S-60 Fuel Recommendation

Discussion in 'Volvo S60' started by Lee C. Carpenter, Jun 26, 2004.

  1. Just took delivery of an S-60 2.5T. The manual recommends a minimum of 91
    octane fuel, but the dealer says he drives his S-60 all the time with 87
    octane and has no problems.

    Wouldn't the timing be retarded under load and stress conditions all the
    time with 87 octane? My Bonneville SSEi says I can damage my engine if I use
    less than 92 octane. I realize that's because of the supercharger, but I'm
    curious how similar the turbo's problems could be with the cheaper gas. I've
    never owned a turbo before and could use some advice. Obviously, I'd rather
    use the cheapest gas I can, but not at any risk to the engine.


    Thanks for any advice,

    Lee C. Carpenter
    Landisville, PA

    '04 Volvo S-60 2.5T
    '00 Bonneville SSEi
    '95 Grand Am SE 3.1
     
    Lee C. Carpenter, Jun 26, 2004
    #1
  2. Lee C. Carpenter

    WPWise Guest

    In my opinion, if the manufacturer says 91 octane, then use 91 octane. It says
    that for a reason. However, I have heard from various mechanic sources that
    whatever fuel you start ith, you should stay with, i.e. start with 87 then stay
    with it. I had a Toyota Cressida several years ago and the book said 91, but
    me being cheap ran 87. I got all kinds of knocking and sputtering and slow
    acceleration until I went to 91. My son had a similar problem on his Volvo
    850. Was running 87 and was having very poor performance. Now he runs a combo
    of 93 and 89 (one tank of 93 and 2 of 89) and it seems to be running better.

    Just my 2 cents worth.
    Walter Wise
     
    WPWise, Jun 26, 2004
    #2
  3. Thanks Walter.

    The salesman couldn't tell us if the fuel they filled the car
    with was premium or not. Therefore, I assume it wasn't. I'll put 87 in the
    first fill up and see what happens.

    Lee
     
    Lee C. Carpenter, Jun 27, 2004
    #3
  4. The manual for my '01 S-40 also says to run 91 octane fuel. I ran an
    extended MPG comparison between 91 and 89 (the mid-grade). On both fuels
    the engine ran fine but gas mileage was lower with the 89 octane - I
    computed the cost of the gas against the MPG and it turned out that the
    actual cost difference of 91 octane gas was only 1 or 2 cents higher than
    the cheaper gas - so I've stayed with the 91 octane ges ever since.

    Rob MacTurk
     
    Robert MacTurk, Jun 27, 2004
    #4
  5. Lee C. Carpenter

    Rob Guenther Guest

    The engine will have to compensate at all times with 87 Octane fuel... Why
    not just go with the 91 that they recommend? My motto is, if you can't
    afford the gas, then you can't afford the car, look elsewhere.

    You are still getting much better mileage then an SUV ;-) Volvo's tend to
    get pretty good fuel economy.
     
    Rob Guenther, Jun 28, 2004
    #5
  6. Lee C. Carpenter

    Bob Noble Guest

    A common enough string on this NG, Lee.

    My own extended (if not scientific) testing found that 91 gives about 5%
    better mileage than 87. Performance is notably improved. As another
    post suggested, you can do the math on this one.
    bob noble

    Reno, NV, USA
     
    Bob Noble, Jul 28, 2004
    #6
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