Hey guys-

Iowa, USA
I have a 2013 s60 T5.

Has anyone really ever experimented with the fuel economy or performance of this vehicle or any newer Volvo of that matter? Ever since I have had the car I have always used midgrade fuel (octane rating 87 per owners manual). I have been thinking about trying out premium fuel (octane rating 91 I think). The s60 runs great on the regular fuel, but will premium make any noticeable difference? I am sure it will increase performance and what not, just not sure if the engine will take advantage of the premium gas all that much. Obviously, the premium is about 20 cents more per gallon and I have been doing some research and it seems the s60 is on the line between both, just seeing is someone has seen any results.

Thanks in advance!

 

Over the years I have noticed a big difference between reg and supreme in performance under full throttle in different vehicles that have a turbo. Your car will not know the difference until you "floor it". If you have reg gas, the computer will retard the timing due to engine knock. engine knock is BAD. So use reg if you are driving Miss Daisy. If your driving style is any more aggressive than that use supreme. Now my civic dx does not know the difference between reg or supreme anyway you slice it. I have not noticed a difference in economy in any vehicle.

 

In my 2002 S60T there is a HUGE drop in performance if I use a midgrade fuel. Not to mention a very noticeable increase in, like pyro71 noted above, engine noise. Be it knock, pinging, injector noise, etc.... These computers are very advanced even for my 2002, and they make fuel trim adjustments constantly. My family is the original owner of my car and im at 257,000 miles and commute 3-4 hours a day in the San Francisco area traffic........my dad ONLY filled up with Chevron or Shell Premium and always added a bottle of Heet(yellow) and never had to do any major repairs in 15 years. I now do the same, following a very unsuccessful experiment with AM/PM fuel.......they dont like it, but you have to push your car every once in awhile to notice it. With Premium Gas my MPG = 26+/-HWY with lower quality gas its around 21+/-HWY.

 

Sorry, but if you have a "huge" difference in performance, your car has problems. 87 octane is just fine. Running 87 vs. 91 will not change fuel economy either. Furthermore, gas from one statio vs. another station will burn the same. It is all highly regulated. The difference is additives such as detergents, if any.

 

Go hijack someone else's thread unless you have some proof of how MY #&%king car runs on WHATEVER gas!!!! I've seen your posts in other threads doing this exact same thing.......if youre bored or miserable or in my opinion just an a$%&ole who wants to be argumentative, then create your own thread!!!! Or PM Me and Ill explain to you why I think you need help, professional help.

 

It's not hijacking a thread. It's clarifying someone else's misinformation to prevent someone from unnecessarily spending a ton of extra money on premium fuel because someone on the internet claims their car suffers greatly if it doesn't have premium, despite what science says.

A lot of people don't know what octane is. They need to see some performance and mileage differemce to justify spending more in their head.

Any sort of normal driving does not require premium. You will notice no difference. Towing a boat up a mountain in 100 degree heat? Then you might see a difference. But still not in fuel economy.

 

​​​​​OK, lol, please come drive my car with a tank full of crap gas and we can use my Vida to read O2 sensor #s before and after, then u can explain to me how that's possible that somehow my car KNOWS THE DIFFERENCE!!!!!

 

Crap gas? As in cheaper? Like I said, the difference between 87 octane from one station to another is detergents. Same with 91 from one station to another. Otherwise, 87 octane is 87 octane.

Or crap as in 87 octane? That would show you don't know what octane is. It is not an indicator of quality.

 

​​Just a couple examples from guys who actually own this car. Low grade fuel=inefficient firing of cylinders which will make the car run lean or rich because of adjustments done by the computer, either way........your fuel mileage IS effected!!!!

1. "I had to settle for mid grade gas and my 06 s60 wanted to disown me... Chugging on accel check engine light all from cheap fuel. Only premium from now on"
-Jeremy Jorgensen/ S60 FC

2. "Put 97, even mid grade will make it act up"
-Jason Fuller/ FB

 

False.

 

"The use of gasoline with lower octane numbers may lead to the problem of engine knock"
-Wikipedia(on Octane rating)

And do u know that a Volvo S60 has TWO knock sensors bolted to the block?!?! And do u know what happens to a Volvo when those sensors sense knock?!?!? I'll give you a hint........it affects fuel mileage.

 

Because u looked up the word octane recently and are clearly the expert on the matter.........why in the hell do performance vehicles like an S60 Turbo run SO much worse on cheap gas?


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Yes, that is correct. It may. If the car requires premium. Yours does not.

And yes, I am well aware of the knock sensors.

I own an S60 and get 25 MPG on 87. But I don't use that as proof. I'll stick to the science... Not what some random people on the internet say who don't know what octane is.

http://m.carsdirect.com/car-buying/will-a-higher-octane-level-increase-a-cars-fuel-mileage

http://www.economist.com/blogs/babbage/2012/09/octane-ratings

 

Lol. You watch your mouth talking about "people" you don't know. I was giving the guy my personal experience with a car that my family have been the owners of for its entire life. If you think an S60 w/turbo is not a performance vehicle than YOU sir are the one who knows nothing. Science!?!! Keep your science, I'll listen to what my car says, besides I DRIVE my car, I have fun doing it, and it ONLY LIKES PREMIUM!!!!!

 

I didn't say your car was or was not a performance vehicle.

I said it does not require premium. There are engines that require premium, such as the new Drive-E engines.

You can run whatever you want and keep justifying the extra money spent however you want. If you see that huge of a drop off in fuel economy or performance, your car has a problem.

 

Thank you for showing me and all of the other like minded S60 owners the error of our ways. Now leave me alone and go tell some other poor sucker how HIS car runs. Lame.

 

Thanks for the response. I just finished a tank with regular fuel (87) and I got 25mpg (city/hwy combo) and I am content with that. Just didn't know if premium will add any benefit to that or the engine. If not, I have no issues running 87. Handbook for s60 does indicate that it recommends premium but 87 is fine. Thank for the responses.

 

I generally run 89 in my '02 S60 AWD, and it runs great. I accidently filled it with 87 a couple of weeks ago. And.................it ran great.

 

While both appear to know what they are talking about, Matt Fowler comes off as argumentative and hotheaded in this exchange, while ES6T comes off as cool and reasonable. Can't we keep these discussions polite?

 

anecdotal evidence is not the same as science (correlation vs root cause). Sure some cars may run better on premium but that may actually be pointing to some other issues like a marginal state of tune like weak spark (look at all the threads where somebody reported dropping in new coils or plugs remarking "and the car is running like new"). There is a difference in the fuel's energy density (which is why diesels get higher mileage) but that is mostly due to the percentage of ethanol. Even "winter" fuels with up to 10% ethanol have only a 2% difference vs 100% gasoline or about .5 MPG. I do notice a difference summer to winter of 1-2 MPGs in my 850T, but I attribute much of that to temperature (parasitic losses not engine efficiency) and winter gas (that .5 MPG). I've run 87 and 93 and can only conclude the extra WOT power you get from 93 influences the driver's style not the car's performance.