Engine: S60: Which oil

[DaveMitch]

Hi,

can anyone clear this up for me?

Have Volvo S60 2 ltr SE auto on an 03 plate with 50 k miles.....none towing;

What engine oil should I be putting in it ?
Pilling Volvo say castrol semi synth 10W-40 , but have seen on vadis it should be OW-30.
As the car has full history with Pilling ( now @ 50k miles) I presume its had the semi 10W-40 since their 1st service on it

I,m a firm believer in fully synth oil & was initially going to go for Mobil 1 0W-30 or Amsoil ,but thought I would come here for a 2nd opinion .

Thanks in advance
Dave

[imac]

Any ACEA A3/A4 oil should be OK.

10w40
5w40
0w40
0w30
5w30

etc etc.

Its a turbo car, I'd go for fully synth.

[amsoil]

Go for the Amsoil TSO 0w-30 if you have a Turbo car. This is the very best Synthetic oil. If you don't have a turbo the ASL 5w-30 is mighty fine. Both now come with a club discount (see the discounts section). These thnner oils are much stronger than the mineral equivalant give better performance more MPG easier starting cooler running etc etc.
There was a time when Mobil 1 was fully synthetic; not the case now I'm afraid. If you read the carefully and cleverly written small print on the back of a Mobil 1 bottle you will see ' made from 100% synthetic base stock' This is true of course but the additives in the oil are mineral base (and this is of course the critical and expensive part. If you doubt this ask Mobil themselves and see what kind of cagey answer you get!

[Jod T5]

Originally Posted by amsoil

There was a time when Mobil 1 was fully synthetic; not the case now I'm afraid. If you read the carefully and cleverly written small print on the back of a Mobil 1 bottle you will see ' made from 100% synthetic base stock'

that is very interesting amsoil, how do you stand on the theory that it is unwise to change to fully synthetic the oil of a car that has always been run with multigrade.....
cheers
jod

[imac]

Originally Posted by jod t5

that is very interesting amsoil, how do you stand on the theory that it is unwise to change to fully synthetic the oil of a car that has always been run with multigrade.....
cheers
jod

You mean semi? Fully synth is usually multigrade? Ie.. 5w40/0w30?

[amsoil]

Originally Posted by jod t5

that is very interesting amsoil, how do you stand on the theory that it is unwise to change to fully synthetic the oil of a car that has always been run with multigrade.....
cheers
jod

As I am a believer that all engines should be 'run in' on a mineral oil (simply because it allows the parts which should be kept apart by the oil to touch and bed in) then all engines should have had a mineral oil in them for IMHO a minimum of 5,000miles before changing over to a real synthetic oil.
As synthetic oils have a superior film strength to mineral oils then it follows that changing to a similar grade synthetic from a mineral will give you more protection, the oil being Slipperier will also reduce internal friction (which reduces heat) so that the engine can run cooler and with less energy loss which translates into a little more power available or more MPG.

The big gain is by dropping down an oil thickness grade ie many cars may require something like a 5w-30 or 10w-40. Now if you change from mineral 10w-40 to a synthetic 5w-30 the oils film strength is going to be better, even though the oil is thinner, the thinner oil will r3educe internal drag reduce 'pumping losses' both of which mean cooler running and more power/mpg and also will promote easier starting with less strain on the battery , the starter motor and the flywheel teeth. The thinner at cold oil will aslo get to the bearings quicker and importantly the turbo bearings. As it is accepted that strt up is the period of most wear this is a great plus. Additional benifits are that the oil remains servicable for much longer and keeps the engines internals nice and clean avoiding the gunge and sludge well known in older engines run on mineral oil.
Down side is the initial cost, you get what you pay for in this world I'm afraid, but also make a mental allowance for the advertising costs of the Multi Nationals here. Also if your seals are shot and its the gunge only that is tending to keep the oil in your engine then a full synthetic on erroding away all the gunge will show up the knackered seals. Having said that seal technology is so much better than it used to be that this is most unlikely in all but real old engines. Having said all this, would I put a fully synthetic oil in a 10 year old engine with 150,000 miles on the clock? yes. Would I put a fully synthetic oil in an engine built in the 50's or 60's with 200,000 + miles on the clock? maybe not.

any quality full synthetic from mobil, shell, valvoline, texaco amsoil etc etc that meets volvos spec will be more than adequate, dont believe all this garbage that brand x is better than brand y its marketing bolloxs, there all top quality products and will far exceed your cars needs

[imac]

Originally Posted by chow

any quality full synthetic from mobil, shell, valvoline, texaco amsoil etc etc that meets volvos spec will be more than adequate, dont believe all this garbage that brand x is better than brand y its marketing bolloxs, there all top quality products and will far exceed your cars needs

Quite agree.

[amsoil]

Totally agree with the above but with 2 comments.
Mobil 1 is no longer 100% synthetic nor has it been for quite a few years.
There is a difference in the longevity of the oils mentioned. The additive package (the expensive 20% of the oil) varies very considerably; This affects an oils ability to stay in index (grade), its ability to overcome corrosive deposites and byproducts, etc etc. This all means that different brands are effective for very different periods of time you could simply say that they may start off equal but....
Surely at the end of the day the idea is that the consumer saves money. The superior synthetics Amsoil and Motul will last longer give better MPG, give reduced engine wear with better protection.
All synthetics are not actually created equal, the largest oil comparison was conducted last year and makes facinating reading (if you are into these things) there where about 26 motorcycle oils tested; its here :- https://www.amsoil.com/lit/g2156.pdf

I was shocked at how quickly some oils dropped out of grade, IMHO it appears that some oils are made to appear good when new, and only when new.

[imac]

Most enthusiasts (ie. those who actually think what they put in the oil filler cap) will change their oil more often and aren't too worried about longer life oil.

I change mine, for example, ever 4,000 miles. I know I don't need to, but I do.

I pay £24 for 5 litres of 0w40 "fully" synth Mobil 1 or Shell Helix 5w40. When I've found a dealer who stocks Amsoil it's always around twice this price!