Which oil for my car?

[Volvoman]

Hi,
New to the forum, so hi everyone.
Am after any recommendations as to what oil to put in my 'new' car. Its a MY03 S60 Volvo 2.0 ltr auto with 50k miles ; all done on 10W-40 semi-synthetic( @ approx 10-12 k miles...we do that over here in europe).
Am pretty keen to get a fully synth one in it but am wondering which to go for.
I drive about 18k miles year, approx 2/3 rds of this are out of town driving.
Am leaning toward the Amsoil as the drain intervals look good for changing once per year.
Would appriciate your input ?
Thanks in advance
Mitch

 

[Gary Allan]

On your side of the ocean there appears to be a tendancy to use heavier oils. You appear to say, if I read your post correctly, that you do no more then 1/3 congested urban driving ..while the rest, although not necessarily expressway, is non- stop and go.

18k km would seem reasonable for a 1 year interval with a full synthetic. You have to be doing enough duration of events to minimize the effects that would effect TBN and whatnot (purging moisture, enough time out of warm up, etc.).

I don't know what's readily available there ..but Amsoil is a fine choice and will serve you well. I would recommend a UOA to determine how well it did.

 

[Ron AKA]

Here is an interesting paper written by a fellow brit. After reading it you may be convinced to run a 0w20 like I do. I also plan to change it at no more than 8000 km intervals. Perhaps they may lock you up for doing that in the UK.

The link currently looks dead, so I hope it is just temporary...

http://www.iantaylor.org.uk/papers/IMechEFE2000.pdf

 

[Nickdfresh]

I'd use Castrol 0W-30 or Mobil1 0W-40. Either should protect on such a drain interval.