Using a ACEA A3/B4 oil in a A5/B5 engine

N

nathan007

Joined
Sep 19, 2024
Messages
3
Hello! This is my first post on this forum, so I'm sorry if i sound like a noob user.

I've been doing some reading on this forum and online but I'm still unsure of what I should do. Here is my situation.

I have a 2015 XC60 T6 (3.0) with 123k km (~77k miles) on the odometer. The manufacturer calls for 5w30 or 0w30 grade oil with a5/b5 spec. I've always used Castrol Edge 5w30 (#02011) and in winter redline 0w30. I change my oil at around 6-8k km or 5k miles-ish (spring and fall)
It might be worth mentioning I live in Quebec where in winter -20C is not unfrequent.

Now, i dont really want to use redline because of the steep price and availability. It always did a good job tough.
Castrol, which is cheaper, and easily available, I noticed about 1/2 quart missing in my intervals. No drama, but still.

With the reading and learning i have done, it seems I could use a ACEA A3/B4 instead of the original a5/b5, which would offer better engine protection (my goal) vs fuel economy (not that important)

Am I right? Is it that simple? Any recommandations on a better oil to use ? I have easy access to some Castrol products, Liquimoly, Total, Redline, and some Mobil 1 products trough my work.

Thanks for your imput!
 
Here are a few previous discussions on this topic, they may be of use. Also an Infineum presentation on what the different ACEA Sequences mean. The only real difference is lower HT/HS for A5/B5.

https://www.infineuminsight.com/en-gb/resources/acea-oil-sequences-brochure/

B

Thread 'ACEA'

What is the big difference in a/3 B4 a5/b5?
Is at/b5 better?
A

Thread 'ACEA A5/B5 vs ACEA A3/B4 for Volvo V60 Polestar?'

Hi guys,

Would it be ok to use Mobil 1 0w-40 Fully Synthetic (ACEA A3/B4) for the Volvo V60 Polestar (2015 model with 3.0 Ltr straight 6 turbo engiine - 350 hp). The manual suggests ACEA A5/B5 0w-30 oils like Castrol Edge Titanium. Will 0w-40 be ok? I prefer Mobil 1 due to having used it in multiple cars in the past but don't want to do something horribly wrong. I also have quite a supply of Mobil 1 and don't really want to buy new oil. If it is usable, will there be a drop in fuel economy or the way the engine behaves?

Any advice appreciated.
R

Thread 'A3/B4 oil use instead of A5/B5'

Hey guys,

Like i said in the title, can i use something like motul xcess 5w40 in an european ford mondeo diesel?
It has been running on ford formula f 5w30 since new.
It currently has 420k kms. The engine is ok but noisy. I want see if running a thicker oil makes any difference.

Thanks!
M

Thread 'A3/B4 vs A5/B5'

I am curious what the difference between A3/B4 and A5/B5 is. I see A3/B4 talked about more often on this site. It seems to get recommended quite a bit so I checked out my Castrol Edge and PUP and both Show A5/B5. Following standard number schemes this sounds like the better option, so why is it not recommended as much?
tblt44

Thread 'ACEA A3/B3 vrs A5/B5'

Can anyone explain in layman terms the difference in ACEA A3/B3 vrs A5/B5 spec.
Is A3/B3 a longer life higher heat oil ?
Does A5/B5 protect as good ?
Thanks
S

Thread 'acea a3/b4 and a5/b5 HTHS'

Hi all.

Was just comparing acea a5/b5 with a3/b4 with the lubrizol relative oil comparison tool (k think it,s called)

Even thogh the a3/b4 have a higher HTHS at 3.5 compared to the a5/b5,s 2.9. They where identical on the antiwear probertys. Can that really be true? Or is it falls?

Thanks.

Søren
G

Thread 'ACEA A3/B4 vs A5/B5--2013 Mini Cooper'

Visited my dealer today and started talking about oil with the tech as he was doing an oil change on a customer car. The recommended factory Mini oil for my car is the 5w-30 A3/B4, but the tech told me they are now using the Mini 0w-30 in all the Gen 1 and 2 cars (up to MY 2016--the newer cars use 0W-20). Both weights are BMW LL-01 but the 0w-30 is A5/B5. Big difference between the two ACEA ratings? Obviously the dealer is trying to avoid having to buy both if they can get away with it--can't really blame them if the oils are close.

Leaning heavily toward using the Castrol Edge 0w-40 but...
B

Thread 'A1/B1-A5/B5 "Low Vis" (vs) A3/B3-B4 LL01-MB 229.5'

Here we are, and I've made a lot of changes & I wish to thank many members of this board for their great advice. I do, however how one more issue for which I need some clarification.
I will keep my question simple.

