Question about various fluids

_HighVoltage_

Captain Volvo
Joined
Aug 5, 2006
Messages
9,964
Car(s)
1998 Volvo S70 T5M
Now that I have a car that has no leaks (knock on wood), I had decided to follow the manual for fluid specifications. However, there are a few issues bothering me.

The book calls for 10W30 motor oil. Since I live in Colorado, and it could get pretty cold in the winter, should I still put 10W30 for the winter, or should I get something thinner?

Gasoline. Because of turbocharging, the car requires premium (91RON minimum). I have discovered that gas in Colorado is different from gas in WV. In WV we had 87, 89, 93RON. Here in Colorado the only options are 85 (not E85 though), 87 and 91RON. Why the difference?

I always fill up with 91, but should I maybe pay more and put octane booster every time?
 
As long as you use synthetic or a synthetic blend, you should be fine.
 
The highest gas available here is 91RON and I've had no problem with premium fuel cars. As long as you don't hear it pinging you should be OK.

For oil viscosity look in your owner's manual. It should tell you the temperature range for the oil thickness.
 
Aren't you guys confusing RON and AKI? RON is the standard used in Europe and 91 RON is the bare minimum you can (not always) get.
 
Oops. I wasn't thinking. Yes, the whole of the U.S. uses AKI not RON.
 
Yeah, my mistake here. I always confuse the two.

But why is the AKI different on the East Coast? Does it mean they have better gas there?
 
Yeah, my mistake here. I always confuse the two.

But why is the AKI different on the East Coast? Does it mean they have better gas there?

It depends on location, not necessarily which coast. Your car won't notice the difference.
 
Two things about oil viscosities.

1. Seeing's how you are pretty familiar with leaks it's good for you to know it's possible to get a leak from switching to synthetic or lower viscosity oil if the car has always been filled with conventional/higher viscosity. So if it's always had 10W30 I'd say keep it that way.

2.My winters are super cold and 10W30 has never ever been any kind of an issue for me. I just can't speak for the differences you face with a turbocharger, at least not knowing 100% sure what I'm talking about.
 
From what I can remember it's to do with the altitude. Less oxygen means that you need a lower octane rating. But I can't remember what is the exact reasoning behind it.
 
I'm right on the coast here and the best I see on a regular basis is 91 AKI.
 
1. Seeing's how you are pretty familiar with leaks it's good for you to know it's possible to get a leak from switching to synthetic or lower viscosity oil if the car has always been filled with conventional/higher viscosity. So if it's always had 10W30 I'd say keep it that way.

The PO told me that he has never put synthetic in the car (he doesn't believe in it:blink:). To be on the safe side I will use synthetic-blend 10W30 Valvoline MaxLife. And seeing as my car only has 106,000 miles I can even register it for their protection program (although, I'm not sure how beneficial that would be)
 
Keep using what the previous owner was using. You might wash out gunk that is keeping the engine from leaking.
 
I've done that before. Previous car started leaking when I switched to full-synth. Then I moved to synthetic-blend and all was well.
 
If your car has the same basic engine design as the last I guess it couldn't hurt trying. Just keep in mind what could potentially happen as oil makes its way to many different places.
 
There's a video on youtube somewhere of a guy pouring conventional oil next to full synthetic in cold weather.


I can't imagine it's just down to the two different viscosities. Synthetic Blend shouldn't be much different.
 
If your car has the same basic engine design as the last I guess it couldn't hurt trying. Just keep in mind what could potentially happen as oil makes its way to many different places.

I'm not really worried. Especially considering the fact that the engine only has 106,000 miles and in the past 10k the oil pump and lines have been replaced, along with the turbo drain seals.
 
Thanks for that. The book says that I should usually use 10W30, but if I live in a severely cold area - 5W40. 10W30 is supposedly good until -4F(-20C)...I wonder if it would get this cold in Colorado.
 
It gets that cold here in January and Febuary, and Michigan is fairly mild compared to Colorado winters.
 
Previous owner said he always ran 10W30 and never had any problems with it.

Plus the car never stays outside, I park it in an underground garage every night. 10W30 should be fine.
 
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