Advantages of 0W20 over 5W30?

Tmcdonald · Jan 5, 2020

My daughter just got a 2016 XC90 T6 Momentum from a Volvo dealership; they bought an extended warranty as well. The car is driven highway miles mainly ( 50 ) miles per day plus other miscellaneous trips. We live in Georgia; no extreme temps and no severe driving conditions.

Would we be ok using a Castrol synthetic 5w-30 that meets the A5/B5 specs?

EdVQ37 · Jan 5, 2020

Tmcdonald said:
My daughter just got a 2016 XC90 T6 Momentum from a Volvo dealership; they bought an extended warranty as well. The car is driven highway miles mainly ( 50 ) miles per day plus other miscellaneous trips. We live in Georgia; no extreme temps and no severe driving conditions.

Would we be ok using a Castrol synthetic 5w-30 that meets the A5/B5 specs?

Yup. 5w30 is perfectly fine. As per the owners manual that's one of the acceptable grades.

Zahra · Jan 5, 2020

EdVQ37 said:
I think it might be a climate/region specific thing.

That's what I think too, but seen the wide range of expected temperatures in the US it
is somewhat strange that only one viscosity range would be specified.

stick_shift · Jan 5, 2020

I'll be sticking with the thicker oil for sure.

Tmcdonald · Jan 5, 2020

Thanks!

EdVQ37 · Jan 5, 2020

Zahra said:
EdVQ37 said:

I think it might be a climate/region specific thing.

Click to expand...

That's what I think too, but seen the wide range of expected temperatures in the US it
is somewhat strange that only one viscosity range would be specified.

Yup. In Texas like OP mentioned, 0w20 is going to be way too thin for his temps but Volvo doesn't seem to care too much about it. I guess it's easier for castrol to just supply a couple weights than having to stock multiple weights. Manufactures are all about cost cutting in this day and age unfortunately.

lamarguy · Jan 5, 2020

0w20 is recommended for fuel economy reasons (<1.0% improvement over 5w30) and to help meet Volvo's stated carbon goals. I'll stick with 5w30 in the TX heat and mild winters.

For comparison, my 2019 1.8L supercharged boat (250 hp) requires 10w40 to support continuous operation at 6k - 8k RPMs. Shear at temp is real.

Zahra · Jan 5, 2020

If the readings that I obtained via OBD and Torque were correct, then the T5 engine runs a lot cooler (about 85°C)
than the 2.5T of our XC70 (105°C).
The dynamic viscosity of 0W20 at 85°C is about the same as that of 5W30 at 105°C (data from Total lubricants).
So if (big if) the current pertol engines do indeed run much cooler, 0W20 gives them the same protection as 5W30
did in engines of the previous generation.

EdVQ37 · Jan 5, 2020

MyVolvoS60 said:
Tech said:

From Volvo:

All model year 2019 and 2020 vehicles for the U.S. and Canadian markets are delivered from the factory with Castrol Edge Professional V 0W-20 Synthetic oil.
Any services or repairs on model year 2019 and 2020 vehicles requiring the replacement of engine oil must be performed using only Castrol Edge Professional V 0W-20 Synthetic oil.
Volvo will not pay any oil maintenance claims that are performed without using Castrol Edge Professional V 0W-20 Synthetic oil.

All model year vehicles (2015-) with a VEP(4Cylinder) engine that require engine replacement or engine rebuild must use Castrol Edge Professional V 0W-20 Synthetic oil. It is required to notify the customer of this change for future maintenance services.

It is acceptable to use Castrol Edge Professional V 0W-20 Synthetic oil on all model year VEP 4 cylinder 2.0L engines.

The vehicle's Owner's Manual currently reﬂects the global recommendation for oil viscosity.
The U.S. and Canadian markets will follow the extreme driving conditions recommendation.

As noted in the vehicles owner's manual.
Extreme driving conditions:
Volvo's VCC RBS0-2AE/SAE 0W20 oil is recommended for extreme conditions

Click to expand...

Thanks for posting that for EdVQ37 benefit.

Tech's post is highlighting requirements Volvo set out for reimbursement to the dealerships for "maintenance free services" on the 2019+ vehicles. IF the vehicle was purchased with care free Maintenance.

