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Octane ? S60 2003

Just bought a new '03 S60 - base model. The manual suggests 91 octane. Is this the right thing to do? I've often heard conflicting messages about whether or not there really is a difference between 87 / 89 / 91. Thoughts?








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    Octane ? S60 2001

    This is a topic that has been discussed many times at various places.
    I have a S60 NA too.
    The most important item w.r.t. octane is that the engine will not ping (detonation/ pre-ignition/ multi flame fronts, etc). In particular when temperature is rising and humidity is rising, the engine is more sensitive to pinging. As soon as you hear a (slight) pinging you should switch to a higher octane rate. During extreme hot and humid wheather I would always recommend the highest rate, even for a non-turbo engine. The knock sensors of your S60 will detect pinging and the ECU will retard the ignition.

    Personally I use EU RON 95 (which is a midgrade comparable with US 89, I believe)up to about 25 deg C (about 80 F). Above that I use EU RON 98 (comparible with US 91).

    A simple test to verify if there is pinging (only for NA engines):
    With a fully warm engine, accelerate full and 1/2 throttle in 3rd (MT) gear and listen carefully with the window open if you can hear pinging (metal-to-metal sound). Don't do this to offten because it will stress the engine, although it is for just about 2 seconds and can do no harm.

    Regards,

    Dutch








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      Octane ? S60 2001

      I forgot to mention about the test: accelerate full and 1/2 throttle in 3rd (MT) gear from 1000 rpm.

      Note for a turbo engine, having a lower compression ratio (about 8.5 against 10.5 for the NA engine) you have to do the test from about 2000-2500 rpm, where the turbo kicks in.







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