Recommendations for new volvo 2012 s60 t6 r-design

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Hi guys,

So I just got my new 2012 volvo s60 t6 r-design, and I'm wondering what kind of oil I should use, and how often I should probably be changing it.

My owners manual says:
- must meet minimum ILSAC specification GF-4, API SL, or ACEA A1/B1
- they recommend castrol
- depending on driving habits, premium or synthetic may provide better fuel economy and engine protection
- For normal use, SAE 5W-30
- For "extreme engine operation" (driving in areas of sustained temperature extremes, towing trailer over long distances, or prolonged mountainous driving), synthetic SAE 0W-30 or 0W-40 are recommended

- The manual says to change oil every 7500 miles or 12 months, whichever comes first.

I live in Massacussets, so it does get cold up here, but typically stay above 0 degrees F. They do get down in the teens though.

I tend to drive a mix of easy and hard on this car, tending more towards easy I think. But I do like to let loose on this engine at times, even while commuting if traffic allows. My commute to work and back is slightly under 10 miles each way. On the way there it takes me 25 to 40 minutes depending on traffic, and on the way back 30 to 45 minutes.

I only drive about 5500 - 6000 miles a year.

This is a new car (just picked it up a few days ago), so no known problems with the car. Right now it has Castrol GTX 5W-30 in it. My current plan is to take it in at the end of winter (or, if I don't have many miles on it yet, then maybe when I have around 2000-3000 miles on it) and get the oil changed to synthetic (which everyone says is better for turbo engines, though I'm not sure if that still applies to newer turbos, but can't hurt, right?).

I was then planning to just follow the regular maintenance, as I got the safe and sound plan which includes free maintenance for 5 years (synthetic oil not included). So I would just get an oil change every 12 months (5500 - 6000 miles), and bring my own synthetic. Would be slightly wasteful the first time, since my first service would be at the beginning of next october, and I would be looking to switch out the current dino oil for synthetic at the end of this winter... but oh well. (I can't skip the oil change next oct. or it voids a bunch of stuff, I think.)

Anyway, just wanted to get opinions on whether that sounds reasonable. Also, and brand recommendations?

Thanks!
 
The Edge 5W30 would be a good choice if you're pinned to Castrol.

The M1 0W40 would be among the best...Ultra would be a great choice too...depends on the cost.

I would recommend a one year OCI (your reminder is likely set to 7500miles/12 months/300 hours, like other Volvos)

Re-read your owner's manual, look for the difference between "minimum" which is A1/B1 and "recommended" which is likely A5/B5...Volvo engines are known to have PCV (flame trap) sludging problems, and a better than minimum oil will help prevent this...

Great car by the way...I've seen it on the showroom floor...
 
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I think I`d run the Mobil-"1" 0W-40 in that baby! BTW, congrats on the new sweet ride!
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Your plan sounds pretty good, and I wouldn't worry about dumping the factor fill early, either--in that car, that's probably a good thing. I wouldn't use a conventional oil in that car, having owned a high-boost Volvo turbo. I agree with the other posters, I'd go with M1's 0W40 and change it once a year.

If you plan on keeping the car for a long time, you should also check out Swedespeed for the information on how to change the driveline fluids, which are listed as "lifetime fluid", but clearly not suitable for anywhere close to that. I'd probably follow Audi's original recommendation for the Haldex fluids, 20K miles for the Haldex fluid, 40K for the filter. And I'd probably do the transfer case and differential @ 40K given your yearly mileage.

Enjoy the new ride!
 
Originally Posted By: Astro14
The Edge 5W30 would be a good choice if you're pinned to Castrol.


I'm not pinned to Castrol
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.

Originally Posted By: Astro14
The M1 0W40 would be among the best...Ultra would be a great choice too...depends on the cost.


Cost isn't really a concern. (I assume a different oil brand isn't going to suddenly start costing me $500 more per year or something like that... I understand synthetic is going to be a good bit more than dino (especially since the dino is included in the safe & secure plan), but I wouldn't want to stick to dino I think.)

Originally Posted By: Astro14
I would recommend a one year OCI (your reminder is likely set to 7500miles/12 months/300 hours, like other Volvos)


I was hoping that would be sufficient
smile.gif


Do you think it is a good idea to swap out the current castrol GTX 5w-30 early and replace it with M1? If I did do that, I'd probably just get it changed again at my 12 month service so that the oil changes sync up with everything else to save me some hassle. (And isn't it better to change the oil out earlier in a newer car anyway? This is my first brand new car, so I'm a little extra paranoid :))

Originally Posted By: Astro14
Re-read your owner's manual, look for the difference between "minimum" which is A1/B1 and "recommended" which is likely A5/B5...Volvo engines are known to have PCV (flame trap) sludging problems, and a better than minimum oil will help prevent this...


Hmm, I looked pretty carefully, and didn't see any recommended--I had the manual in front of me when I wrote the first part of my post up above, and I was looking at the oil specification section. I'll look again tonight, but I'm pretty sure there wasn't anything in there about recommended. Where can I find more information on what those numbers mean?

