S60 and synthetic oils

Just found their reply. En toto:

Mobil recommends that you take the oil to the high limit that is stated in your owner's manual or once a year which ever comes first.

There is no "high limit" in the Volvo manual; it's just 7500 miles, regardless of type of driving. I suspect that a one-size-fits-all policy is not necessarily the best for everyone.

pb

"pb" wrote

Do a used oil analysis at 7.5K miles to see how the oil is holding up and whether it's OK to go longer than that. And in any case, I would change the oil at least once a year if you don't drive much.

Also, you did not mention if you have a turbo or not. If you do, the oil changes should be more frequent as turbo engines are harder on oil.

As far as filters, I'd either use OEM (Mann/Mahle I believe) or Mobil 1.

Finally, what oil were you using before that? If it was mineral oil, you might want to go for just a short interval on your first run of synthetic as it will start cleaning out all the sludge and dirt left by the mineral oil so you want to get that out rather fast, say within 2-3K miles (oil and filter).

Cheers,

Pete

Good. I'll have to look into where I can have that done.

I've got Purolator in it now, and I guess I'll change oil and filter together.

It was petrol-based; you're advice sounds good. Thanks,

pb

"pb" wrote

Click on the "Free Test Kit" button on the left.

If you're in need of other oil-related information, check out BITOG forums at

You might get some useful tips on switching from mineral to synthetic oil from the people there. Many people there also suggest using AutoRX for cleaning before switching to synthetic.

Good luck,

Pete

A ha. At $20, it would pay for a fleet, perhaps, but not for one car. Better to put the money into new oil.

These ppl are serious about oil, eh? :) Thanks much!

pb

"pb" wrote

But maybe you don't need new oil at this time. That's the whole point. Without a UOA, you'll never know what interval is safe.

Cheers,

Pete

So you would keep testing the oil, at $20 a hit, to see when it broke down, then go by that number for future use?

Paul

"pb" wrote

No. You only need to do the test once, but request the TBN test as well. Based on the results, Blackstone will tell you what is the safe interval to go on this oil, lets say 9K miles. From that point on, just keep changing your oil according to that recommendation. No need to do another test unless your driving patterns change or you start using a different type/grade oil.

So basically, after you're done with the cleaning phase/interval, run the next batch of synth. oil to let's say 7.5K miles. Drain it. Take a sample while you drain. Send it to Blackstone and see what interval they recommend for the future based on that sample. That's it.

Or you can just stick with 7.5K mile intervals and forget the analysis. But I got a feeling from your original post that you wanted to see if you could go longer than that. I personally run Castrol synth. (previously M1) at only 5K mile intervals, but that is mainly for two reasons:

1. my engine is a 1.8 liter turbo with aftermarket programming (more boost) with a very small sump (3.7 quarts including filter)
2. it takes me almost a year to accumulate that 5K miles, so time is a factor as well

After that interval, I already had a 1% fuel contamination in the oil - lots of cold starts, short trips and cold winters will do that to you, regardless if the oil is synthetic or not. Of course your conditions and engine are probably different, so there's no way to tell what is a safe interval unless you test it.

Cheers,

Pete

Excellent explanation, thanks very much. I take it they extrapolate from the test data to determine the theoretical life of the oil. Seems well worth it, if I decide to keep the car multiyears (thinking about the G35 lately..).

My goal was indeed to stretch between oil changes. Funny, but the Mobil 1 has had the effect of bringing some moderate-pitched sounds out of the engine, like hearing the old valve lifter clicking. My only other synth experience was Amsoil in a Suzuki Sport, and there the engine grew quieter, not louder. The Amsoil seemed to have more body to it also, but IIRC it was 10W/40 rather than this 10w/30. But as it stands now I would tend to go with other than Mobil 1 next time, and maybe Amsoil again.

Paul

"pb" wrote

Pretty much, yeah. See a sample report here:

1993

Cheers,

Pete

Paul

Pete,

How do you analyze oil?

Ask it to lie on the couch and tell you about its childhood.

Sorry! ;-)

Mike

"squirrely" wrote

You collect a sample and send it to a lab where they determine its composition. Check the link(s) I provided in my other responses to pb.

Cheers,

Pete