Oil recommendation for 1999 Turbo Volvo S70

[TxHeat]

So, a friend has just purchased a new, (to him), 1999 Volvo S70 turbo GLT.

Manual recommends 10w30 for ambient -4 to +104 F, 5w40 for ambient colder than -30 to +104 F and 5w30 for ambient colder than -20 to +86 F and 6 month/7500 mile oci.

Car is in Houston, TX where the coldest temps will be mid twenties a few days a year and can reach 110F for extended periods in the summer.

It has @ 120k on it and will be driven mostly short trips and he will surely never put more than 4 or 5 k on it over 6 months, probably not that much.

I'm thinking 5w30 year round. But, I'm not sure about the effects of the short trip driving. Should he use a conventional and change it more often? Conventional high mileage? Is a synthetic called for with this turbo charged engine?

Feedback appreciated!

 

[Quattro Pete]

Considering it's a turbo, I'd use synthetic. Rotella T6 5w-40 would probably work well and it's not too expensive.

 

[logcar]

I own the exact same car, except for the fact that it's the 98' model.

I run mobil1 turbo diesel truck 5W-40 for 7.5K miles OCIs in it and seems to do just fine here in NC temps, so I'm sure that in TX it will suit it even better.

 

[TxHeat]

I should have clarified, this is a gasoline engine. Does that Rotella T6 or the mobil1 turbo diesel recommendation still stand?

 

[Quattro Pete]

Yes, it still stands. These oils are dual rated for diesel as well as gasoline engines.

 

[beast3300]

Originally Posted By: bornconfuzd
I should have clarified, this is a gasoline engine. Does that Rotella T6 or the mobil1 turbo diesel recommendation still stand?


Yes, it's also rated for gasoline engines.

 

[TxHeat]

Excellent! Thank you!

 

[skellyman]

You could use any Diesel engine oil 10w30 in Texas weather, using the 15w40's may hurt fuel mileage.... but not too badly.
My vote would be for Delvac 1st Delo 2nd !!

 

[Eddie]

I think I would use 5w30 Pennzoil Platinum oil( full synthetic) for the short trip driving. PP in the 5w30 is Acua/Honda approved for turbo engines. I use this in my Mazda turbo and has excellent UOAs using a 6-7K oil change interval. Ed

 

[TxHeat]

That's where I was leaning before reading Quattro Pete and Beast 3300s posts.

Thanks Eddie!

 

[OGRE81]

Another vote for Rotella T6. I use it in my sisters 2001 Volvo S40 with great results.

 

[JOD]

I'd use an HTO-06 approved 5W300--PP, M1 or Kendall GT-1 all come to mine.

I would not use an HDEO in this application. The oil just doesn't get hot enough to merit it, and given that you said the car does a lot of short trips, it's less-than-ideal. Having owned all 3, I've monitored oil temps and pressure in the NA, low-boost and high-boost version of this engine. The only one where a HDEO would remotely make sense would be the high-boost version doing a lot of hard driving. You're not doing yourself any favors at all running a heavy oil for a lot of short trips, particularly with this engine (you'll be seeing incredibly high pressure @ the turbo seals until the oil gets up to temps, and with the big sump it takes a while in this car).

While the HTO-06 approved oils would be nice, I think any on-sale synthetic changed at a reasonable interval be OK.
At this point I'd worry more about doing the PCV system rather than what oil to use. Also, if the transmission fluid hasn't been changed I'd flush that as well. With a reasonable amount of maintenance those cars will pretty much go forever.

 

[bodeh6]

Mobil 1 5W-30 High Mileage.