I do have a few more questions:

- would the mobil 1 extended performance be something to consider? It doesn't come in 0w40... only 5w30 for my car it would look like.

- why 0w40 instead of 5w30? I don't really push my RPM all that high since I don't use manual mode (though I may start playing around with it at some point... hehe), and sport mode doesn't seem to hold gears near redline, more like 4-5k RPM (though I'm usually not looking at the tachometer when I'm accelerating briskly in sport mode...), and winters in boston don't tend to get colder than 10 degrees F. I'll check the owners manual again, but I also thought I saw something in there about not leaving the extreme oils in there all the time... I may be mistaken though.

- I don't really mind increasing my costs by a bit if it means keeping my engine running smoothly. I don't tend to have a desire to upgrade my car very often. (Prior to this purchase, I was in a 99 camry... and wasn't sure I should even bother since it had < 90k miles on it... but I'm glad I did.)

I want to keep this car for 8 years at a minimum. Maybe 10+.


Originally Posted By: Astro14
Great car by the way...I've seen it on the showroom floor...


Thanks
smile.gif


I test drove several different cars (Audi A4, Infiniti G37x) and this one, while a bit pricier than the others I was looking at, had a ton more low-end torque, was more fun to drive, handled really well (not as well as the infiniti), and was more comfortable to boot. I was actually surprised that the sportier suspension didn't bother me at all--the roads around Boston are pretty awful in some places, and its perfectly fine--firm, but not unpleasant.
 
Originally Posted By: JOD
Your plan sounds pretty good, and I wouldn't worry about dumping the factor fill early, either--in that car, that's probably a good thing. I wouldn't use a conventional oil in that car, having owned a high-boost Volvo turbo. I agree with the other posters, I'd go with M1's 0W40 and change it once a year.


Hmm, since there is no break-in period listed in the manual, would it be better to just go ahead and get M1 put in now instead of waiting?

Originally Posted By: JOD
If you plan on keeping the car for a long time, you should also check out Swedespeed for the information on how to change the driveline fluids, which are listed as "lifetime fluid", but clearly not suitable for anywhere close to that. I'd probably follow Audi's original recommendation for the Haldex fluids, 20K miles for the Haldex fluid, 40K for the filter. And I'd probably do the transfer case and differential @ 40K given your yearly mileage.

Enjoy the new ride!


I looked around on swedespeed and didn't find much... I just did a cursory search though, I'll take a longer look this weekend. Thanks for the suggestion.
 
I would keep the "break in oil" in there for a good majority of the OCI before changing. As far as oil weight, I'd go with the 0W-30....or even the Castrol Syntec/Edge 5W-30.
 
DAYUM! I am SO jealous! That is such a sweet car.

Like everyone else has said, a good Euro oil would be great. GC 0W-30, M1 0W-40, Pennzoil 5W-40.
 
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I wouldn't go for a high HTHS oil unless that car really is going to see extreme use, like racing or sustained high-speed (think autobahn).
 
Originally Posted By: Morik
(I can't skip the oil change next oct. or it voids a bunch of stuff, I think.)


Sounds like scare tactics. Can you tell us what they said? Tell them to put it in writing too.
 
Originally Posted By: NYSteve
Originally Posted By: Morik
(I can't skip the oil change next oct. or it voids a bunch of stuff, I think.)


Sounds like scare tactics. Can you tell us what they said? Tell them to put it in writing too.


They didn't specifically say that--it was the impression that I got--that if you skip any of the scheduled maintenance, you lose on the warranties and such. So, I don't know if I went in early to do an oil change, if they would let me skip the scheduled one. Doesn't really matter though, if I did change out the current dino oil early, I'd want my oil changes to line up with my scheduled service anyway for convenience--the extra cost of 1 oil change is worth it to me not to have to bring the car in separately from the regular maintenance for the next however many years I keep it.


So... I've seen a lot of people suggest 0W-40, but I'm not going to be tracking it (if that changes, I'll reconsider my oil needs), nor will I be maintaining sustained high-speeds. By autobahn level speeds, I assume you are talking 150 mph+? I'm not planning on bypassing my 130 mph electronic limiter, and generally won't be driving faster than 90 mph for long periods of time.

Given that, would a 5w-30 or a 0w-30 be perfectly fine? No one has suggested the M1 5w-30 (is this not a good option for some reason?), but I see suggestions for GC, the amsoil Euro oil, edge 5w-30...

I read the oil university articles, but didn't pick up why you would ever choose a 5w-30 oil over a 0w-30... the 0w-30 wouldn't thicken as much when it cools... so whats the downside? Why do 5w-30 oils exist? If it has the same viscosity at operating temps, why would you ever want the oil that is thicker when it cools?


Thanks for all the help guys
 
Oh and I guess one last question is, if cost isn't a factor, which of the following would be best:

- switch the dino oil to synthetic right now

- leave the dino oil in until X miles/X months, then switch to synth. (And then I'd get an oil change at my regular maintenance just so it syncs up, and then 1/year from then on, with synthetic)

- leave the dino oil in for the full year until the first scheduled maintenance, change it for synthetic at that point.

