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Anyone use conventional oil in their xc90s

14K views 103 replies 18 participants last post by  R-Pow3R3d 
#1 ·
When I bought my xc90, it already had 135,000 miles on. Unsure of what oil it used, on my first oil change I used castrol syntec 5w30. All was good until temps dropped and I realized it was way too thin of oil and there was a good amount of chatter from the engine. I downgraded to castrol hi mileage, and have been using it since then. I have put another 120,000 miles on it and its run pretty well on the hi mileage oil. Engine is still quiet and smooth to this date. I do occasionally top up when the oil level is low with conventional oil which hasn't caused any issues.

I recently found out that castrol gtx is a synthetic blend, which is same as castrol hi mileage. Of course hi mileage stuff has extra additives.

So, if the oil is changed frequently, is conventional castrol gtx oil ok to use, considering there has been a fair amount of improvement in the formulations of conventional oils these days? I always hear of people putting whatever is cheapest and changing it frequently and their engines last upwards of 350k miles on original engines.
 
#64 ·
Unless you drive a Diesel (or work on them) you really don't have any idea what carbon suspended in the oil is all about.

OTOH, if you don't suspend it and drain it out with the old oil, where do you think it's going to end up?
 
#65 ·
So true. And if you have not had to change 12 quarts of oil from a diesel work truck, you're not living, lol.

Since this thread started about conventional oil, this is what's nice about synthetics in general. Synthetics are more resistant when it comes to leaving carbon compared to conventional oil (call it thermal breakdown, evaporation, oxidation, or whatever). So, as the detergents clean with each oil interval, there is also less of a chance for carbon from synthetic oil being deposited back. I have opened up at least a dozen engines who have used synthetics for most, if not all their lives, and they all were very clean. You could see some carbon deposits in corners where the flow of oil is low, but otherwise, varnish and carbon was almost nonexistent. The existing levels of detergent in regular synthetics (non-high mileage) do a very good job of cleaning with regular use over time.

If switching to synthetic from conventional, or using synthetic in an engine with unknown oil history, it might be better to use regular synthetic, but at a shorter change interval for a few oil changes. Like you are saying, suspend and drain. I believe Orange was touching on that subject in this thread.
 
#66 · (Edited)
I've come to the realization that 110K is not high mileage on a 2.5T as these engines are we built and last over 300K. Plus the path for the lifters is very small and a thicker oil may not effectively he through... and I will follow the mfr recommendations of a 30 weight oil and not, say 0W-40 because some here claim the thicker oil helps the older engines.
Maybe so but that will be for engines much older than mine.
And to chitownv, yes I've owned the car from the start and hadn't realized there is no low oil indicator....never was an issue because never had used an oil like the M1 that'd be consumed so fast.
 
#67 ·
Sounds good. Whatever works as the maintenance history and wear is different for each. Just FYI, I recommended the Castrol not Mobil 1 for the 2.5t, but you know your engine better than anyone else on the internet.

Just a question again, what oil seals were replaced that you mentioned? It sounded like you had an oil loss issue prior because you mentioned cleaning the oil pan.
 
#78 ·
Love Project Farm. I think Mobil does not make a good 5W-30 compared to what you can get from its competitors today, thus why I also recommend the Mobil 1 0W-40, which has a shear rating (HTHS) of 3.6.

If you are set on a 5W-30, based on the oil information from the manufacturers, I would use a Pennzoil 5W-30 Platinum Euro because it is a thicker 5W-30, rated A3/B3 and has an HTHS (shear rating) above 3.5. If I were sticking with Castrol, the 5W-30 Edge A3/B4 version would be my choice, again due to the shear rating above 3.5. Both the Pennzoil Euro and Castrol A3/B4 are Mercedes and BMW approved oils. The Mobil 1 0W-40 is Mercedes and Porsche approved.

The M1 5W-30 only has a shear rating of 3.1, so the film strength is weaker than the above 3 options when it comes to protecting against wear, especially when hot and with engine load. Regular Synthetic Castrol Edge 5W-30 has a shear rating of only 2.9.
 
#76 · (Edited)
Seems like a number of synthetics are outperforming Mobil 1 lately. It makes sense, as M1 has been around for ages and ages and ages. It would be sad if we weren't doing better!

Working in M1's favor is that it's dirt cheap, and it is a fine oil for applications that don't require very specific demands. It's basically a commodity at this point. The wife's Fiat 500X (with Abarth turbo motor) needed Pennzoil Euro Platinum, which is EXPENSIVE. Four quarts cost more than the 7+ quarts of M1 that the Volvo 3.2L takes. Fortunately, for unfortunate reasons (A semi-truck hit us!), the Fiat has been replaced with a 3.2L XC60. This means that I just need to stock 5W-30 Mobil 1 for almost all the cars. The 1995 turbo gets 10W-40 M1. Consumption is still pretty low on that engine, despite the 25 year-old turbo.

