Fork oil SAE comparo

Hello fellow VFR geeks,

So I've heard Ohlins have their own SAE rating and that it differs from other more "accessible" or run of the mill brands.

Any proof that this is so and if so, is it "thicker" or "thinner"???

Thanks in advance

IIRC, there's nothing particularly odd in the way Big Ö rate their oils on the SAE scale. 

Öhlins themselves don't use the SAE scale. They spec a reference number for their own products. 

I'm sure I Googled a pdf listing the actual viscosity (in cSt@40°C) of various Öhlins oils some time back but can't access it ATM.

I'm surprised, given that "SAE" stands for Society of Automotive Engineers, which is a standards-setting body (like DIN for Germany, BS for the UK and JIS for Japan), so having a different "SAE" rating kinda makes a nonsense of the SAE standard!

Ciao,

Ah! Found the file. See attached. 

Öhlins 01313 is labelled as 5W and rated at 23 cSt. 

NB: The SAE scale is an (old) engine oil specification that is only a (very) rough guide for suspension fluid. Go by cSt rating if you can. 

Ohlins oil.pdf

The great thing about standards is that there are so many!

The SAE scale describes viscosity grades. It was never meant to be a precise measure of actual viscosity.

Besides, viscosity is measured at typical engine operating temps, i.e. far above the operating temps of telescopic forks and even the very best oils in terms of temperature stability of their viscosity (described by the Viscosity Index or VI) still vary a lot between hot and cold. 

In short, the SAE scale borders on the useless to describe suspension fluid.

In my experience Ohlins mixed to 12.5 equates to other manufacturers 10.