Shell Product Names and Grades Explained

Shell has an extensive product catalog for lubricants and greases, however this means that there are a bewildering array of different product names, grades and options to choose from. It is especially difficult when Shell change the names of their products and the grading system, so you often find that machine manuals from 20-30 years ago specify oils that are no longer available, or have been renamed. The following information should be used as a guide only and not a recommendation to purchase any type or grade of oil for your application.

The Product Name

Shell Product Names are made up of the following components.

Shell <Name> <Tier> <Suffix> <Grade> <Applications/Conditions> <NLGI>

For example : Shell Morlina S2 B 220

  • Name = Morlina
  • Tier = S2
  • Suffix = B
  • Grade = 220
  • Applications/Conditions = Conditions applicable for greases only
  • NLGI = NLGI applicable for greases only

Name

Shell used to have a massive array of product names, but they have attempted to standardise them, and now the name usually falls under one of the following (Some specialist oils still have their own brand name). Click on the link to access Shells product Brochure for more detailed information on each product.

Tier

This field generally denotes the quality of the oil, the higher number being better. The Tier will be in the range S1 to S6. The actual meaning of each tier will depend on the Name as follows.

Name S1 S2 S3 S4 S5 S6
Shell Gadus Mineral Based Mineral Based Mineral Based Semi Synthetic Fully Synthetic N/A
Shell Tellus (Shell Hydraulic) Entry Tier - Basic performance Mainline Tier - General Purpose Industrial Applications Premium Tier - Improved Protection Advanced Tier - Synthetic N/A N/A
Shell Omala Entry Tier - General Purpose Industrial Applications Mainline Tier - Extra Protection Premium Tier - Special Applications, Extreme Load Advanced Tier - Synthetic N/A N/A
Shell Corena N/A Mainline Tier - Standard Applications Premium Tier - Long Life, High Efficiency Advanced Tier - Synthetic, Severe Applications N/A N/A
Shell Refrigeration N/A Mainline Tier - Mineral Oil N/A Advanced Tier - Synthetic, AB/POE N/A N/A
Shell Tonna N/A Mainline Tier - Standard Applications Premium Tier - Long Life, High Efficiency N/A N/A N/A
Shell Morlina N/A Mainline Tier - Standard Applications N/A N/A N/A N/A
Shell Spirax N/A Mainline Tier - Standard Applications Premium Tier - Designed for OEMs Premium Tier - Versatile applications N/A Advanced Tier - Synthetic, Exceptional Performance
Shell Turbo N/A N/A N/A Advanced Tier - Extended Life, Enhanced Efficiency N/A N/A
Shell Mysella N/A Entry Tier - Standard Applications Mainline Tier - Extra Protection N/A Premium Tier - Extended Life, Extra Protection N/A
Shell Diala N/A Mainline Tier - Reliable Performance Premium Tier - Extra Performance N/A N/A N/A

Suffix

Shell Gadus

The Suffix denotes the thickener type used

  • T = Extreme-temperature performance using Shell polyurea thickeners
  • V = Versatile, multipurpose application using lithium and lithium complex thickeners
  • A = Thickeners for wet (aqueous) conditions
  • U = Unusual non-melting thickeners or other applications

Shell Tellus

  • A = Water Tolerant (LHV type fluids)
  • E = Energy Saving, High Efficiency
  • M = Manufacturing/machine factory applications (HM type fluids)
  • V = Versatile Applications (HV type fluids)
  • X = Extra/Extreme Performance

Shell Omala

  • E = Energy Saving, High Efficiency
  • G = Gears Spur and Helical
  • W = Worm Drive
  • X = Extra/Extreme Performance

Shell Corena

  • P = High pressure/reciprocating (piston) air compressors
  • R = Rotary vane and screw air compressors

Shell Refrigeration

  • A = Mineral Oil
  • F = POE Oil
  • V = AB Oil

Shell Tonna

  • M = Manufacturing/machine factory applications

Shell Morlina

  • B = Bearings
  • L = Low Load

Shell Spirax

  • A = Axle
  • ATF = Automatic transmission fluid
  • D = Daimler/Dexron
  • E = Energy efficiency
  • G = Gear
  • HD = Heavy duty
  • LS = Limited slip
  • M = (Low) maintenance
  • M = Mercon/MAN
  • U = Allison
  • V = Voith
  • X = Multi-vehicle/multi-OEM
  • Z = ZF

Shell Mysella

  • A = Axle
  • N = Natural Gas
  • S = Sour Gas
  • Z = Zero or very low ash

Shell Diala

  • G = Gas absorbing
  • I = Conforms to IEC specifications
  • U = Uninhibited
  • X = Fully inhibited
  • Z = Insulating oil

Grade

This is a number that denotes the ISO Viscosity Grade. More information on Viscosity Grades can be obtained here.

Applications/Conditions

Shell Gadus

The conditions denote the following

  • C = Coloured grease
  • D = Contains solids, suitable for shock-load conditions
  • OG = Open gear
  • Q = Noise-dampening (quiet) applications

NLGI

This is the NLGI Consistency of the grease.

For more information see this Wikipedia article