Engine: S60: Which engine oil may I use?

[gbankowski]

Hello everyone

I wanted to know what kind of oil you use in your S60 I? I own a car that was in Germany until this year and the engine was running on Castrol EDGE 5W30 LongLife, now Castrol EDGE 0W40 has been flooded at the time of replacement. Isn't it the case that the one I poured in now will create more resistance to the engine (oil pump), which will increase fuel consumption and engine performance (dynamics)? Was it better to stay the same, or is this change to 0W40 okay? Surely this W40 has a higher viscosity at the working temperature of the oil and can provide better protection for the engine at higher ambient temperatures. In my climate in Poland lately there are very often hot summers and springs (temperatures reach even 35-40 degrees) and will not e.g. 0W30 or 5W30 be too weak, will not provide adequate viscosity, will not protect the engine well in high ambient temperatures? As far as winters are concerned, they are quite warm, temperatures up to -10 degrees.

Details about my S60:

1. Engine 2.4, 170 hp, petrol, B5244S
2. 2002 year

Thank you very much for all your advice

[AndyV7o]

You should be fine with either oil fella.
Yes the 0w40 (which will be A3/B4) will give better potential engine protection, the difference it may or may not make to economy is extremely slight if anything. You can gain more by running higher tyre pressures than using a lighter low hths oil.
Your temp range is same as here by the sound of it.
The edge 0w40 is very good oil.
0w40 is a better swap from 0w30 than 5w30 is. 0w30 A5/B5 is std fill, but I hear that the engine was unaltered from its original form where it was developed around a 10w40, if this is the case, 0w40 A3/B4 is the best grade/spec you can put in.

[gbankowski]

I have written to Castrola and received this answer:

Hi Grzegorz

Please see below for the data I have on your car ( the lower power one is also the same )



The EDGE 5W-30 LL will be fine and a very good oil to choose.

You can also look at the EDGE 0W-30 which would offer enhanced cold temperature performance on start up for example.

If the engine is using oil and you need to do frequent top up then a slightly thicker oil such as the 0W-40 or 5W-40 may help, but if the car doesn’t use oil then the 0EW-30 / 5W-30 would be ideal and can be used as top up and for the next service

Kind regards

Andy Griffin

Technical Specialist

Automotive and Industrial Lubricants UK and Ireland

Phone: 0845 082 1719

Email: autotechenquiries@castrol.com

www.castrol.co.uk

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[AndyV7o]

Cheers, I've nicked a screenshot of that for when people don't believe me with stuff!

[oragex]

I'm in Canada so we get some different oils here

Here's my experience with commercial synthetic oils on the non turbo 2.4

My main criteria for me are engine warming up time and oil degradation period

By far the most interesting option was the Castrol Edge 0W-30. The one sold here is Made and bottled in Europe - all other Castrol oils are blend and bottled in the USA. Engine warms up quicker in winter days with this 0W grade oil - this may seem a detail but the 2.4 takes long time to warm up when driving it gently - so low cabin heat for a while. My cooling system is working so well, I really need to rev the engine to make it warm up faster. Thermostat is new and genuine, it's really the cooling system is so efficient, I have to rev it past 3000 rpm to speed up the warming. Side note, in winter time, the longer the engine takes to warm up, the higher the gas consumption. I get in winter a good 10%-15% more fuel consumption (rather cold days here in Canada)

Another aspect of the Castrol 0W-30 - which did really surprised me. This is the only oil that stayed clear on the dipstick for very, very long time - over 1 year (I don't do that many miles). I did rinse my engine before the 0W-30 but still, was shocked how long it stays clear. 0W-30 is one of the finest commercial synthetic oils

I also used Castrol 0W-40. This one got darker much faster, but still good to warm the engine faster. We get this in 5L jug at better cost (the 0W-30 is only sold by expensive 1L bottles). The 0W-40 may get a little less good gas mileage. One advantage is to reduce oil consumption on old engines.

