Look at the difference between a group 3 and group 5 oil I'm amazed

[Rattnalle]

Ah, the great seat debate.

My mother is still put off that SWMBO gets seat position 1, and she gets 2.

All of the others kids use Moms #1, except for Abby who at 5'5" uses Grandmoms #2

And my 6 foot 180# Defender shares my position 3 in a moment of Dad/Daughter Bonding

We're doing 5'4" and 6'1" on the same manual seat.. Took us a while to find out the best way for each of us to get comfortable without having to change everything every time

[abscate]

I’m thankful for the memory and power seats but three buttons only? The average family here has 2.5 kids so there should be at least 5

[Rattnalle]

I’m thankful for the memory and power seats but three buttons only? The average family here has 2.5 kids so there should be at least 5

BMWs only have two buttons so it could be worse

OnT: My car is barely moving for now, just a 150 km of commuting once a week. There won't be anything interesting on the oil to report for a while.

[June]

Okay I went ahead and took the car in for it's appointment for the third Redline oil change. A rear side mark we light was out and my new floor mats were in. Though the oil had 3300 miles on it I still felt it was good. Now for this change any old group 3 oil has to be gone. For once the oil change sticker is set for 3K without me asking so I'll leave it and know what the mileage over it will be. I forgot to ask for a 5K. So here is a record of the beginning of this oil change. Also that the sticker is as always set for 3K as the oil hits 1,2,3,4,5K I will be adding photos of the condition and if at 5K it still is clean maybe 6K we shall see. The spot of oil on the paper towel without the dipstick was poured straight from the bottle never in the engine to show the natural color of the product. My car holds 7.25 quarts so I add the .25 quart when I get home to be sure the level is exactly on the full mark.

If anyone else has switched to a group 4 or 5 oil please add your photos of how your brand is fairing. I really feel this is a important topic. June

Since I had the vent box changed last week I was worried that trash would fall in the oil pan durring the service, so I had the oil changed. This interfered with my experiment. So here is the restart of my experiment.

By the way my vent box was perfectly clean, no discoloration on both ports going to the block. I wish I had snapped a picture of the old box. One of the ports on top had a light brown discoloration the other port on top was clean plastic like the lower ports. My car is 14 years old and has 154K on the clock. Clearly 3K oil changes kept the box clean. All those claims Volvo made a faulty designed system cannot be correct. Instead the long OCI must be the cause of plugged up pcv systems.

Here are the new start photos of my experiment. June

[Rattnalle]

Short OCIs do alleviate the problem with sludge since condensation collecting in the oil is flushed out more often. It's the standard remedy used by Saab-people who've also had some sludge-prone engines to deal with. You're probably living in a less sludge-prone climate as well compared to those of us who start the cars from deep frozen and then let them freeze again when stopping creating a nice growing ground and few occasions for condensation to boil out. Synthetic oil makes a difference as well if you're doing longer intervals - it doesn't seem as prone to turn into an oil water emulsion for some reason.

Driving patterns also make a huge difference. Short trips in frozen conditions vs longer trips in a warm climate will require very difference OCIs in practice for the same end result.

You could argue that the system is faulty in relation to specified oil requirements and change intervals though since the problem disappears if you do it more often and/or use better oil.

[tryingbe]

Color is a poor indicator how the engine oil is doing.

Send the oil in to blackstone lab.

[June]

Color is a poor indicator how the engine oil is doing.

Send the oil in to blackstone lab.

I plan on having the oil currently in the engine checked. I am running a test and will drive the oil until it darkens or 5K (maybe more if it stays clean) whichever is first to see how well for what duration Ester based oil will protect my engine. I have only 1,500 miles currently on the oil and it is nice and clean. June

[Georgeandkira]

First time in the "Events, Car Talk, General Discussion & MVS Forum".
I'm doing the same thing with "Any good oil product" vs Group 4 oil.
With my previous 2 B5244S engines I've jumped between 5W-30 (conv. oil or blend) in warm months and Mobil1 5W-30 during cold.

I have always used the recommended 7,500 mile OCI. With my current '07 I ran the dealer's fill and switched to Mobil1 0W-40 European Formula-a Group 4 PAO suitable for turbos. I'm on my second oil change now.

My plan is to have analysis done at 7,000 miles. I trust I can gather a useful picture of what the oil has left.
I have no desire to extend my OCI's. My next 4 oil changes are waiting on the shelf.

My 3 Volvos have never dirtied their oil badly but we all know that is not conclusive.

Good luck and enjoy keeping track. I do. Kira