Q) If your car called for either oil "type", but preferred low vis WSS M2C929-A, A1/B1 A5/B5, knowing that the A3/B3-B4 LL01 MB 229.5 are higher HT/HS and Vis, would you run them in your car, and why? (instead of the "energy conserving" low vis stuff. Is there an advantage to running high HT/HS high Vis in a car that runs just fine with the A5/B5 stuff.(long life/ Better...
buster

Thread 'A3 and A5'

Being this was just brought up in another thread, can someone explain the difference between these two ratings? A3 seems to be the one you want...
dunno.gif
T

Thread 'A1 A3 A4 A5 B1 B3 B4 B5, can someone explain these?'

Thanks guys.

Isaac
J

Thread 'Help understanding A5 / B5 certification / spec'

HI all!

Man oh man, it's been some time since I was on BITOG. So much so that I could not reset my password. Who has hotmail anymore?

So, I have a 2016 Volvo V60 Polestar. It's an amazing car and I am super excited to take care of it. I have some questions on understanding what oil it needs, though. First off, it is my intention to change the oil every 5000 miles. So, that will weigh in to whether or not A5/B5 is important.

So, let's start with Volvo's warning in the manual:

Full synthetic engine oil meeting the minimum
ACEA A5/B5 must be used. Lower quality oils
may not offer the...
S

Thread 'Made a switch. From a5/b5 to a3/b4'

Hi all.

for the last 3 OCI's and from the time we got this car. i have bin filling it with European Valvoline synpower 5w-30 FE a5/b5. Due to oil consumption(about 1 litre in 10.000 km) the fact that the engine is not new anymore. and a feeling that the oil might be too thin when letting the engine work hard(the idle seem a bit harder if i had bin driving with 130-140 km/h for 1 or 2 hours)i changed to the not fuel conserving Synpower a3/b4. after 500 km i think i can make a conclusion, though it might change trough the OCI.

i can differently say the things mentioned above are no longer...
G

Thread 'Which oil do I use now?'

Need some advice please, need to do a oil change, but yet again not sure if I am using the correct oil. Vehicle manual states A5/B5 oil should be used. But it also states that after 100 000km they recommend A3/B4. Now my headache came in little over a year ago on a oil change. I used to change the oil with A3/B4 5w30 Castrol Magnatec as stated by the manual. Then I could not find A3/B4 5w30 anymore, I could get A3/B4 in 5w40, but not in 5w30 anymore. Suddenly the only availabe 5W30 here by me is A5.
Volvo told me, they also use the 5w40 now. I immediatly after filling with 5w40 my fuel...
K

Thread 'ACEA A5/B5 REQUIREMENTS'

My understanding to qualify to be a A5/B5 oil the oil needs to meet A1/B1 and A3/B3 specs. If that is indeed the case , why wouldn't the labeling on a oil bottle list A1 A3 A5 approved ? But the do not , they list A1 and A5 . They is a good chance im just over thinking

1537458659934325376461.webp
D

Thread 'ACEA question'

I've had to do a little first time research on ACEA specifications since we've purchased a Volvo S60. Prior to purchasing this car, I always used some variation of a Pennzoil or Castrol full-syn (in the correct weight with a premium filter) in all my cars and called it a day with OCIs in the 5K-8K range depending on the car.

The Volvo calls for a 5W-30 A5/B5 oil, and the dealer uses Castrol Professional, which I understand is also the factory fill. The manual calls for a 10K OCI, but being a direct injection turbo, I plan to do 5K OCIs to play it safe and hopefully keep the valves and...
M

Thread 'ACEA A3 versus A5'

No.

A3-rated oil affords better engine protection than A5-rated oil. Just because A5 is newer doesn't mean it's better - at least not for engines that were designed for A3 oil.
 
Try Mobil-1, for winter and summer. My experiences with Castrol is their A3s and A5s consume about the same amount oil oil. So if getting off the Red Line train is in your near future, try Mobil-1 oil. They have EPs - Euros and ESPs..... all good stuff. The only ones I avoid are their AFE (vanilla flavors),
 
nathan007 said:
Hello! This is my first post on this forum, so I'm sorry if i sound like a noob user.

I've been doing some reading on this forum and online but I'm still unsure of what I should do. Here is my situation.

I have a 2015 XC60 T6 (3.0) with 123k km (~77k miles) on the odometer. The manufacturer calls for 5w30 or 0w30 grade oil with a5/b5 spec. I've always used Castrol Edge 5w30 (#02011) and in winter redline 0w30. I change my oil at around 6-8k km or 5k miles-ish (spring and fall)
It might be worth mentioning I live in Quebec where in winter -20C is not unfrequent.

Now, i dont really want to use redline because of the steep price and availability. It always did a good job tough.
Castrol, which is cheaper, and easily available, I noticed about 1/2 quart missing in my intervals. No drama, but still.

