I too, am ‘that way inclined’ to do my own car maintenance. And I too, have nice soft hands from IT work [emoji6]
This post led me on a day of discovery…some may say wasted [emoji6]…because it seriously has been a whole Sunday: 8am to 7pm!…I could have mowed the lawns, watched a movie, gone for a walk, talked with my family…. I guess! Hmmm.
I caught out the local dealership: they hadn’t replaced the engine oil. I found grains of sand on the filler cap housing and o-ring after a service (long story how that got there….the short version is: demonstrator model that went for an adventure on a beach in Queensland….a serious adventure by all accounts….sand EVERYWHERE!) and so I figured that the cap hadn’t been taken off at it’s service, thus the oil not changed. No service technician in their right mind would replace that without cleaning off (the very evident) sand…at least I hope not! I’ll see if I can dig out the pic of the sandy o-ring.
Hence my reason for wanting to do my own maintenance
Any ways. As the great ad in the 80′-90’s from Castrol said: “Oils ain’t Oils”.
It’s not just the viscosity range you need to look out for here. It’s the specific ACEA ratings and/or Volvo Specifications that matter. In Australia and the UK, it’s recommended to use a 0w20 weight, whilst the US recommends the 5w30. Why?
Lord only knows the answer to that question as my research today came up with nil.
Volvo recommends ACEA A5-B5 and/or VCC RBS0-2AE. The Pennzoil you’ve chosen falls in that criterion….so well done [emoji3]. The Ultra Platinum version is slightly better at cold start ups….just only very slightly.
As you’re all probably aware, Castrol and Volvo partnered up in the development of the 2ltr turbo engine used in the XC90 (and the variation before, that was used in the XC60)
My preference in oils has been Liqui-Moly since 2013…it’s just that good. Engine runs smoother, quieter and fuel economy improves. Have tested this enough against other brands to know it’s not BS.
So, Liqui-Moly have an oil that is VCC RBS0-2AE compliant…Special Tec V 0w20.
Has a low pour point, high flash point, a higher Viscosity Index and a lower 40ºC Viscosity and higher 100ºC Viscosity than the specially developed Castrol Professional Edge.
The trouble is, getting it in Australia is difficult. In fact, the Castrol Professional Edge is also difficult…I’ll leave it to you to search for this puppy!
Now….
Liqui-Moly also do a Special Tec 0w30 that is VCC 95200377 rated(a Volvo rating and approved for the XC60 2 Ltr turbo’d engine) and ACEA A5-B5 rated…It is pretty damn close to the V 0w20 but is better on the 100ºC Viscosity and also the Total Base Number (11.1 mg KOH/g compared with the V0w20 @ 7.9….higher is better).
The only drawback is it’s Sulfate Ash result… <=1.6 wt% compared with 0.9wt%…lower is better.
My question to the audience is…. will this higher sulphate result, affect the catalytic converter in a negative way?
FYI, EUROL do a nice alternative too that is also compliant.
Thank you for your attention [emoji6]