Correct Motor Oil

[tkao2025]

I'm planning to take a trip this summer and wanted to bring some extra motor oil along just in case. I have a brand new XC70 2008 and I know with my last car, having a new engine eats up oil. I wanted to know if someone could let me know what motor oil to buy and/or where I can find the information on proper motor oil. Thanks

[jvanniel]

Just got my cracked oil pan fixed, not defective it was ALL ME. The "bulk oil" that is used for oil changes is 5W30, I asked the same question and for the same reasons.

I will state that I live in SoCal and let them know I drive in the desert a lot.

[OKCXC70]

Not knowing what your last car was that ate oil, it is hard to say what will happen with your 08 on the long trip. Where are you? Where are you going on your trip? Also, are you due for an oil change any time soon? How many miles are on the car now? How many do you plan to put on it on the trip? 5W30 is the oil most likely in your engine now, but you can check with your service dept. to make sure. You might consider an oil change before the trip and have them put synthetic 5W30 in it. Of course, checking the oil along the way is always a good idea as long as you do it correctly. Here is a nice article on Yahoo about motor oil:
http://autos.yahoo.com/maintain/repairqa/air_filters_oil/ques120_1.html
Have fun on the trip! Send us some photos!

[tkao2025]

Thanks for the reply guys. I've read that Volvo doesn't put synthetic oil in their cars unless you ask for it.

My car is brand new 08 with 500 miles on it, but I always bring extra oil. The car had an oil change when I picked it up as it was an 08' so had probably been sitting on the lot. I'm taking a trip to Quebec to my wife's home town. We plan to go through Ottawa and than Quebec City so the trip will most likely be around 1500-2000 miles round trip (leaving from NJ)

The Car I still have that ate oil is my 07' Audi S6. I had low oil light come on at around 1,000 miles. After the first oil change at 5000 miles it doesn't run low on oil anymore.

I will call and ask the service.

[jesbo]

If you are planning to run oil change intervals of 5K to 7.5K mile oil changes, a good synthetic like Mobil-1 0w40 (european formula), or Castrol Syntec 5w30 would be advised.

My volvo dealer asked me to bring the car back in at 1200 miles for a complimentary 1st oil change. I did, but asked them to use Castrol Syntec 5W30 which I supplied. So far the engine is loving it and has burned no oil that I can measure on the dip stick after 4000 miles on the oil. The oil is still clear, though sightly darker than when new. I will stick with full synthetic oils that are ACEA A5 rated.

I ran Mobil-1 in my Volvo S70 T5 (turbo) for 12 years and it never had any issues. When I sold it, the cams and upper valve areas were still spotless when viewed through the oil filler cap. The big advantage I see in using synthetics over dino oils are 1) Longer drain intervals, 2) Better resistance to heat (important for turbos), and 3) lower tendaency to form sludge.

[Lotus99]

On this topic, I noticed that the manual suggests 5W-30 for the most part, but my dealer's putting in 10W-30 I just noticed from my last service papers.

Is that a problem?

If I understand the way the numbers work, 10W instead of 5W means that it can't go thru as cold temps as 5W can, right? We are in the Pacific Northwest, so don't get extreme cold or not, so maybe that's ok.

But I'm wondering then why not just follow Volvo's recommendation, since 5W seems safer and has a bigger operating temp range? What's the advantage to using the 10W over the 5W?

[mbsl98]

In general, the newer the car the lower the oil viscosity being spec'd by manufacturer. The T6 manual seems to be mostly 5-30, with 0-30 for colder areas. Many old hands move the first number up one notch for very hot driving conditions - say up to 10-30, but that causes more internal resistance in the ever norrower passsages of newer motors, therefore drops gas mileage numbers (one of big reasons for mfg's lowering the numbers in first place according to many), and "may" provide lesser protection because it doesn't flow quite as freely in those smaller passages. I would certainly not run over the Volvo spec of 5-30 for most of the year in the Northwest climate, although perhaps 10-30 is good for long hot sumer trips.

[Lotus99]

Thanks for the reply. I can't see what their logic is for putting in 10-30 either as it doesn't seem to match our climate as good as the 5-30 does. I'll ask them next time I speak with them.