If the vehicle was purchased without care free maintenance then 5w30 is still in appropriate and applicable wait regardless of the model year.

My original post was for the OP with long term reliability in mind. He's in Texas and 0w20 is going to be too thin in my opinion.

Regardless if Volvo says it's fine. I'm sure 0w20 is fine for most climates but I cringe at the though of a 20 weight oil in a hot climate like Texas.

I have a feeling the 0w20 is cheaper for Volvo to purchase than to continue with filling the cars with 5w30...I wouldn't be surprised if the push for 0w20 had more to do with cutting cost than anything.

Thanks for your concern though.

EdVQ37 · Jan 5, 2020

lamarguy said:
0w20 is recommended for fuel economy reasons (<1.0% improvement over 5w30) and to help meet Volvo's stated carbon goals. I'll stick with 5w30 in the TX heat and mild winters.

For comparison, my 2019 1.8L supercharged boat (250 hp) requires 10w40 to support continuous operation at 6k - 8k RPMs. Shear at temp is real.

THANK YOU. That's what I was trying to say this entire time.

MyVolvoS60 · Jan 5, 2020

EdVQ37 said:
Tech's post is highlighting requirements Volvo set out for reimbursement to the dealerships for "maintenance free services" on the 2019+ vehicles. IF the vehicle was purchased with care free Maintenance.

If the vehicle was purchased without care free maintenance then 5w30 is still in appropriate and applicable wait regardless of the model year.

My original post was for the OP with long term reliability in mind. He's in Texas and 0w20 is going to be too thin in my opinion.

Regardless if Volvo says it's fine. I'm sure 0w20 is fine for most climates but I cringe at the though of a 20 weight oil in a hot climate like Texas.

I have a feeling the 0w20 is cheaper for Volvo to purchase than to continue with filling the cars with 5w30...I wouldn't be surprised if the push for 0w20 had more to do with cutting cost than anything.

Thanks for your concern though.

1. 0w20 is what Volvo uses over in Europe I believe?

2. U.S. has a huge swing in regions / climates. Other than the southern half of the U.S., most places are pretty cold in fall + winter. But then summers are hot almost everywhere except in the extreme Northern U.S.

Mid and Southern Florida, Mid and Southern Texas, Southern Arizona, Southern California, and the Lower Southern East Coast of course stay warm and are very hot in summer.

EdVQ37 · Jan 5, 2020

MyVolvoS60 said:
1. 0w20 is what Volvo uses over in Europe I believe?

2. U.S. has a huge swing in regions / climates. Other than the southern half of the U.S., most places are pretty cold in fall + winter. But then summers are hot almost everywhere except in the extreme Northern U.S.

Mid and Southern Florida, Mid and Southern Texas, Southern Arizona, Southern California, and the Lower Southern East Coast of course stay warm and are very hot in summer.

They run all kinds of weights of oil defending on region. 0w30/0w40 is a common and highly used weight in Europe with manufactures including Volvo.

Exactly what I said. fine for most climates but for Texas I wouldn't go lower than a 30 weight. Just my educated opinion.

I've done my own oil sample analysis for 5w30 on my S60 when run hot in extreme cases like track use (use of motor above 6000 rpm) and it yelled poor results with high volatility in regards to to shearing under load and oil film protection.

I couldn't imagine a turbo/supercharged 4 cylinder in a Texas Summer running 20 weight oil...ouch.

Zahra · Jan 5, 2020

The info is from the Spanish and the Swedish manual for a MY2018 XC90. Both only list 0W20.
Since these 2 countries have a much different climate, I suppose Volvo only specs 0W20 in the entire EU.

EdVQ37 · Jan 5, 2020

Zahra said:
The info is from the Spanish and the Swedish manual for a MY2018 XC90. Both only list 0W20.
Since these 2 countries have a much different climate, I suppose Volvo only specs 0W20 in the entire EU.

This is a picture of my owners manual from a 2018 XC90 T6 R-design.

5w30, 0w30 and 0w20 are all applicable and perfectly fine for use in my Canadian spec Volvo.

