1994 Volvo 940 Wagon non-turbo

[coffee]

Hello All,

I was wondering if anyone knew specifically what octane I should be using in this vehicle. Chilton manual states 87 but I think that is a generic response. Does anyone have the original manual or from experience know what octane is recommended for this vehicle? I live in Phoenix, AZ. Thank you.

Joe

P.S. I did find an online copy of the manual and here is what it states, "Octane Rating
Volvo engines are designed for optimum performance on unleaded premium gasoline with an octane
rating, AKI of 91, or above. AKI (ANTI KNOCK INDEX) is an average of the Research Octane
Number, RON, and the Motor Octane Number, MON, (RON + MON/ 2).
The minimum octane requirement is AKI 87 (RON 91)."

Does that mean I should be using 91 octane/premium unleaded in this vehicle?

 

[eljefino]

I had a 91 turbo 940 and a 93 non turbo 940, both red block 2.3s.

Both ran on 87, smoothly I might add. The turbo lost a little power, I was able to figure this out as I was giving more gas which meant the mechanically controlled auto trans was holding gears longer. I flipped the 93 non turbo within a tank of gas, but it ran good on that 87.

I'm surprised the non turbo needs premium. It's not seriously high compression and its marketing wouldn't require it. Are you sure you found the manual for your USA spec engine of your exact year?

My turbo mentioned premium fuel recommended on its gas filler door, BTW.

 

[Bandito440]

My 1990 740 ran fine on 87.

 

[coffee]

Well, here is the link to the PDF I was referencing if that helps.

http://www.volvoclubthailand.com/man/pdf/om/volvo_940_owners_manual_1994.pdf

The car does seem to run better with 91 and also seems to maybe get slightly better gas mileage but I am not sure if that is just my imagination. I obviously do not want to spend extra money where it is not needed and will use 87 if it is correct for my car.

Thank you for the replies!

 

[coffee]

So does everyone think I am looking at a European manual and that the standards are different for my vehicle in America and that I should be using 87 octane? I cannot tell from the manual if it is for America and need to know how to verify. Thank you.

 

[bmwjohn]

If I remember, RON is NOT the octane measure used in the US currently. The 87 mentioned in your link is probably the US measure, as I think we use 2 different measurements and divide by 2. HOWEVER, one nice feature about buying a Volvo is the huge amount of tech support available on line. I would start with BRICKBOARD, and then TURBOBRICKS, then perhaps Matthews Volvo Site, then some smaller ones such as Volvo Club of BC. IPD of Portland and u-tube have many small tech related articles, BTW. I suspect the brickboard 700 section will have pages of replies to that question.

 

[coffee]

Originally Posted By: bmwjohn
If I remember, RON is NOT the octane measure used in the US currently. The 87 mentioned in your link is probably the US measure, as I think we use 2 different measurements and divide by 2. HOWEVER, one nice feature about buying a Volvo is the huge amount of tech support available on line. I would start with BRICKBOARD, and then TURBOBRICKS, then perhaps Matthews Volvo Site, then some smaller ones such as Volvo Club of BC. IPD of Portland and u-tube have many small tech related articles, BTW. I suspect the brickboard 700 section will have pages of replies to that question.


This is awesome and thank you for reminding me of these wonderful sites!