Cam
Hi all,
Ive had my 2015 S60 T5 R Design for a few weeks now and been putting in 95 RON premium unleaded. The Volvo Australia site recommends 95 or higher, yet in other countries they say the minimum could be as low as 87 RON. They dealer who sold me the car said 91 Ron is ok but not all the time. Just a bit confused about the mixed messages on the fuel recommendations on the Drive-E engines.
jamesinc
Hi Cam,
Valid confusion. There's two or three different ways octane rating is calculated. Most notably, the US uses a different formula from basically everyone else.
What they call 87 in the US is about the same as our 91.
87 -> 91
90 -> 95
93 -> 98
My advice is, with a turbocharged car such as yours, just run 98 at all times, otherwise follow Volvo's guide to run at least 95.
Spac
Agree 100% with James.
In case the 91 RON part is correct:
I have no experience with later model Volvos, but it is likely that the motor will run successfully on 91 RON, but that it will make far less power and/or use way more of it.
Volvo Australia probably recommends 95+ because it gives significantly better performance/economy relative to the extra cost of 95.
There are plenty of stories about people with newish performance turbo vehicles being run on dishwater (ie: the cheapest 91 octane fuel available), contrary to manufacturer's advice. Usually the only complaint is poor economy - they don't even notice the loss of performance (because of the type of person they are, not because there is no loss).
This is in stark contrast to a lot of performance cars from the 80s where a tank full of Standard petrol could result in the motor pinging itself to death.
Philia_Bear
It's a temperature thing as well
If it's 5c out and your cruising at 100kph then it really does not matter much
Trying to drag race on a 45c day
Ex850R
On picking up my used v70t6 2011 it had a full tank from service at a dealer, who knows what they put in but when it hit half a tank I added in 30 litres of E85 to give the octane a boost.
It runs much better, I have been doing this on my earlier v70r with 98 BP and E 85 at 70/30% ratio with very good response albeit with lower economy.
Using 95 would be fine, buy from a good supplier, BP or Caltex but it really doesn't cost much more per tank on 98 when you do the math.
