Oil Recommendations?
 

What brand and type of oil would you recommend? (1996 Volvo 850 N/a 2.4) Approx 140K Miles

Any good quality Synthetic in 10W-40 would be my recommendation

10W-40? I thought it called for 10W-30. Are you stepping up the viscosity due to the synthetic naturally running thinner?

my two cents is if you have not run synthetic to date, use a "high mileage" oil with seal softeners for the next change then move to synthetic if you want. 10-30 is ok in cooler climates, 10-40 in warmer. Both are cited in the manual (with a notation for the temp range). I also suggest OEM/Mann filters - they have a little check valve to keep oil in the upper part of the engine after shut down...

I concur, with one exception: Before moving to a full synthetic, I'd personally run a high mileage synthetic blend like Valvoline Max Life.

Oil is the lifeblood of the car. Don't cheap out and buy budget brands. Everyone has their personal favorites, but if you stick to a quality brand you'll be ok.

Personally, I run nothing but full synthetic Castrol Edge Titanium 10w40 (the black bottles, or if on sale I'll run the extended "15k mile" Castrol Edge Titanium in the gold bottle). In a pinch, if neither are available in 10w40 or 10w30, I'll run Valvoline Max Life full synthetic. I also like to do a BG oil change kit every couple changes to make sure I'm getting as much gunk out of the engine as possible (or a can of seafoam thru the oil ~100 miles prior to changing). I prefer 10w40 personally because of the broader range of temps it can handle, as well as it being a bit thicker (I feel it can resist burn off a bit more with the heavier weight).

I agree with Psaboic, mt6127, and 97-850Wagen

Where do you live? Climate is your key to what you put in your engine. There are many charts out there that show the correct viscosity to ambient temperature. I live in California and it easily gets into the 115 deg area during summer. I run 20w-50 in the summer and 10W-40 in the winter.

I'm in Minnesota and run 5w-40 Euro synthetic as a rule because it says in the manual it's good for low to high temps. If I know the change won't lapse into another season I'll go for specific temp bend.

I'm always curious as to why people ask this question. Are you experiencing a problem? Are you hearing different things from people? Does your oil look dirty like you haven't changed it when you just did? Did you try synthetic and now you have leaks? Are you secretly trying to start an oil brand/viscosity war in an otherwise peaceful forum?

Me too.

I was originally asking if you would recommend any oil brand over another and if synthetic was worth the extra money.

Boy did we go off the deep end. I think you will just end up with personal opinions. For me, Mobil 1.

I use AMSOIL OEl. I get it for $4.5 a qt.

I use brand name Castrol/Mobile/Valvoline full synthetic in my S40 and high mileage dino in my 850T (typically Quaker State/Valvoline/Castrol via Walmart). The 850 is a kid's home from college car so it doesn't get a lot of mileage. I still change the oil twice a year so it doesn't make sense to me to use the more expensive synthetic when its getting changed at 3K mile intervals. If it was a daily driver, I'd probably use a brand name 10/40 or 5/40 synthetic in the 850 as well.