I want to note again that the manual didn't mention a break-in period, and that the dealer told me when I asked repeatedly that there is no break-in period, the engine is good to go, I can "let loose" on it. The dealership (and the manual) state that unless asked, they use regular mineral oil.
 
Morik - Volvo's changed the oil specs a few times, most recent OM that I've seen (2007) recommends a A5/B5...your manual may not make that recommendation, but the TSB that came out a few years ago for sludged engines (same basic engine family as yours) required an A5/B5 to be used after the repair...so I would go with that from the start - lots of good brands out there that meet that spec.

As far as viscosity, the 2007 OM allows for a 0W30, 5W30, 0W40, 5W40 with the 0W30, 0W40 and 5W40 all having a higher temp rating than the 5W30, which was only good to 30C...or 86F... So, given your year-round anticipated temp range (I went to college in Mass...I know what to anticipate...), I would go with the 0W30 (GC) or the 0W40 M1. The other recommended brands in a 0W30 and 0W40 are good too.

IF you're using the dealer (and they only offer Castrol) to change the oil, make sure that you get the 0W30 Castrol that says "Made in Germany" on it...otherwise, you're not getting the GC...Most shops will use whatever oil you bring in to change it...but they don't charge much less to do it that way, so it can be expensive.

Don't worry about dumping the factory fill early - while there is some controversy on whether or not it helps (I believe that it does) - it certainly won't hurt.

The Volvo factory filter is a Mann...good for the full OCI...

The advice on changing other fluids is good as well...many owners of 2001-2002 Volvos found their lifetime fluid-filled Aisin Warner transmissions failing early...my XC has 147K on it, tranny is holding up well...and it's been serviced regularly with a cooler line flush...be certain that the correct fluids are being used, sometimes Volvos spec somewhat different fluids that you'll have to get from a euro parts store. Avoid the dealer for fluids...they charge an outrageous amount...

Take care of this gem, and it will last you forever, as an example, my '94 850 was totaled by a caddie when it had 185K on the odometer, it was running perfectly...
 
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Heh, I actually grew up in (and went to college in) Virginia.
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My dealer says they use M1 for their synthetic (castrol for dino). I'll ask whether its the 0W40 or 5W30.

In terms of the factory oil, you are saying you think it would be fine if I just dumped it immediately?

Any need to change the filter if I'm switching from dino to synthetic? I don't really know that much about car internals
smile.gif


How would I get more information on the correct fluids and change intervals for the other fluids? I know I won't have to worry about it for a while, but I want to do my research now and get it written down somewhere so I make sure I know what I need to do at what mileages.
 
Morik, how many years and how many miles do you plan on owning this car? If not too long, anything that meets the owner's manual spec will work fine. If you plan on keeping it for a very long time and a coupl'a hundred thousand miles, go with the synthetic 0W-40.

Yes, it is OK to dump the current oil immediately. Some of us prefer that to get out any manufacturing debris remaining inside the engine (but newer manufacturing processes have greatly reduced that over the years). No real need to change the filter--but it's only a few dollars, so change it.

First, make a list of all the fluids the car uses with their specs--engine oil, transmission fluid, power steering fluid, brake fluid, antifreeze. It is smart to set up a schedule; consider this--transmission fluid drain and refill every tune up period (30,000 miles, or?) Power steering fluid every second tune up period. Brake fluid every two years. Antifreeze every five years if long life stuff, otherwise every two years.
 
I think your plan is solid and I agree with the 2-3K miles on the first oil change. I feel too many think they are doing good by changing out at 500 or 1K miles when in reality they may be doing more harm than good. I also think you are correct in following the factory recommendation on using a 5w30 (your climate & driving) and changing out once a year. I think Dino is OK but, I would use Castrol Syntech or Edge and change out to synthetic at the first oil change..
 
Not positive on how long I want to own it.

I'd have no problem keeping it for 8-10 years as stated earlier, but a friend pointed out that if the resale value is pretty high, I may want to just get a new car in 5 years. (I just bought this one for cash, so if the resale value really is pretty high, it would be something to think about) We'll see. In 5 years I'd probably only put 30k miles on it, if that.

I mean, if I follow the owners manual and don't spend any extra on it, that would be using the Castrol GTX 5w30 dino oil with 1 year OCIs (about 5500 - 6000 miles). I wouldn't be dealing with any of the other fluids or anything either.

But, all that said, I don't really know that I'd have a reason to get a different car. I barely convinced myself to give up the 99 camry. (And it wasn't a money issue, though of course if I was filthy stinkin rich I would just buy a new car whenever, but yeah...)

So, I don't really know, but my gut feeling is that I'll probably end up hanging onto it for a while, and that spending a bit more money each year to baby this car isn't that big a deal. Even if I do end up selling it in say 8 years with 45k miles on it lets say, I think that showing potential buyers maintenance logs & receipts of care I've taken of the car will up the resale value at least a bit. Maybe it wouldn't be worth it if I was going to trade it in to a dealer though.
 
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