Tech · Jan 5, 2020

MyVolvoS60 said:
Tech said:

From Volvo:

All model year 2019 and 2020 vehicles for the U.S. and Canadian markets are delivered from the factory with Castrol Edge Professional V 0W-20 Synthetic oil.
Any services or repairs on model year 2019 and 2020 vehicles requiring the replacement of engine oil must be performed using only Castrol Edge Professional V 0W-20 Synthetic oil.
Volvo will not pay any oil maintenance claims that are performed without using Castrol Edge Professional V 0W-20 Synthetic oil.

All model year vehicles (2015-) with a VEP(4Cylinder) engine that require engine replacement or engine rebuild must use Castrol Edge Professional V 0W-20 Synthetic oil. It is required to notify the customer of this change for future maintenance services.

It is acceptable to use Castrol Edge Professional V 0W-20 Synthetic oil on all model year VEP 4 cylinder 2.0L engines.

The vehicle's Owner's Manual currently reﬂects the global recommendation for oil viscosity.
The U.S. and Canadian markets will follow the extreme driving conditions recommendation.

As noted in the vehicles owner's manual.
Extreme driving conditions:
Volvo's VCC RBS0-2AE/SAE 0W20 oil is recommended for extreme conditions

Click to expand...

Thanks for posting that for EdVQ37 benefit.

It was for everyone's benefit. Your post made it sound like they changed the spec when that is not accurate.

brett_xc90 · Jan 6, 2020

EdVQ37 said:
I would say for you, living in Texas? There is no advantage. The 5W to 0W is for very cold, freezing climates. Also the thinner 20 weight oil could be worse due to your hot climate in regards to oil film strength and sheering of the oil (bad) so I would just run the 5W30. No advantage for you to go to the thinner oil.

Australian spec for whole country is 0W20
Temperature wise, we go from below 0°C to above 45°C
We're just getting on the back end of above 40°c for 14 days
BTW...only the US specifies 5W30
The rest of the world acknowledges 0W20
Only the US has reported spark plug failure and oil consumption due to piston ring failure

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

lamarguy · Jan 6, 2020

brett_xc90 said:
BTW...only the US specifies 5W30
The rest of the world acknowledges 0W20
Only the US has reported spark plug failure and oil consumption due to piston ring failure

You're associating 5w30 usage with (1) spark plug and (2) piston ring failure?

I'll ignore this one because I assume you're suffering from wildfire smoke inhalation...

BriDroid · Jan 6, 2020

I’m honestly not too worried about the 0W20 being too thin. I’m in north TX, and it’s not like west TX. We almost have 4 seasons here lol. While I wouldn’t feel comfortable running it for 10,000 miles (that seems like a stretch), at 6 to 7,000 miles I’m willing to try it. I run 0W20 in my V8 Silverado and the oil analysis comes back good. While it’s not super or turbo charged, it does have direct injection and is hard on oil. If I do go the 0W20 route in the T6, I will run an analysis on it for sure. Looking at the PDS for the Liqui-Moly, it seems to start out thinker than the 0W20’s available at the auto parts stores. There’s a reason Volvo has a specific spec and not just GF-5 or Dex1 Gen2 like my truck uses.

EdVQ37 · Jan 6, 2020

brett_xc90 said:
EdVQ37 said:

I would say for you, living in Texas? There is no advantage. The 5W to 0W is for very cold, freezing climates. Also the thinner 20 weight oil could be worse due to your hot climate in regards to oil film strength and sheering of the oil (bad) so I would just run the 5W30. No advantage for you to go to the thinner oil.

Click to expand...

Australian spec for whole country is 0W20
Temperature wise, we go from below 0°C to above 45°C
We're just getting on the back end of above 40°c for 14 days
BTW...only the US specifies 5W30
The rest of the world acknowledges 0W20
Only the US has reported spark plug failure and oil consumption due to piston ring failure

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Not true, 5w30, 0w30, 0w20 all specs used in Canada for the SPA cars.

BriDroid · Jan 6, 2020

EdVQ37 said:
This is a picture of my owners manual from a 2018 XC90 T6 R-design.

5w30, 0w30 and 0w20 are all applicable and perfectly fine for use in my Canadian spec Volvo.

I wonder what changed from 2017 to 2018? Yours holds less oil than my 2017 T6. Weird!

Advantages of 0W20 over 5W30?

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