With the reading and learning i have done, it seems I could use a ACEA A3/B4 instead of the original a5/b5, which would offer better engine protection (my goal) vs fuel economy (not that important)

Am I right? Is it that simple? Any recommandations on a better oil to use ? I have easy access to some Castrol products, Liquimoly, Total, Redline, and some Mobil 1 products trough my work.

Thanks for your imput!
Click to expand...

Often on sale:
https://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/...ic-engine-motor-oil-5-l-0287963p.html?rq=0W40
 
Did alot of reading on the subject today (thanks to the links shared by KSCHACHN)
So i really think i will try out a a3/b4 spec. oil for this winter. Now it's only a matter of finding the right one (ouff)

So far I Mobil 1 FS 0w40 sounds great (and on sale at walmart for 35$CAD/4.73L not too shabby)
Castrol 0w40 Euro (02018 canadian p/n)

I'll do some research on Gulf oil that i can get GX/ULE versions.

thanks alot!!

​

 
The T6 loves thick oil. I’ve even run HDEO 15W-40 in mine with no issues. But I usually go for a 5W-40 A3/B4.

Currently trying Valvoline Restore and Protect 10W-40 in it to help clean it up and hopefully reduce oil consumption a bit.

No need to stick to A5/B5 at all.
 
I've used Mobli 1 0w-40 in my 5 cylinder Volvo a bunch. I think it could be a good one for your climate, while offering great protection and cleaning abilities too. You should find this pretty easily available.

Right now I'm using the Valvoline Restore and Protect 5w-30 in attempt to help oil consumption.
 
A A3/B4 5w-30 would give you a slight bump up in HTHS vs A5/B5 but still have good flow during cold months & keep fuel economy benefits. A 0w-40 A3/B4 could serve the same but with less fuel economy.
 
Nathan I looked at the product data sheet for the Redline 0w-30 you had been using. That does look like a really nice oil, in my armchair opinion. haha

The Volvos from these years can have the carbon buildup on the rings and cause the consumption to increase with mileage. The rings were a poor design.

Your regular oil changes probably help with that a bunch, but that redline is such a stout product, I also wonder if it has helped you along the way too. Just knowing this potential Volvo issue the way I do and the headache it can cause, I might be tempted to keep using Redline at least part of the year like you were doing.
 
Ayrton; i totally agree, but in this case, redline has been on B/O for over 6 months at my workplace, and it's 50% more expensive than most of the oils i can get (shame to flush it at such intervals)

i've done a little data collecting collage from the specifications i could collect of the oils I can get and sounds like decent candidates;
closest from the castrol edge a5/b5 i'm using and redline 0w30 i've used would be the Total Quartz 9000 Energy 0w30

oilcomp.webp
 
fantastic said:
A A3/B4 5w-30 would give you a slight bump up in HTHS vs A5/B5 but still have good flow during cold months & keep fuel economy benefits. A 0w-40 A3/B4 could serve the same but with less fuel economy.
Click to expand...
There are no fuel economy benefits with 5W30 A3 compared to XW40. Both have minimum HTHS at 3.5.
Some XW30 have higher HTHS than some XW40. Motomaster 5W30 MB229.51 that is available in Canadian Tire will have higher HTHS than Mobil1 0W40.
 
edyvw said:
There are no fuel economy benefits with 5W30 A3 compared to XW40. Both have minimum HTHS at 3.5.
Some XW30 have higher HTHS than some XW40. Motomaster 5W30 MB229.51 that is available in Canadian Tire will have higher HTHS than Mobil1 0W40.
Click to expand...
In the sense of not putting hundreds of thousands of miles on our passenger vehicles like they do semi's it may not matter much. You see in big Semi's licensed for 80k lbs it may be more easily "measurable" but in our light passenger vehicles may be harder to see differences. But I'd have to see some actual tests conducted on the subject first to make a good conclusion.
 
fantastic said:
In the sense of not putting hundreds of thousands of miles on our passenger vehicles like they do semi's it may not matter much. You see in big Semi's licensed for 80k lbs it may be more easily "measurable" but in our light passenger vehicles may be harder to see differences. But I'd have to see some actual tests conducted on the subject first to make a good conclusion.
Click to expand...
I really do not know what that has to do with what you said.
There will be no difference in fuel economy between A3, C3 oils in XW30 and XW40 grade. They ALL have to meet SAME fuel economy requirements required by MB, BMW, VW and Porsche.
 
edyvw said:
I really do not know what that has to do with what you said.
There will be no difference in fuel economy between A3, C3 oils in XW30 and XW40 grade. They ALL have to meet SAME fuel economy requirements required by MB, BMW, VW and Porsche.
Click to expand...
My statement was regarding A3/B4 vs A5/B5 as the topic asks. Are you saying there is not any difference in fuel economy between those two standards?
 
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