1995 850 GLT performance mods

Mastadawn · Post by **Mastadawn** » 29 Apr 2012, 13:52

Hey guys, brand new to the site. Looking to do some performance mods on my 95' 850 GLT N/A. Ive done some estetical things to it like put in a matte black mesh grille, added a 1956 volvo pv444 emblem on the grille, after sanding, painting and clear coating. Got a spoiler off a black T-5r, got msr rims and new rubber, used nite-shades on the rear tail lights and got tint on the rear 5. I love how the car looks, but I'd love to give it a little more beef and speed. Any easy mods a beginner can do or some harder things I can do with some of my more techy friends? Any suggestions are welcome and greatly appreciated! Thanks guys!

-Matt

RobTarD · Post by **RobTarD** » 29 Apr 2012, 20:43

There's not a whole lot you can do without going turbo.

Mastadawn · Post by **Mastadawn** » 29 Apr 2012, 22:25

If I went turbo what mods am I lookin at doing?

RobTarD · Post by **RobTarD** » 30 Apr 2012, 19:19

Flashed ECU and maybe a new exhaust. You'd probably be perfectly happy just trading up to a T-5 and leaving it at that.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using Tapatalk 2

Post by **jtp** » 30 Apr 2012, 22:09

Yeah, there's just not much to do without the turbo. But if you got a turbo model there is a whole world of modifications at every level of skill.

Without the turbo you can add a KandN air filter for about 50$. There are some old posts on this site from a Swedish guy who came up with some crazy new valve timings or something to pretty dramatically increase low-speed acceleration on the NAs. Other than that you already have the fastest NA car you can get.

People do add turbos to the NA models, but you'll find hours of discussion about whether or not it's a good idea. I don't have enough experience to know either way but I'm sure it would be one heck of a job, plus you'd have to deal with the probability of a lot of things going wrong (i.e. transmission) afterward. If you want to look into it I think there are some writeups over at volvospeed.

If it were me, halfway through the job I'd wish I had just bought a different car that already had a turbo.

Post by **matthew1** » 30 Apr 2012, 22:28

This is one of those questions we get from time to time that has an answer you just don't want to hear.

Like 2001 auto transmissions, or XC90 T6 transmissions, but not as bad.

If the gain in hp from an N/A 850 to a turbo 850 wasn't that great, then your question would get different answers. But the turbo cars are so much more powerful that the cost/benefit ratio of making an N/A faster just isn't there. The cost/benefit gets a little better if your N/A is a manual.

Post by **jtp** » 03 May 2012, 09:33

Happened across this insanely thorough writeup of a guy going crazy on an NA850 and I thought if this conversation.

Just confirms what Matt said. The cost/benefit ratio is just not there unless your as into it as that guy.

Post by **osman** » 14 May 2012, 16:50

WOW.
This guy is my hero.

superfing · Post by **superfing** » 15 May 2012, 20:28

RobTarD · Post by **RobTarD** » 16 May 2012, 11:31

Well, the BTCC 850 wasn't turbocharged so of course with the right resources a n/a 850 could be fast.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using Tapatalk 2