Why I hate my 2000 V70R!

[scot850]

+1 on the premium fuel. On an NA running around the city I used to use regular gas, but if any highway or long distance driving was required I always use premium. On all 3 of our current Volvos (including the project V70 base) I now only use premium. Unlike many on here I do a very low mileage so the difference in cost between regular and premium on a yearly basis is very small.

I am still a great believer in that all the burnt valves are caused by cars that are filled with regular gas, in particular the turbos. I may be totally wrong but I believe this makes the cylinders run hotter especially on constant high speed load or hard acceleration. The valves that fail tend to be in cylinder #2 and #3 which are 2 of the hottest running cylinders. I strongly believe this is the self-fulfilling prophecy and if the cars were run only on premium we would see much fewer burnt valves in these engines and head gasket failures.

Problem now is that most of these cars have been subjected to this for some years and we are then surprised when crap happens.

Regular maintenance is the key and many of the guys on here do that and use synthetic oil in trans and engines. There is a balance though and I still don't understand why we are brainwashed into thinking our engines need to change synthetic oil every 3-5k miles. In Europe (or more specific the UK were I used to live) cars do 6-8k services and still do huge mileages. An extreme example I have mentioned before is a buddy of my brother had a 5 series BMW with an oil service warning system. It only came on at 32,000km! Even I think that is too long, but my cars get an annual oil change no matter what anyway, even when my 'R' only does 2,000km/year. My view on low mileage cars is you need to do the changes to remove any moisture and contaminants that collect in the oil with sitting. So my balance is the once/year or 6000km.

Neil.

[June]

+1 on the premium fuel. On an NA running around the city I used to use regular gas, but if any highway or long distance driving was required I always use premium. On all 3 of our current Volvos (including the project V70 base) I now only use premium. Unlike many on here I do a very low mileage so the difference in cost between regular and premium on a yearly basis is very small.

I am still a great believer in that all the burnt valves are caused by cars that are filled with regular gas, in particular the turbos. I may be totally wrong but I believe this makes the cylinders run hotter especially on constant high speed load or hard acceleration. The valves that fail tend to be in cylinder #2 and #3 which are 2 of the hottest running cylinders. I strongly believe this is the self-fulfilling prophecy and if the cars were run only on premium we would see much fewer burnt valves in these engines and head gasket failures.

Problem now is that most of these cars have been subjected to this for some years and we are then surprised when crap happens.

Regular maintenance is the key and many of the guys on here do that and use synthetic oil in trans and engines. There is a balance though and I still don't understand why we are brainwashed into thinking our engines need to change synthetic oil every 3-5k miles. In Europe (or more specific the UK were I used to live) cars do 6-8k services and still do huge mileages. An extreme example I have mentioned before is a buddy of my brother had a 5 series BMW with an oil service warning system. It only came on at 32,000km! Even I think that is too long, but my cars get an annual oil change no matter what anyway, even when my 'R' only does 2,000km/year. My view on low mileage cars is you need to do the changes to remove any moisture and contaminants that collect in the oil with sitting. So my balance is the once/year or 6000km.

Neil.

Neil, I took these pictures just before my last oil change. I kept reading about German Castrol Synthetic on here or other things on here about group this or that about oil not understanding that here in America the oil companies are screwing everyone by false advertising oil as synthetic that is not synthetic. My T6 has always chewed oil up by 3K and really at 2K the oil turns dark. The photos are what the oil looks like at 2,950 miles and has turned like this since new. I am running a test with real synthetic oil and so far the oil is not changing, and the car is running quieter and my gas mileage has improved. Same Shell gas, same weight oil, just not refined from mineral oil but is made with Ester based stock.

The 2002 T6 And The 1998 2.3 T5 also turned by 3K To My Memory. All cars before that all the way back to my first new car the 1986 Buick Park Avenue the oil stayed clean between changes, I mean clear like it was just poured into the engine. Little did I know Mobil 1 quit being real synthetic, I thought engines 98 and newer were not as good as the older ones. I never thought of the oil not being synthetic anymore.

In the 1980s my mechanic at Royal Buick actually told me I was crazy changing the Mobil 1 at 3K so he was putting the oil out of my Buick in his car and had been doing it for years. I will say never once with Mobil 1 could the oil be seen on the stick it was so clear, never like the following picture. I plan on starting a thread about the oil life between what we are being sold as synthetic and synthetic oil. Currently I am waiting on the real synthetic oil to turn like that in the picture before I start the thread. It was Matthew being displeased how the oil looks in his new car that gave me the incentive as I completely understand his frustration. Only I simply have the oil changed rather than worry about oil weather the oil is good or not. It looks dirty, change it! June

[abscate]

In the 1980s my mechanic at Royal Buick actually told me I was crazy changing the Mobil 1 at 3K so he was putting the oil out of my Buick in his car and had been doing it for years

NOBODY can be this cheap..except this guy I know in NJ

[wizechatmgr]

Base 2&3 vs 4, vs 5 oils.

If I remember correctly, the hydrocracked oils while having better protection than their typical dino competitors lack longevity as a result since they were formed under heat and pressure - similar to an engine's operating conditions perhaps?

PAOs and Esters (aka real synthetics) should last a lot longer than their cheaper counterparts.

An interesting read... http://www.technilube.com/faqs_info/synth_diff.php I really wanted a bobistheoilguy link but didn't find one quickly, he explains the differences in much further depth.

