Mixing Delvac1 and M1 0W40?

[KenD]

I have been reading that Delvac1 (now sold as Mobil Truck and SUV Synthetic) may be ideal for my new Saab 9-5 high output Turbo (Aero). My only concern is that Delvac1 is not specifically rated as an approved oil by Saab (although it probably meets or even exceeds the standards of M1 0W40, which is approved). Would a 50-50 mix of Delvac and M1 make sense as a solution to get the benefits of both and still be able to maintain my record of using an "approved" oil? I live in So. Calif so cold weather is not a concern. I am new to this website and I have searched earlier posts, so hopefully I am not asking a question already answered. Thanks in advance for any input.

 

[Finklejag]

Welcome I have a 03 9-3. I would just stick to using the SAAB 0W-30 turbo oil. It is rebadged Euro Mobil 1 0W-30 Long Life. What is the OCI on the 9-5? Is it 15,000 like on the new 9-3? I would drain the factory fill at 5,000 then stick with SAAB's OCI. There are a couple UOA on the SAAB turbo oil on here. One is mine. If you plan on changing your own oil every 10,000 miles for less. There is no reason to use a GM-LL-A-025 spec oil. But I would still recommend the SAAB turbo oil do to its high additives and detergents. [ April 17, 2004, 08:28 PM: Message edited by: Finklejag ]

 

[KenD]

Thank you for the feedback, My only concern using the Saab 0W30 is that so many posts suggest that an xW40 provides better lubrication for the turbo unit. I know that the Sabb synthetic oil is good and is well priced.

 

[Finklejag]

You can use a 30W, 40W or even a 50W. You could probably get away using Mobil 1 15W-50 year round in LA. I don't know how long you can go between drains with that weight. Other people will chime in on that. Mobil 1 0W-40 is on the thin side of a 40W. It shears down to a 30W around 5,000 miles.

 

[Eiron]

KenD, Yes, you can mix w/o any problem. But if it were my new Saab, I'd run either the new 5W-40 (in colder climates) or the proven 15W-50 (in climates like yours.) (I wouldn't be surprised if we soon see the GM-LL-B-025 rating on the new 5W-40.) How much oil does the '04 9-5 hold? Does it now come with its own Oil Life Monitor? Finklejag, How did the move go? Where are you in CO?

 

[williar]

I'd recommend sticking to the factory-spec viscosity - 15-50 is definately too heavy an oil. Don't mix, use the straight stuff. Good choices are Saab 0w30, GC 0w30, M1 0w30R, M1 0w40; M1 0w30 is OK for winter & medium-duty use.

 

[Finklejag]

Eiron I will be moving in two weeks. I just wanted to see how Colorado would look in my sig I will be moving to BFE aka Strasburg. Its about 30 miles east of the Denver airport. I know on the new 9-3. It holds 6 liters now. The 99-02 9-3 only held 4 liters or so. So I guess thats one reason for the long drain intervals on the new 9-3. I don't know what the 9-5 has. I would guess 4-5 liters.

 

[Eiron]

Two weeks?? But what about that pic of your car all loaded up & ready to go?

 

[KenD]

Eiron: A Saab 9-5 holds only 4.1 quarts of oil, even in the high output turbo model. I did change oil at 1,000 miles and will again every 5,000. I am not sure there is a monitor system, but currently, Saab is suggesting changing oil and filter every 15,000 miles (to get that magic "cost of ownership" number low). I will stick to 5,000 miles in any event.