Also used Castrol Edge 5W-30, ok oil, longer warming up time.

Any synthetic 5W-30 should be fine in summers with 40C. I would perhaps use a 0W-40 if living in Kuwait and redlining the engine daily. But the cooling system on these engines is very strong - unless it was neglected or rinsed with tap water. I'd make sure the PCV is timely replaced.

Also used Pennzoil synthetic, I guess it's ok, but didn't notice something special about it

Been a while I didn't use Mobil 1, also a decent synthetic.

[Georgeandkira]

To gbankowski:
Congrats on finding an '02. I had one for 9 years. It had 69,000 when I bought it and 198,600 miles (318K km) when I sold it.

How many miles are on your "new" car?
Did you buy it in Germany?
I'm guessing there was no service history with the car.

It sounds like your oil question has been answered.
Now all the other maintenance operations need to be checked off.

For example: When the time comes to change spark plugs use only the 3 prong plugs from Volvo. They come in a 5-pack.

[Bonefishblues]

Just apropos of tyre pressures and that running higher psi means better mpg I think that's a myth or at the very best a tiny difference (unlike the fact that running under pressure results in lower mpg, which is well-established).

It's interesting that there's been a lot of research on bicycle tyres and there has been a widespread movement towards wider, higher volume tyres running lower pressures in recent years, including amongst pro cyclists. On cycle tyres sidewall compliancy is of particular importance, improving both ride comfort and lowering rolling resistance.

Excuse the segue/divergence, I was reading the thread with interest and tyre pressure was mentioned in passing

[oragex]

Agree about the tire pressure. It may reduce consumption by a small margin, the downside is uneven tire wear - more wear at the center line

Some 35psi is a decent pressure and should have the tire wear uniformly and last longer this way. The fun part when it comes to tire pressure, is that most inexpensive pressure gauges on the market are widely inaccurate, by several Psi. So many may not know they don't actually have the pressure indicated by the gauge

I've seen a report somewhere showing that a more significant mpg change is related to the tire size - basically to it's width

[gbankowski]

Originally Posted by Georgeandkira

To gbankowski:
Congrats on finding an '02. I had one for 9 years. It had 69,000 when I bought it and 198,600 miles (318K km) when I sold it.

How many miles are on your "new" car?
Did you buy it in Germany?
I'm guessing there was no service history with the car.

It sounds like your oil question has been answered.
Now all the other maintenance operations need to be checked off.

For example: When the time comes to change spark plugs use only the 3 prong plugs from Volvo. They come in a 5-pack.

Dear Georgeandkira,

I'm sorry that I reply now. When I bought it have 208K km. I bought it from polish car salesman and luckily there was a book service with all history. I had to write an email to the german service company asking when the timing belt was changed.

Thank You very much for advice with spark plugs 👍

I found only this spark plugs set:

https://www.ipdusa.com/products/4878...8642660-113439

[Clan]

Originally Posted by gbankowski

Hello everyone

I wanted to know what kind of oil you use in your S60 I? I own a car that was in Germany until this year and the engine was running on Castrol EDGE 5W30 LongLife, now Castrol EDGE 0W40 has been flooded at the time of replacement. Isn't it the case that the one I poured in now will create more resistance to the engine (oil pump), which will increase fuel consumption and engine performance (dynamics)? Was it better to stay the same, or is this change to 0W40 okay? Surely this W40 has a higher viscosity at the working temperature of the oil and can provide better protection for the engine at higher ambient temperatures. In my climate in Poland lately there are very often hot summers and springs (temperatures reach even 35-40 degrees) and will not e.g. 0W30 or 5W30 be too weak, will not provide adequate viscosity, will not protect the engine well in high ambient temperatures? As far as winters are concerned, they are quite warm, temperatures up to -10 degrees.

Details about my S60:

1. Engine 2.4, 170 hp, petrol, B5244S
2. 2002 year

Thank you very much for all your advice

It is highly unlikely there is anyone here who worked for volvo or castrol on the oil development team.