[June]

Base 2&3 vs 4, vs 5 oils.

If I remember correctly, the hydrocracked oils while having better protection than their typical dino competitors lack longevity as a result since they were formed under heat and pressure - similar to an engine's operating conditions perhaps?

PAOs and Esters (aka real synthetics) should last a lot longer than their cheaper counterparts.

An interesting read... http://www.technilube.com/faqs_info/synth_diff.php I really wanted a bobistheoilguy link but didn't find one quickly, he explains the differences in much further depth.

In my car the Ester based oil has been in the engine about 1,000 miles and so far looks as clean as day one, the engine is absolutely silent now and noticeably smoother enough for 2 people now to mention something is different about my car and both are the only people to ride in her since the change, also a noticeable increase in fuel economy on both tanks of gas since the change. The last fill up I went 302 miles on just under 12 gallons for my normal city driving which is crazy for my car. 300 miles of my normal driving around town usually uses around 19 gallons my car holds just shy of 22 gallons. The weight is exactly the same 5w30 and the Shell gas station I use for 93 is the same. The only difference is the oil is Ester based and one other strange difference is my power breaks are noticeably more touchy in traffic like the booster is getting more vacuum and the engine is almost always using the lower idle speed. It's still hot and I am still using the a/c, and flooring the accelerator as I normally do. I'm still waiting for the 3,000 mile mark to see weather it breaks down like the Castrol and this change being the first some of the group 3 oil must still be in there mixed in. Really next change it should be a better trial. June

[abscate]

You need to gather data over 10 tanks to get good inferences on mpg, and also remember fuel formulations change over time in some areas.

Differences of 5% are hard to measure and probably represent errors of measurement, maybe 2-3% if you are really careful. That's approaching the typical error in a fuel delivery pump which is about 2%

[scot850]

So what brand of oil do you use June? I have used Castrol Edge for some years but can't say it seems anything special.

Neil.

[June]

So what brand of oil do you use June? I have used Castrol Edge for some years but can't say it seems anything special.

Neil.

Up until last year only my Volvo dealer had changed the oil always with Synthetic every 3,000 miles. It always turns dark brown. In the last year I tried the Ford dealership a couple of times with Volvo filter Ford Synthetic 3,000 miles turned dark brown, also several times at Goodyear who uses Valvoline Synthetic with Volvo filter and yet still turned dark brown long before 3,000 miles. Castrol turns earlier than the other two and is darkest at 3,000 miles. The Ford oil was the best of the three staying the cleanest. All those are group 3 oils of course.

I took some time and researched what's available and due to the molecular structure of the esters according to my father who was a chemist would be the best oil. So I ordered Redline 5w30 from amazon at $130 a case. I am so pleased with the result I ordered a second case to be ready for the next change. My 2.9 T6 engine holds 7.25 quarts for oil + filter change.

As I mentioned after seeing Mathew''s VW oil turning dark on his recent post I decided to photograph my oil just before change because once I have a comparison to the Redline oil at 3,000 miles I intend on starting a thread about it. I am extremely angry with Volvo for not having at least a group 4 synthetic at their dealer such as the German Castrol. Here I have varnish in my engine and I have never run the 7,500 mile OCI per their requirements. Imagine the T6 And T5 cars from 2004 era getting Castrol GTX non synthetic oil being left in for 7,500 miles. Those cars are likely the crappie money pits sold used you are referring to in this thread. After all if too cheap to put synthetic in a turbo engine they likely use 87 and fix nothing or squeak by doing the minimum as they will just trade it in to be someone else'sproblem.

Really I'm not impressed with Castrol Synthetic and likely a car run 7,500 OCI on the oil I'd bet would have the dreaded PCV problems and the poor unsuspecting original owner thinks they are taking care of their car. I would never have opened the oil cap had the rear cam seal not sprung a leak on the road, luckily I check the oil at every fill up and was shocked the level was slightly low summer 2016 and even more shocked at the dark varnish under the cap. I had never opened the cap before that. At my dealer the mechanic and advisor for years tried to convince me I was wasting my money. In hindsight I wish I had changed it even earlier or better yet known about the misleading claims of synthetic for oil so I could have selected a group 4 or 5 oil. June

[j-dawg]

Are you still doing 3,000-mile oil changes? At $11/qt and 3000 miles, it'd be cheaper to use M1 at the recommended interval and just replace your engine every 250,000 miles if you had to.

[June]

You need to gather data over 10 tanks to get good inferences on mpg, and also remember fuel formulations change over time in some areas.

Differences of 5% are hard to measure and probably represent errors of measurement, maybe 2-3% if you are really careful. That's approaching the typical error in a fuel delivery pump which is about 2%

It so happens I record mileage, price, station if it is not Shell on Hodges and gallons. I figured miles and gallons on my last full page and it looks like all entries are my Shell station and 93 of course. Here are those numbers;
Miles. Gallons used
375. 17.294
410. 18.628
321. 16.212
367. 17.937
371. 19.146
299. 17.246
542 (I must have bought 5 gallons elsewhere to get to my station) 24.700
323. 17.252

Notice 12 gallons for 302 miles is a noticeable increase in fuel economy. The same station, 93 octane just the oil is different. I'd say that is more than a 5% increase. Really give it a try in your own car, what could it hurt? I'm sold on the smoother acceleration and noticeably quieter sound to the upper engine and turbos. I'm still waiting to see if it burns brown by 3,000 miles like the group 3 oils do in my engine. June