I have an '05 XC90 V8, and I'm getting different opinions from the Volvo Service Dept and my usual (non-dealer)Volvo mechanic re what type of oil I should be using in this car. One is saying that this car should have synthetic oil and the other is saying that regular 10w30 is all that's necessary.
Anyone have any informed information about this?
Thanks in advance.
This is going to start a big brouhaha....
I say they are both right: regular 10W-30 is adequate, synthetic is better. I can see synthetic doesn't leave varnish in engines (when we took the valve cover off my son's '94 Acura to change the timing belt I was amazed to see the head and valve train looked brand new). Whether it actually provides better protection... I believe so, but I'm not going to argue about it.
Mike
Synthetic oil IS better - it will give better protection, beter mpg's and is less likely to break down and sludge up, but dino oil is damm good too.
Dino oil is $2 a quart, Mobil One synthetic is $7 or 8 a quart. If it were my new(ish) **anything** I think I would use Mobil One. I have a 94 940 I bought used. It has 187,000 on it. I use dino oil in it because I have heart too many stories about older cars starting to leak if you put synthetic in them.
It's good peace of mind, but hey, if you choose to use dino oil and use SM/SL/SJ rated oil you have nothing to worry about, just use a mann filter and keep it filled up.
Am I slow this morning? What is "dino" oil? I am wondering what I am going to put in my 2001 S40 that I bought used with 72,000 km (43,000 m). The book says that oil changes are to be done at 12,000 km intervals
- it seems like a lot to me. Bob
Dinosaur, the place where some oil came from...although I suspect (with no data) that there has to be much more post flora then post fauna :)
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"Dinosaur, the place where some oil came from...although I suspect (with no data) that there has to be much more post flora then post fauna :)"
That's correct - oil is mostly decomposed plant matter, with just a little dinosaur 'additive'. There were a lot more plants around, by weight, than animals.
I thank everyone for their input on my original question. I believe that due to a schedule of desert and mountain driving, I'll opt for the synthetic (as opposed to the "dino" fossil oil). I do wonder, however, with the price of crude, etc. these days, how come dino oil is so much cheaper than synthetic, which I assume is concocted in a lab somewhere from manmade materials.
Bob, to your questi>>
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