1) We just bought (May 3rd) a 2008 S40 2.4i which now has 500 to 600 miles on it. When asking the salesman about switching to synthetic, he said Volvo didn't recommend that until 7500 miles.........is that true?

I'm a BIG fan of Mobil 1 ....... I put it in my 1995 Chevy K1500 Z71 back when it had 2,500 miles on it.......it now has almost 225,000 and the engine has never been touched.

2) Any reason why Volvo made the DRL no different than just turning your headlights on?? Why would you want all your parking lights to be running as well........seems like they would have used "actual" DRL like GM does.

Thanks!

 

mobil is great and a lot of s40ers use it...im assuming he said wait till 7500 miles as thats how long they tell you to wait for your oil change...you can do it whenever you want....

 

I've always been told to use conventional oil for the break in period. Apparently, this is to allow the valves and rings to properly seat and the synthetic has too much lubricity to allow the rings to properly wear into the cylinder walls.

However, with the tighter tolerances of modern engines, some say it's not necessary any more, and in fact many manufacturers use synthetic as the factory fill.

Personally, I'd leave the factory oil in there for 2500 miles or so and then switch to the synthetic. I would never go 7500 miles on the initial fill - most engine builders recommend a 500 to 1500 mile break in and then want the oil changed to get any "swarf" or metal shavings out of the engine.

 

A lot of engines come with synthetic as a factory fill as well.