would explain it as, since Diesel engine are compression ignition based hence
“C” i.e. Compression signifies that the oil is for Diesel engine and A, B, C …..F…..I,K signifies
the genaration of Oil (A being the oldest and K being the latest. Similarly for petrol/gasoline , the
engines are spark ignition based and so the classification of oils is SA , SB ….SN.

The new category of oil is introduced when there are improvements in performance parameters
of Oil or engine.

For Diesel Engine oils latest generation of Diesel Engine oil is CK (introduced in year 2017) and
Petrol Engine oils is SN (introduced in year 2010).

The latest category of oils usually includes the performance parameters of the earlier oil. Hence a
latest generation engine oil can be used in the earliest generation engine oil.

Although this is not exactly true in case of Diesel Engine Oils. For Diesel Engine oils a separate
category has also been defined which is FA-4 which is formulated for use in high speed 4 stroke
engines using fuel with very low sulphur content. This oil is not interchangeable with other
categories of Engine oils and thus One must refer the user manual of Car manufacturer before
using the engine oil.

Coming on to the gear oils, for motor vehicles they are classified as GL-1, GL-2 ….GL6. Again
the nomenclature is based on improvements in oil performance. The higher the GL-rating the
more pressure can be sustained without any metal-to-metal contact taking place between
transmission components.

Cf4 is Carbon tetrafluoride

Ci4 is Carbon tetraiodide
Cf is carbon fluroide and Ci is Carbon Iodide
CF4: For high-speed, four-stroke, naturally aspirated and turbocharged engines.
CI4: CI-4 oils are formulated to sustain engine durability where exhaust gas recirculation (EGR)
is used and are intended for use with diesel fuels ranging in sulphur content up to 0.5% weight
CF: . For off-road, indirect-injected and other diesel engines including those using fuel with over
0.5% weight sulphur.