Cold-air intake - 1997 850 (non-turbo) models.

ECOVOLVO · Post by **ECOVOLVO** » 08 Oct 2011, 17:40

Hello,

Any recommedations for installing a cold-air intake on 1997 850 (non-turbo) models? How much does fuel-economy improve?

Thank-you

Post by **Juan62** » 08 Oct 2011, 17:47

Oh, about 5-10 % improvement provided your vehicle is at least to Stage Zero.
www.snabb.us.com

Post by **tjts1** » 08 Oct 2011, 18:34

The car already has a CAI from the factory. Just have to fix the airbox thermostat housing to full cold.

Post by **erikv11** » 08 Oct 2011, 19:38

The Snabb product is for turbos only, it replaces the pipe from the MAF to the turbo. So it is irrelevant to your question. And it is to improve performance, not fuel economy. The correct link is www.snabb.us if you want to check it out.

What tjts said: Every 850 already has cold air intake. But when it is cold, a flap closes in your airbox so that hot air from above the exhaust manifold comes in through the preheat pipe. Helps the engine warm up more quickly. Now if the airbox thermostat is broken, then your car will be stuck on that hot air intake. So some people modify the airbox, to bypass the thermostat/flap and insure intake is always on cold.

Since you live in California and don't have to worry about the throttle plate freezing, you can modify your airbox and fix intake to the cold air side. There is a pinned thread in the database here explaining the mod. You may see a small increase in fuel economy, some people report a few %, but only if the thermostat was broken before. If it was working fine, then likely you will not notice any difference. I tried it on my car where the airbox thermostat still works fine, and there was never a detectable improvement.