What kind of oil I should use for my 2001 Volvo S80 T6?

Any quality synthetic.

My prefered brands are Mobil 1 full synthetic 15,000 mile oil... normally 5w-30 ot 10w-30

I also love shell helix ultra but the only place you can find it in the states are at ferrari dealers, so im sure they overprice it immensely..
Back home its much more reasonable

Agree with synthetic. Mobil 1, Valvoline, Pennzoil, etc.

:) Lots of people have many different ideas about oil but if you meet or exceed the standard specks that are listed in your owners manual AND change the oil and filter (in my opinion) at or near the 4000 mile mark, then I believe your good to go for many thousands of miles....
My owners manual calls for 5W/30W and gives the standard set by the industry, but says nothing that one should use synthetic oil or synthetic blend..It recommends no brand of oil....
Its your call on type/brand and frequency of change...If you go by the book as per Volvo then you should be safe...My only recommendation is miles driven between thats different then noted in the owners manual....Good luck

personally I use amsoil. it is more expensive, but the oil changes are done at double the mileage listed.

It is correct that the manual doesn't say you need to use synthetic, but ask any person who has worked on modern European motors and they will tell you to use ONLY synthetic. The "abuse" the motor takes is signifigantly less with synthetic.

One other interesting tid bit is the frequency for the S80s is 7,500 miles.

Well thats the thing, the mobil1 has a regular 5000 mile oil and for about 75c more a qt you can have the 15,000 mile long life one...

looks like much better value to me, once you keep regular scheduled changing of filters and so on

The frequency for most all Vehicles according to the manual is 7500 mles, not just the S80's and as I stated in my opinion is about 3500 miles to far......

On the 'abuse' issue a motor takes, again in my opinion, has nothing to do with oil., but the way the vehicle is driven and maintained...If you cut in half the mileage between oil changes that the owners manual recommends then I believe a good brand of 5/30W oil is all thats necessary to have a trouble free engine for the 200/300 thousand miles a lot of Volvo owners claim to have driven....

Again, its your money and choice and thats the way it should be....

Respectfully disagreeing...most cars are not 7,500 for normal (or what car companies call harsh/extreme) driving, they are usually, 3,000 or 6,000 for light driving (highway, minimal stop and go and non cold weather).

:blush:
Have never seen a owners manual (vehicle) that states anything about a 3,000 or 6,000 mile oil change intervals...I have noted they mention more frequent oil changes in vehicles driven while pulling a trailer or vehicles driven in stop an go situations such as cab drivers...Also have never seen mentioned anything about 'cold weather' driven vehicles...I'll stand by the 7500 mile recommended oil change as per owners manual, BUT disagree with it....I'll change mine at or near the 4000 mile mark and have done so for the past 50 plus years.....Again this is only my opinion and certainly others have theirs.

Here are two cars that I could quickly get their maintenance schedules for.

Nissan
http://www.nissanusa.com/pdf/techpubs/2007/2007_N_SMG.pdf
Every 3,750 miles if you meet one of the following conditions:
● Repeated short trips of less than 5
miles in normal temperatures or less than
10 miles in freezing temperatures
● Stop-and-go traffic in hot weather or
low-speed driving for long distances
● Driving in dusty conditions or on rough,
muddy, or salt-spread roads
● Towing a trailer, or using a camper
or car-top carrier

Chrysler
http://www.chrysler.com/download/pdf/maint...M_300_FINAL.pdf
Every 3,000 miles if you meet one of the following conditions:
• Day or night temperatures are below 32o F (0o C).
• Stop and go driving.
• Extensive engine idling.
• Driving in dusty conditions.
• Short trips of less than 10 miles (16 km).
• More than 50% of your driving is at sustained high speeds during hot weather, above 90o F (32o C).
• Trailer towing.
• Taxi, police, or delivery service (commercial service).
• Off-road or desert operation.

Volvo on the other hand has one maintenance chart for all driving...not saying you couldn't change it more often, but at some point any benefit you'd gain is outweighed by the cost of more frequent maintenance.

so you have just disagreed with yourself. if you didn't include your chart, your statement would be correct. but if you do not meet those criteria, then you could change it later, so your statement is wrong. volvos are engineered differently. most european cars call for longer oil change intervals. my audi, the mrs mercedes, my parents mercedes, etc, all were 7,000 miles. now according to the mechanics at those respective dealerships, who all drove camaros and the such, the long intervals were because europeans are on the ball with their scheduled service. while over on this end, we couldn't care less. think about your non-gear head friends and you will see that it's true. the short interval is a cushion. so take the longer interval, use a good synthetic and lay this one to bed.

In the US, 90% of people meet at least one of the items in the criteria, there have been studies made by AAA, Car and Driver, etc that support this. Either they live in colder climates, drive in the city, take short trips, etc. So I didn't disagree or contradict myself. I don't think you are reading what I wrote in the correct context.

In regards to my non-gear head friends and family, I don't know of anyone who doesn't complete their standard maintenance accoridng to the timelines provided. Your assumptions are little too broad.

:amen:
You are quite correct .."Lay this one to bed"....This subject will never have a solution and each of us have our own opinions., nobody is completely wrong or right..Enough said....Have a great weekend.....