Exhaust for non-turbo 2003 V70

[jblackburn]

Nothing will give you more hp so have a shop make you up the same sized exhaust but with a "nicer" sounding muffler.
If you exhaust is in generally good shape, just remove the CENTER resonator and replace with a straight pipe.
Same result, nicer sound but at a cost of maybe $50-$75 bucks instead of hundreds!

He has a valid point, and a good solution rather than wasting your money on a "free-flowing exhaust". Removing the resonator will have the same result as adding a free-flowing muffler, maybe even better. Then put a nice exhaust tip on it. Sound advice (yes, it was meant as a pun )

As was said, there is no necessity for backpressure on a non-turbo engine. The less resistance against flow, the better (the catalytic converter will still rob you of some power, but you can't remove that as 1) the car will freak out and 2) PA requires emissions testing. HP numbers dropped significantly on mid-70's -early 80's cars (even with HUGE engines) because of all the emissions crap fitted to them that clogged up the engine's breathing.

But putting a wider exhaust on your car, while it may "sound better" will actually ROB YOU OF POWER because it slows down the velocity the exhaust gases are vacated from the cylinders.

Here's some reading on the same myth about Honda engines:
http://www.hondacivicforum.com/forum/sh ... php?t=3064

[matthew1]

FIghters, to your corners. JRL, please don't respond any further in the topic. You've said your piece, Justin and I think it's good advice, but any further input will re-ignite a fire (that I'll need to put out).

Zooplane, don't take JRL's writing style to heart. He's very emotional about his advice because he's seen so many go down the wrong path... either the Spend Too Much Money path, or the Use Wrong Parts path. Behind all the caps and bolds is a guy who knows a ton about both gen 1 and P2 Volvos. Sounds corny but it's true.

Along the way his writing sometimes causes fireworks and I have to remind him to tone it down. This is one of those times.

Anyway, carry on with the topic and let us know what you end up doing.

[zooplane]

thanks very much Matt... appreciate the clarification... JRL, I am sorry and I hope you continue to help

[precopster]

The troulble with forums, and this is not a critisism of your site Mathew, is that the tone in which messages are intended can be taken the wrong way. I have often found myself in a blind rage over someone's comments, then slept on them, re-read them and found that there was really nothing in it.

Sometimes the benefit of hindsight is a great thing but we're all human and we can all fly off the handle, and that's what makes this site so great. We have a pool of characters all with a great wealth of knowledge just aching for others to hear them and hear what you have to say about their two cents....

Of course if somebody calls you "the sweat from a baboon's ass", then I would probably have no confusion over the intended meaning

[zooplane]

I read that thing about hondas and it got me thinking about my cars performance... When i put the pedal down, the real torque doesnt start to kick in until 4-5k and even more after... before that point it kinda sucks and i would like to see what i can do to change that... maybe i can make it a steady torque pull throughout the whole range and it can increase slightly as i increase rpm? a custom something for cheap? straight pipe after the cat? (but the pipe diameter would be a certain size so i get good flow but keep the resistenc... (as stated in the posted article above) I want to be loud and throaty so a straight pipe wouldnt bother me the slightest...

[zooplane]

edit***(high flow velocity... but as little back pressure as possible...) PIPE CANNOT BE TOO BIG... that article would be good to read before posting a response...

[RaymanSean]

I am going to get flamed for this and really it is only a cheap temporary solution to your problem as it will cause your engine to wear quicker, but if you want cheap horsepower you can not beat nitrous oxide. However, you will need to get a system that is sensible to you, realizing that the more N2O you dump into the engine the shorter the engines life will be. You have been warned, proceed at your own risk. As an aside, none of these cars were built to be street racers, or driven like one. The temporary joy you get from getting the car off the line, blowing the doors off the car you are passing, etc. will not offset the pain of replacing the engine early. (Top fuel drag cars have their engines rebuilt every 0.25 miles. Most other race engines are rebuilt after every race.) So drive your car like it is a top fuel car or a race car if you like, just know that you are not doing yourself any favors in the long run.

[jblackburn]

^^^That's a great way to break your engine, especially the weak connecting rods on a non-turbo 5-cyl.

If you want more low-end torque, you can fiddle with the cam timing. You can adjust it to give you more low-end power with less in the top end. Try a few searches; there are a few articles about doing this on an 850 engine.

[zooplane]

So basically there is nothing I can do to improve anything?

[jblackburn]

There are tunes available for an NA motor that will do you more than any exhaust upgrade is going to do.

Nothing is really going to change the torque curve of the motor - it's the way it was designed, and a relatively small motor in a big car, but they can give you more HP.

Check out RICA engineering, or do some research on other tunes as well.
http://www.eurosporttuning.ca/mm5/merch ... =VL-V70-en

http://www.speedtuningusa.com