Oil for a Volvo D5 engine

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iep

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Sep 17, 2013
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Hi I have a 2009 Volvo XC70 D5 which asks for 0w30 oil to ACEA A5/B5 lubricity. Their specific recommendation is Castrol fully synth. This is pretty expensive oil (£90 per change) and I'm on the look out for cheaper alternatives.

I've come across a local shop selling Chevron Supreme 5w/30 ACEA A5/B5 Semi-Synth for £45 for 20L (enough for three changes).

I guess I'm wondering if the 5w30 will be okay since I live in a relatively warm country (never below -10 degrees C compared to the -30 degrees that the 0w30 is specced to). Also, is semi synth a big no no for this modern engine? And, lastly, does th A5/B5 spec mean it is a perfect match for lubricity or are there other specs I should be looking out?

The other factor to consider is that the Castrol 0w30 is good for 18,000 miles while, at £15 per change, I'd be changing the Chevron stuff every 5000 miles.

Cheers,

iep
 
I suggest we read carefully, that's all.

Let the OP post back about what's available on his end, then we debate.

No use posting away lubricant brands that aren't commonly available on their end, agree?

Q.
 
@OP:

Check to see if you have a Halfords nearby (or if Halfords courier to your area):

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/SearchCmd?srch=0w30+motor+oil&action=search&storeId=10001&catalogId=10151&langId=-1#refinementURL=http%3A//www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/SearchCmd%3FcatalogId%3D10151%26storeId%3D10001%26langId%3D-1%26action%3Dlistrefine%26qcon%3Dfh_location%3D%252F%252Fcatalog_10151%252Fen_GB%252F%2524s%253D0w30%255Cu0020motor%255Cu0020oil%26channel%3Ddesktop%26fh_start_index%3D10%26tabNo%3D1%26reqType%3DproductsAjax

p.s. my gf lives in Edinburgh and there's a few Halfords around:

Halfords Edinburgh:


Hermiston Gait
Unit 2, Hermiston Gait Retail Park
39, Cultins Road, Edinburgh, MIDLOTHIAN, EH11 4DF
Tel: 0131 442 2430

Seafield
Seafield Road East
Leith, Edinburgh, EH6 7LD
Tel: 0131 554 4140


Anything ACEA A5/B5 would be fine IMHO.

Q.
 
Hi,
Thanks for all the posts. I can get the Mobil Super 3000 X1 5W-30 in the UK and it is a bit cheaper (about £45 per change) so that would be a help.

Critically though, if I were to use this oil, is the consensus that 5w30 is okay because the local temperature does not hit the extremes that the 0w30 is probably specced for?

Thanks also for the Halfords link but they only stock the Castrol 0w30 at £46 per 4L bottle (and I need about 7L) so it still works out at near £90 per change. If I can use 5w30 though they do have a few options.

The ideal scenario would be if I could use the Chevron Supreme that I mentioned in the first post. It's a semi synth 5w30 at the ACEA A5/B5 standard.

Spec on the can reads as follows:

*****************************

SUPREME MOTOR OIL 5W-30

SUITABLE FOR PETROL & DIESEL

Recommended fir: ACEA A5/B5, API SL/CF

A synthetic engine oil for cars and light vans including high performance vehicles fitted with turbo-charged multivalve engines. Intended for engines that are designed to be capale of using low friction oils.

******************************

Text seems to suggest it is fully synth but price tag in the shop described it as semi-synth.

At £45 for 20L (three changes) it is a total bargain (cheap because it is from our local Costco wharehouse) so it would be great to be able to use this (with the caveat that I'd be changing the oil very regularly).

Cheers,

iep
 
Last edited:
Purely from memory you can use 0w30 A5/B5 for best possible protection and 5w30 A5/B5 otherwise.

I would definitely recommend the Mobil Super 3000 X1 FE 5w30 A5/B5. Yes that is the full name!

I have used it for the last two changes in my V50 which has done mega miles and still uses no oil between changes.

Drove to Scotland and back twice this week and it didn't use a drop.

You can get it on special offer in Halfords which is when I bought it.

It has low saps despite not being a "C" rated oil.

Which is why I have used it in my diesel Pathfinder, I have a copy of the workshop manual and checked exact specs, the saps are identical to some C3 rated oils so I have no concerned with Dpf related problems.

I have used the Chevron 10w40 from Costco and it was ok in the TX4 Taxi it was used in.

And I have looked a few times at the 5w30 A5/B5 in Costco but I am certain that the reason I decided against it was it was semi synthetic.

I could be wrong on that as it is over a year since I looked at it.

I got my Mobil Super from Halfords and I am sure it was under £40 for ten litres.

I personally sleep better knowing I have a decent full synth in there.

I also noted that the Chevron Supreme 10w40 was one of the worst smelling oils I have ever used.

But that is just a personal note.

The D5 is an expensive lump and I wouldn't risk anything less than the best in there.

My Volvo started easily and quietly using the Mobil Super 3000 during the winter when temperatures were substantially below freezing.
 
Thank you @bigjl for sharing your experience with Mobil Super 3000 X1.

It is a pretty decent oil. I have been using in Ford Connect Tddi for about 60k miles without any problem. Even though, the car climbs up and down the hills more than %10 slope throughout the entire period, there is no oil usage. It has decent NOACK and TBN values. Check out the VOA and UOA of this oil.

http://www.oil-club.ru/forum/topic/8190-mobil-super-3000-x1-formula-fe-5w-30/ -VOA

http://www.oil-club.ru/forum/topic/8192-mobil-super-3000-x1-formula-fe-5w-30/ -UOA

You may want to check out this video as well. It is not scientific but just to see the flow when outside temp -20 C.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gI6j-WuEHvs
 
"Castrol 0w30 is good for 18,000 miles"
This will kill your engine before the suggested oil you
were thinking of using.
Use the suggested oil but keep oci at say 8- 10 kmiles.
The long interval is good for the first ovner who buys a new car
every third year.....
 
I suggest you chose the oil with which you can have the best ROI... So, do UOAs and see...

If you have castrol in now, just do a 20£ UOA with blackstone after 10k, then try chevron supreme for 10k, do an UOA and compare. If it is OK compared to castrol, then keep it and try to optimize OCI...

Note that optimizing ROI and OCI depends greatly on the way you drive: if you do a lot of highway, a 100% synthetic oil will help you to have long OCI. But if you do a lot of short trips, your oil will be dead after 7500km, dino or synt, no matter, just because of the fuel dilution...

So 18 000 miles OCI with an expensive castrol is possible with 100% highway and will cost the same as 5000 miles OCI with dino oil if you do a lot of short trips...

No oil is best, there are just some oil that fit your way of driving better...
 
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