Researchers in the automotive and petrochemical industries have studied the effects of oil volatility on engine emissions and oil consumption over the past decade. The standard test for assessing oil volatility has been the Noack and gas chromatographic techniques. The Noack test conditions are recognized as being more representative of those experienced by oils in engines during operation. This application note describes how PerkinElmer TGA 8000, TGA 4000 or STA 6000 instruments provide an excellent means of characterizing oil volatilities using the TGA Noack test, which has been developed to improve reproducibility and has taken into account better test conditions that closely meet ASTM D6375-09 specifications.