Volvo 850/S70 5-speed vs. 740 Turbo 4-speed.

[wobbler]

Just a quick question. I DID search, and found nothing exactly relevant, so I figure I'd simply ask it. But first a little backgoind.

I'm currently driving a 1988 740 Turbo, M46, in stock condition with 192,000 miles. I also have a 1999 V70XC. The 740 Turbo is wicked fast, and the XC is a bit of a dog.

I've been eyeballing what few manual-transmission 850s and S70 are on the internets, and thinking about replacing the 740 with one. The trouble is the 740 is so dang much fun to drive, I hate to give it up.

Would a naturally-aspirated 850 (5-speed only--I WILL NOT go auto) be pretty similar to the 740T? I think I recall reading they have pretty similar HP numbers (168 for the 850 IIRC, and the 740T is at about 172).

Thanks!

[Ragman]

Having driven and owned the 740T M and owning my second S70T5-M, I can speak from personal experience. The 740 is fun to drive, quick and relatively affordable to maintain as imports go if you can do most of the maintenance yourself and you have a good parts supply. Rear drive is a blast as you know however in winter climates even with snow tires traction is lacking compared to font drive cars. My 86' car had 160 hp and with a K&N air filter and the screens removed from the mass air flow sensor, it was quicker still. The big buzz with this car was always the turbo boost. Compared to the 850/S70 20 valve non-turbo which is 168hp, the 740T still kicks butt. Moving to the high pressure turbo of the 850/S70 is giving you 236hp, a much faster processor in your computer and way better handling. Also note that the white engines as there called, were jointly developed by Volvo and Porsche. Heritage and reputation speak for themselves. Go visit the IPD site , then Quick Brick Motorsports for 850/S70 upgrades and you might get wood! My S70 will be pushing 300hp by the time the warm weather is here again and thats usable, safe power that won't compromise my engines' reliability. The S70 has a faster processor( Bosch motronic 4.4) and if you get a 99' I believe it has the bosch 7 series processor which means your ECU can be flashed with more power options. In my opinion, moving to the 20 valve turbo engines you'll never look back. I didn't.

[MadeInJapan]

Thanks Ragman...great comparison and nice write-up. I was going to respond last night that I thought the non-turbo fwd Volvo's were dogs (mostly due to the weight of the cars), but I didn't. I've never driven a rwd Volvo so I figured I would just lay low and let those with experience respond.

[wobbler]

Rear drive is a blast as you know however in winter climates even with snow tires traction is lacking compared to font drive cars.

I attest to the first part, RWD is certainly a blast, especially in the winter. I have no trouble at all with a set of snow tires and some weight in the trunk. I think I even prefer RWD in the winter; I'd rather have controllable oversteer than FWD understeer at (literally) every turn. That's from a life-long Minnesotan who grew up driving Rabbits, an Omni, and had two Saabs and a Golf before my 740.

Moving to the high pressure turbo of the 850/S70 is giving you 236hp, a much faster processor in your computer and way better handling. . . .
In my opinion, moving to the 20 valve turbo engines you'll never look back. I didn't.

Trouble is, were any of these cars 5-speeds? I heard in Canada, the T5 and R were available with the 5-speed, but not in the US. Is there any truth to this? I will not own another automatic!

[MadeInJapan]

There were a few of the T5's made but I don't recall the exact figure...literally less than 200 manual T5's imported to the U.S. in '98 with the number decreasing each year after that until the '01 when everything changed again and it became easier to order them as you wanted. Not sure about the "R" JRL could probably tell you about that one.

[vlv850]

I have a 1994 850 5 spd NA, and have experience in my buddy's 740 turbo. Stock to stock, I'd have to say the the 740 is a little more fun to drive, with the RWD, and the turbo gives a nice kick.

Conversly, I overall enjoy my 850 better, the power is pretty linear and a great daily driver. It is much more comfortable and refined. I do wish it had more power, and I would hate the car if I couldn't shift it myself. I'm currently working on a few performance mods costing less then $1000 total, I'm expecting to bump it from 168 hp to the 200-205hp range. This will definately be WAY more fun to drive.

[MadeInJapan]

You might want to check this out to get some ideas....but be aware that it will take much more than $1000 to get your HP up to his level:
http://forums.swedespeed.com/zerothread?id=77392

[vlv850]

K&N Filter - $45 Ebay
Inmotion ECU $200 or SpeedTuning $325
Extra ECU $50 - Ebay
MSD Ignition - $130 IPD
Custom 2.5" Exhaust $600

Total $1025 - $1150

Should be good for 200 hp at the crank

[MadeInJapan]

Good luck...let us know how it goes!