850, lots of boost + how to go even faster?

[georgeleedom]

Just some FYI on the iPd HD TCV. I'm running a 16T with a softloader tune from iPd that gives me 16 pounds of boost. I have a catless 3" Borla exhaust among many other upgrades. The car was running really choppy when I first got the tune. I called Ken at iPd and he told me to switch back to the stock TCV. He explained the iPd version didn't handle high levels of boost very well. I have to give them props for being honest.
Also, I used the SRI for about a year and am now back to the stock airbox set-up with a K&N high flow filter. It gets plenty of air and my data logs show the air charge temps are way down. Besides, I thought all those Darth Vader noises under the hood were cool at first, but they get old after a while.

[trophytaker308]

well i was talking last night to my wife,im going to put a exhaust, cold air intake and chip and call it a day..you guys are right.maybe ill pick up 30 hp doing just these 3 things.what size is the stock turbo on these cars and how much boost can they put out?

thanks..

[georgeleedom]

This is the definitive post on all mods available for an 850. Although it is written for HPT cars (2.3l) Most of these translate to the low pressure turbo as well. http://volvospeed.com/vs_forum/topic/86 ... msearch__1 If cutting and pasting this link doesn't work, go to vovlospeed.com and search "modding your HPT" and look for "read don't comment".

My S70 GLT had a 13g turbo originally and put out about 5lbs of boost. I switched to the 16t which spools later, but puts out more power at higher rpm. it is 8 lbs stock and I have it tuned to 16lbs. Marco at MTE who writes the software for iPd says the LPT cars cannot handle boost over 17lbs.I set my car up for more power late because these cars are much better from a rolling start (as mentioned in one of the above posts) because as a FWD, you can only put so wide a tire on it to get out of the hole fast. But if you modify it correctly you can roll up to a camaro or mustang and blow them away.
There really is no such thing as a cold air intake for an 850 - the stock air box will give you as cold a charge air temp as anything. Buy your exhaust (the most important upgrade) from OBX. look on ebay or google it. It is very inexpensive - under $400. It comes with two downpipes because you either have an angled or straight flange on your turbo. I sold my extra DP on ebay for $150, so the total cost was low. Unfortunately, the little fart-can muffler sounds like a honda, so I bought a used Borla muffler for $50 and had it welded into the tunnel right behind the cat. and replaced the OBX muffler with straight pipe. The biggest effect on your sound will be the tip; think of a trumpet. I bought a black powder coated rectangular tip and my car sounds closer to a V8 than I've ever heard for a small engine.
Because your car is pre-99 you can use a manual boost controller, but be careful you compensate with more fuel (you can find used bigger injectors all over these forums) Personally, I think having RICA or iPd tune your ECU is the safest. Also switch to cheap, copper plugs. Turbos like them better.
I also did a lot of suspension mods because as said in an earlier post, the fun of these cars is handling. lower springs, iPd anti-sway bars, OBX strut brace... but that's a post for a different day.
You can make these cars fast relatively cheap if you don't do and re-do all the mistakes I've made over the years. Read that post and enjoy your car.

[matthew1]

It gets plenty of air and my data logs show the air charge temps are way down.

[my bolds]
Empirical data: what we need most. The field of turbo Volvos and air intake is littered with conjecture and opinion. If you're familiar with pro American football, it's the Tim Tebow of Volvo topics.

If you'd care to share it that would be wonderful, George.

Changing the subject a bit, I re-routed my $25 CAI/SRI to make it shorter and straighter.

Before:


After:

[georgeleedom]

It won't let me post a csv file, but the data log I did with the iPd softloader (which I highly recommend) with this set-up was 15lbs of boost in 2nd gear at 4000 rpm, with a charge air temp of 147 degrees:

I did add a second intake hose to compliment the stock one which was a piece of flexible tubing that snaked down next to the battery to the grille insert between the fog lamp and the temp sensor. I got this idea from Matt's post a couple years ago. I was just about to insulate the whole thing, when I just took a step back and remembered reading that the Volvo engineers knew what they were doing and the stock set-up was sufficient. I replaced the stock air box and dropped in a K&N filter. My data log two weeks ago showed a charge air temp of 114 degrees at 15.4 lbs boost in 2nd gear at 4000 rpm. I did remove the "snow guard" which is a small piece of plastic covering the opening of the stock intake tube where it meets the grille to the right of the radiator.
In addition, both data logs showed I was running lean under high boost which can be deadly to your engine in seconds. I am replacing the MAF this weekend. I believe the SRI allowed it to get dirtier more quickly. I could probably clean it, but what the heck, it's old. As a rule, vacuum leaks will give you problems at idle, while a bad MAF will create problems at WOT.

I probably could have gotten one for $80, but spent the extra to by from iPd. The staff there is very good about taking their time to answer questions and not make you feel like an idiot. I support them whenever I can.

As you'll see all over these forums, a good stage 0 is imperative. check all your vacuum hoses - especially the three from the TCV. Clamp them! They will blow-off under high boost and leave you in limp mode. I sprang $80 for a leak down test and was happy to see the previous owner must have kept the oil changed. It is a good idea to have this done for piece of mind.

As for the tranny, I used the info from this site to easily move my horns and added a cooler right in front of the grille. This creates a four layer sandwich with the cooler, radiator, intercooler, and A/C, but I have had no problems. I also added a tranny temp gauge and keep an eye on the color of the fluid.

I have not done any dyno tests to measure the actual HP, but then again I'm not quite done tinkering.

[georgeleedom]

One more thought on the issue of cold air... Many people remove the splash/gravel guard from under the engine. If it's not there, replace it (FCP Groton carries an inexpensive aftermarket version) This is not just a guard. It is an "air guide" it has a big effect on how the air is directed through your radiator and engine bay. I have no actual numbers, but this was another thing I changed between the two data logs I mentioned in my last post.

[matthew1]

Interesting stuff, thanks George.

Off Topic:

.csv files now allowed as attachments. George, please upload that .csv you mentioned, and let me know if you have any problems.

[georgeleedom]

MTE DataLog Mid-day stock intake.csv

(39.26 KiB) Downloaded 198 times

MTE DataLog Early Morning Stock intake.csv

(6 KiB) Downloaded 168 times

MTE DataLog SRI.csv

(4.13 KiB) Downloaded 174 times

I think these three are pretty good representations. Although hard to read because Office 2010 re-formatted them, you can still see which column represents each value.

You will see what I mean about my AFR issues, but I'm working on that as I said.

One of the many reasons I recommend the softloader is the ability to easily record these data logs as well as check diagnostic codes with more specificity than an OBDII reader. I also like the fact you can quickly switch back and forth between different tunes, but most important the attention and time the iPd staff takes to analyze these logs and talk about adjustments.

[trophytaker308]

628 is the last three numbers in the bosch part number id. If you are interested in getting an ECU tune or have more questions feel free to contact me, I'm always happy to help.

For my personal car I have an 18T turbo, turbo back exhaust, and an ARD Blue tune. Last dyno put me at 295whp. It has more power than I have traction for even with 18's. I switched back to 16's now and it's worse LOL!

Don't get me wrong, it's great on the highway but around town it can be a handful if I get rowdy on the throttle.

hey lucky,with my stock turbo and exhaust and cold air intake,can i geat 30 more hp?or what to do to get atleast 30hp with stock setup....can it be done?let me know what to do so i can and also get your custom tune....thanks.

[trophytaker308]

i was also meaning with your ecu also,after market exhaust and cai.can i get 30 hp with that.can you let me know ,thanks.