Fuel Grade (AKI) for 2004 V70 T5 --high pressure turbo??

backbayvolvo · Post by **backbayvolvo** » 30 Mar 2010, 19:42

I have heard so many conflicting stories about "premium" vs. "regular" fuel.

Manual recommends 91 AKI, but says it can handle 87.

Local Volvo dealer says 91.

Private Mechanic says 89.

"Car talk" says it doesn't matter.

I have never "noticed" knock...but I do like to get on the turbo and "regular" unleaded seams to hesitate...like feeling when close to running out of gas.

Post by **jblackburn** » 30 Mar 2010, 21:10

Don't use 87, it's bad for the engine. We've seen cases of cheap gas being used that burns valves, etc.

I use 89 the majority of the time, but it runs the best on 93. Down south, most stations are 87-89-93; up North, I know 91 is the most you can get, which is what they're designed to run on.

NJ95-850GLT · Post by **NJ95-850GLT** » 30 Mar 2010, 21:19

My 95 850GLT calls for a 95 Octane according to the Owners Manual... Unless I head to the local Airport for fuel, or add an "Octane Booster" I'm forced to run the 93 Octane Premium offered from my local gas stations. Due to the economy and the fact that my "Money Tree" didn't bloom last year... I ran the Regular 87 Octane for only 2 tankfulls and knew that I was starving the ratio.... "Driving a Premium Vehicle, Requires a Premium Fuel"... otherwise you can always drive a Kia...

backbayvolvo · Post by **backbayvolvo** » 31 Mar 2010, 02:01

what about this from Edmunds?

http://www.edmunds.com/advice/fuelecono ... ticle.html

Volvo cars call for "premium fuel [91 octane or better] for optimum performance and fuel economy," said Wayne Baldwin, product/segment manager for the S60/S80. "However, there is absolutely nothing wrong with using 87 octane, as the knock sensors and engine management system 'protect' the engine from knocking."

zhenya · Post by **zhenya** » 31 Mar 2010, 05:57

jablackburn wrote: I use 89 the majority of the time, but it runs the best on 93. Down south, most stations are 87-89-93; up North, I know 91 is the most you can get, which is what they're designed to run on.

Really? I assume by 'up north' you mean the NE, and 93 is the standard premium fuel everywhere I know of. It's the West where getting anything above 91 is a problem.

NJ95-850GLT wrote:My 95 850GLT calls for a 95 Octane according to the Owners Manual... Unless I head to the local Airport for fuel, or add an "Octane Booster" I'm forced to run the 93 Octane Premium offered from my local gas stations. Due to the economy and the fact that my "Money Tree" didn't bloom last year... I ran the Regular 87 Octane for only 2 tankfulls and knew that I was starving the ratio.... "Driving a Premium Vehicle, Requires a Premium Fuel"... otherwise you can always drive a Kia...

I'm quite certain that is referring to 95 RON (the rating system used in most of Europe), which equates to about 91 AKI octane, which is the rating we use here in the US.

To the OP, you will see better performance by running higher octane, as the engine management must retard timing to prevent pre-ignition. While the car should be designed to handle this, and likely will just fine, the results if it doesn't, even for a split second, can be catastrophic to your engine. The car will likely get a small improvement in fuel economy running premium, largely making up for any cost difference.

Post by **JRL** » 01 Apr 2010, 17:18

87 won't hurt it but it will run like crap especially in the summer
Run PREMIUM

Post by **confused_al** » 01 Apr 2010, 19:43

NJ95-850GLT wrote:My 95 850GLT calls for a 95 Octane according to the Owners Manual...

What kind of owners manual do you have?
Mine states :
" Octane Rating

Volvo engines are designed for optimum performance on unleaded premium gasoline with an octane rating. AKI of 91, or above. AKI (ANTI KNOCK INDEX) is an average of the Research Octane Number, RON, and the Motor Octane Number, MON, (RON + MON/ 2).
The minimum octane requirement is AKI 87 (RON 91). "

You might want get a real manual.
Here is the link https://www.customers.volvocars.com/own ... html#pg4.2

jjaV70T · Post by **jjaV70T** » 03 Apr 2010, 11:07

Hello..I have a 2003 V70 2.4T (low boost) I have ONLY used 91 octane, here in So.Cal. it's 87,89,91.. I always use one dealer locally..OK sometimes I must use another BUT try to keep the same Fuel Company, as in Chevron, Shell, Mobil.. I use Chevron 95% of the time. MY reason is that years ago I used a independent in the my 1974 145...bad gas killed my fuel distributor.. I do come from a family of Cars and "service stations" yes I said (SERVICE..grand-fathers)..anyway ..IMHO. BEST!

Checksix · Post by **Checksix** » 03 Apr 2010, 22:58

You will find a lot of opinions on which gas to use on the forums. Really it comes down to the style of driving you do. Drive hard, pull a trailer, then I'd suggest premium. Drive easy I'd suggest regular. The difference between the 2 grades is the length of the molecule. Smaller equates to a greater surface area and thus a faster burn time. When using regular fuel and under load or hi compression (fast spinning turbo) this can result in knock. The sensors know this and retard the timing resulting in poor performance. Substitute premium into the same equation and you get less knock, the engine uses less timing retard and you get better performance.

I've used regular since new (2001 original owner) on my V70 T5. Supposedly with the high pressure turbo I must be nuts! However I am a very conservative driver, and the regular actually works better for me. I do a mileage check on every tank. No, not the trip computer, but actually doing the math and doing a consistent fill. I actually get better mileage with regular than premium. I can hear the wailing from here as other forum members think I'm NUTS! But this is really just physics, as there is more energy in premium, you need to burn at the optimum pressures and temperature to maximize its output. When I run regular, my driving style keeps these faster burning molecules in the optimum zone which equates to better mileage. When I nail it (very rare), do I get the same performance as premium? Hell no, but the performance is within my expectations. The other 99% of the time, I’m in the optimum zone for regular.

What should you do? Try both and see which works best for you and your driving style! How much simpler could it be?

Jerry

jjaV70T · Post by **jjaV70T** » 06 Apr 2010, 21:48

Hey Checksix I find your reply well written, I will change my fuel grades after testing. AS I was getting 28MPG w/champ plugs, now I use Volvo and get 21MPG. So the fuel grade is a good thought. BEST!