First time poster on this board. I just bought my first Volvo- a 2010 XC60 T6. The dealer has all the records and it has always had regular oil put in it. Some people have told me synthetic is better for a turbo model. Is this true? I hear the oil changes for a synthetic are much more expensive. Does it make it run better, faster, etc.? Thoughts?

 

Synthetic is generally considered much better for all cars, but particularly turbo engines, because of better thermal properties, lower friction, and more effective detergent additives. Turbos are vulnerable to "coking" dirty deposits on extremely hot turbocharger and engine components like bearings, especially it the car has been run hard and the engine is immediately shut off. Synthetics, which are required by the warranties of some car manufacturers, deal with this better. They also flow better under cold start conditions, especially in cold climates where oil starvation is commonplace. Marginally better fuel economy is another advantage.

Fortunately, Volvo has a lot if experience with turbo engines, so that may play a role in reliability.

Synthetic Mobil 1 can be purchased at Walmart in 5-quart jugs for about $27.00, which makes it a terrific bargain for the quality.

 

Just an FYI here, I read in an SAE paper years ago that AT LEAST 85% of the wear that a gasoline automobile engine suffers in its life occurs during the first twenty seconds or so after a cold start. Their comment of "at least" was based on the "average" duty cycle of auto engines. Start, go to work, the store, shopping, kids to school, or whatever, and kill the engine. Engine cools, oil drains back to pan, then repeat. The shorter the trip, and the longer the cool-down cycle between starts, the greater the wear. For the typical two-car family, one car tends to do all the short-run, start/stop trips, so that car tends to wear out (all over) more quickly.

Fully synthetic oil of the CORRECT viscosity range for the temp conditions reduced wear greatly in all operational regimes in SAE testing, but they were especially effective for extreme cold weather starts and extremely hot running conditions such as summer towing, racing, or any sort of supercharged engine operations, either turbo or belt/gear-driven. You can't go wrong with synthetic oil of the correct viscosity.

Lynn B.