 

[KenD]

Eiron: I just confirmed the following: "Intermediate and Main Service interval. A message on SID indicates to the owner when either service is required. MAIN SERVICE interval is based entirely on mileage driven: 30,000; 60,000 and 90,000 miles. INTERMEDIATE SERVICE is set by an algorithm that determines when service is required. Miles driven, crankshaft revolutions, number of starts/cold starts, ambient temperatures, speed and engine temperature are among the measurements used to compute the interval with the TIME FOR SERVICE message being set between 8,000 and a maximum of 15,000 miles. If the mileage interval is not met, the message will be set at 2 years. NOTE: The actual oil condition is NOT measured, only the above calculations performed. It is important to note that this computation is based on the use of fully-synthetic oil which meets GM-LL-A-025 specification. This is a specification that is currently not commonly found in the US. The only oils that are readily available that meet this specification are Mobile 0W40 SuperSyn and Saab 0W30 Turbo Long-Life Fully Synthetic oil".

 

[Finklejag]

Ken, with the 9-5 only holding 4.1 Liters. I myself wouldn't go 15,000 like SAAB recommends. At least my 9-3 has two more liters to help out. If you are going for 5,000 OCI. You can pick pretty much any synthetic oil you want in a 30W or 40W. SAAB is replacing the 0W-30 turbo oil with Mobil 1 0W-40 do to the high price of imported it. Like Williar pointed out, you have many to choose from. You can't go wrong with any he posted.

 

[69 Riv GS]

Smart move going with 5000mi OCI. I'd go with staight 0w-40. It has a higher flash point(236C/457F vs 226/439), & its NOACK is good at 8.8%(not sure of 5w-40's), which is especially important in a hot running engine-ie turbo. Plus it's thinner which will help reduce turbo lag. I'd really consider their 10w-30 though. It's very stable(less VII); FP 244/471 & NOACK 6%, with even less T lag Steve

 

[quadrun1]

I ran M1 0W-40 for a while in my '02 9-5 Aero, you can search the used oil analysis section for my reports. It was satisfactory but it always thinned out about 8% after 5,000 miles. Not sure if this is a big deal but people on here always critized this. Currently I'm using GC and I like it better. Definitely less turbo lag, and the engine seems to rev more easily. Oddly, I haven't quite been able to match the 35 MPG @ 70 mph that I got on M1 0W-40 last September, but maybe it's due to the winter blend gasoline that we've been cursed with in New York these last few months. The best I've been able to achieve on GC so far is 31 MPG @ 70 mph. Anyone know when New York switches back to summer blend (w/o ethanol) gasoline? For the next oil I'm torn between Delvac 1, GC again, or maybe Redline! In Los Angeles you can definitely use Mobil 1 15W-50. The SAAB W.I.S. allows this viscosity and one of the regulars on Saabnet with 100,000+ miles has been using this for a long time in Florida.

 

[Eiron]

KenD, Hey! You don't have one of these: Don't let me or anyone else convince you to do anything you're not comfortable doing. Please understand that my comments are only what I would do if it were my new Saab. If anything here makes you queasy, then it's better to do the "safe" thing & be able to sleep at night. First off, I'm surprised that Saab/GM has lengthened the 9-5's OCI w/o increasing the oil capacity. Of course, now they're also requiring the use of premium, fully synthetic oil, where before they only recommended that a syn-blend was used. Will Saab pay for all oil changes signalled by the Time For Service message during the Intermediate Service periods, or only once every 15k miles? I don't have an OLM on my '99 9³, but according to the TSB you've quoted (from Taliaferro's site?), it wouldn't have told me to change before 8k miles anyway. The GM OLMs on other vehicles seem to have this OCI thing nailed, so I have to assume that they've done their homework here as well. As Finklejag said, at 5k mi OCIs you can pretty much use whatever full syn oil you want, w/o mixing. You'll still be in warranty 'cuz the GM-LL-A-025 oils are only "required" if you're going follow the OLM, which you're not. That being the case, if it were my new SoCal Saab, I'd run only M1 15W-50 in it. Period. It's definitely not too thick for these engines & turbochargers. If you want to use the free changes, then I'd say the Saab 0W-30 full syn is good for your planned 5k mi OCIs. Or, you can bring in your own oil & have them use that, then give you the "free" stuff (since you really paid for it up front when you bought the car) & take it home & use it in another vehicle.