As for switching to synthetic, an engine needs to be pretty gummed up before you need to worry about clogging screens and filters. I've swapped every one of my older RWD Volvos (10-12 cars) over to synthetic. Never an issue with 200K-350K miles already on the clock.

Never hurts to swap the filter after 1,000 miles, and then oil after 3,000 miles before stretching the changes out. Cheap and easy insurance.

-Ryan
 
#79 ·
We just added a 2013 3.2L XC60 to the fleet last weekend. Curiously, the owner's manual just has 5W-30 and 0W-30 in the temp-viscosity chart. I was surprised to not see 0W-40. Of course, owner's manuals are not technical bulletins! :)

-Ryan
 
#80 ·
The manual recommendation plays it safe. 5W-30 oils are the Highway All-Season tires of oils.

Unfortunately, the engines in the XC90s work much harder than in S60s and the engine oil recommendations have to apply to all platforms. With our XC90s weighing a 1,000 lbs more than an S60, our engines work harder with increased engine load, for its entire engine life. For this reason, I personally put engine wear protection above fuel economy.

I quickly put another chart together to better understand the different weights and specs of oils. It isn't necessarily one is better than the other, but the purpose and goal of each are different. I used a tire category analogy and hope this helps with the confusion...or at least gives a good laugh.

 
#86 ·
For the Canadians on here, Pennzoil is on sale again at Canadian Tire. Was on sale at Parts Source this week.

$10/jug rebate is back for 2020. https://www.pennzoil.com/en_ca...tml#iframe=L2RpeS9PMTkwNi9jYS8

Got $80 back last year after using in-laws address for second rebate as capped at $40/household.

I currently have some Platinum Euro LX 0W30, Platinum 5W30, and Platinum Euro 5W40 on hand. I'll plan to add more of the 0W30 for winter and the 5W40 for the warmer months.

C$32.99 on sale for the Euro. Minus $10/jug rebate and it's a killer deal IMO.

C$149.11 after taxes, minus $40 in rebates = C$109.11 for 4 x 5L jugs [emoji16]

 
#87 ·
Looks good!

The regular 5W-30 Pennzoil Platinum is a very thin 5W-30, the 100C (hot) spec gets close to a 20 weight.

However, any of the Platinum Euro line is great for our XC90s (0W-30 Euro LX, 5W-30 Euro, 5W-30 Euro L, 0W-40 Euro, 5W-40 Euro) and the 0/5W-30s hot spec is a little thicker than the regular synthetic counterparts. Good choices.
 
#88 ·
Perfect, exactly what I was needing to know. CT doesn't sell the 0W40 so the 5W40 is next best I think.

I'll plan to blend the regular 5W30 with some 5W40 Euro to help manage the hot spec. I'm doing 5k kms oil change intervals anyhow so hopefully that helps reduce potential for issues as well.
 
#90 · (Edited)
I just need to use up the two jugs of regular 5W30 I already have - then will stick with the Euro variants.

Edit: found the receipt for the regular 5W30 and returned those two jugs. Picked up 6 Euro 5W40 plus 2 Euro 0W30. Good for awhile I'd say. And FCP Euro for lifetime replacement Mahle filters ftw [emoji16]
 
#92 ·
The lifetime of the filter is an oil change. FCP will do replacement for that not just a warranty on parts if there is a failure.
 
#96 ·
As others have stated, you have to figure out a system to make it work for you. It's a choice. it doesn't make sense for a single oil filter but I've got 3 that I cycle through plus wiper blades for regular consumables and I coordinate a purchase pickup with a return shipment out of NY. Shipping stuff back from Canada is more expensive but it's cheap when I ship within the US. So far I've returned spark plugs, oil filters and wiper blades. I bought my 336mm Zimmerman rotors and Pagid brake rotors there as well and expect to be working through those replacements too eventually.
 
#98 ·
#99 ·
I know it's not a scam. It's a marketing ploy. Neither is welfare or food stamps (a scam); it's just not for me. If the filter fails then I'm going to be looking for more than just another filter. Otherwise, when it's time to change the filter its lifetime is up. TMSAISTI.
 
#101 ·
All good @John C , to each their own.

Most people don't go through the hassle, but if they're offering the program, I have zero qualms about reaping the benefits.

These are not cheap vehicles to maintain and if I can buy quality replacement parts and have them replaced for free when they inevitably wear out, I'll willing to part a slight premium and support this vendor. They're still loads cheaper than my local dealer for most items.

There's some planning and logistics required, but I enjoy that part of the process too.

I'm also doing my cabin filters with FCP, but didn't know about the program when I purchased my washable air intake filter. I won't do oil with them.
 
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