V90 help in response and MPG.

RCR · Post by **RCR** » 18 Apr 2011, 19:59

The intake and exhaust on my 98 V90 are both super restrictive.
Intake is ok from the airbox back for a N/A cruiser but the tube from the box to the front is a MAJOR problem!
The Tube from the box to the front necks down after the core support and is positioned where is sucks super heated air off the AC condenser.
Looks ok from here don't it??

NOPE! notice how it slims down after it goes through the core support.

Note the sharp 90 turn and narrow opening

Now look where that opening is pointing. It's backwards from the airflow coming through the grill and is pulling in super heated air right off the AC condenser!

My solution? I grabbed a super cheap flexible universal intake hose.

Full 3 inch tube that is now tied up flush with the top of the core support at a 75 degree angle toward the airstream coming in the grill. It was tied up and the angle tweaked after this photo was taken.

REMARKABLE difference it throttle response in traffic with the AC running as it is no longer pulling in super heated air off the AC condenser. Also has much sharper response at highway speed due to the ram air effect from drawing cooler air in the high pressure area between the grill and radiator. Takes much less throttle pressure to maintain speed it will be interesting to check mileage on my next long road trip.
The exhaust on these cars may be worse than the intake though. First off cat up looks great and like it has decent size and should flow well-- that is until you cut it open and realize the front pipes from the converter up are double wall and super tiny inside! The mufflers also are super restrictive on these cars in particular the rear resonator.
These things are breathing through something like a a small straw and are being strangled!
I have Magnaflow mufflers on my V90 now and will do a high flow cat and single wall headpipes soon. The Magnaflow muffler set added little noise and she now has a nice smoooth purr rather than the wimpy tone of the stock set up.
Here is a photo of the Magnaflow resonator and the Porsche tip I used from a Boxter.

The Porsche tip looks factory don't it?

Here is a audo clip just after the install in my drive way.
http://www.box.net/shared/ztuqgj2r4q
I'm shooting for 225 WHP + 25 MPG city and 30 highway with a V90. Keep you posted on the results as I get things done. Right now I was running 20/25 before the intake system mods today.
With just the mufflers and the breathing tube + blocking the flapper in the airbox open to the cold air side it has made a huge difference in how she feels and responds to the throttle. It's not fast by any means but is now a LOT more fun to drive!
Next will be the cat up system then a chip/ reprogram if I can find one.

Post by **precopster** » 23 Apr 2011, 07:57

What a shame your spark plug electrode ended up in your cylinder, after all that work.

Am really keen to hear what you achieve in your car as I've decided to get back into my 960 wagon after driving an 850 wagon around for a while.

The driveability/handling of the 850 was much better, but I lug around a lot of gear including A3 copier/printers and the 960 has a better/longer/squarer load area, not to mention the performance advantage over the n/a versions.

I also miss the sweet, smooth six. I don't think any five comes close to it for sound and smoothness, especially if you spend all day in & out of your car like I do.

Post by **tjts1** » 23 Apr 2011, 20:27

So I assume you already fixed the hot air intake flapper before doing this?

precopster wrote: I also miss the sweet, smooth six. I don't think any five comes close to it for sound and smoothness, especially if you spend all day in & out of your car like I do.

I drive both an 850 and 960 on a regular basis and weirdly I prefer the sound of the NA 5 cyl on the 850. I didn't expect that.

Post by **JRL** » 24 Apr 2011, 05:51

Glencoeteen wrote:
JRL wrote:*****
WHOA!!! first time I have seen a post by you JRL that has no words.... not sure if its good or bad tho?

I thought this was posted in the wrong forum, when I discovered I was wrong (and we can't delete posts here), that was the best I could do)

On another note, these were not designed for the enthusiast.
Not really a "modable" car, not may parts available, (if any), out there for the 960/S-V90s, so anything you do is more or less going to be homemade.
They're supposed to be quiet cruisers, nothing more

Post by **precopster** » 24 Apr 2011, 07:54

More of a throb to me, the five cylinder, similar to a flat four Subaru but different again.

Post by **tjts1** » 24 Apr 2011, 10:25

My ye olde 960 intake from 2002 when I bought the car. Definitely a worthwhile modification.

RCR · Post by **RCR** » 30 Apr 2011, 23:36

precopster wrote:What a shame your spark plug electrode ended up in your cylinder, after all that work.

Am really keen to hear what you achieve in your car as I've decided to get back into my 960 wagon after driving an 850 wagon around for a while.

The driveability/handling of the 850 was much better, but I lug around a lot of gear including A3 copier/printers and the 960 has a better/longer/squarer load area, not to mention the performance advantage over the n/a versions.

I also miss the sweet, smooth six. I don't think any five comes close to it for sound and smoothness, especially if you spend all day in & out of your car like I do.

Towed her over to a friends shop and they would up getting it out without breaking her down. She had an intermittent miss for a little while then seemingly it has now straightened out. We ran a scope in the plug hole on #5 and can see no damage and the compression is good and stable cross the 163000 mile 6 so just maybe!!
Dropped a fresh set of NGK Platinum plugs in it as it was going NO WHERE with those OEM plugs in it!
I have done a full intake clean, MAF clean, the plugs ,and airbox mods since the last time I had her on the road so we shall see what she does on the next trip. On the last highway trip I got 25. Drivability and throttle response is now much better already that it was before and she is noticeably up in power.
I know that she needs a set of new coil packs as these may be the originals with over 160K on them so that is the next thing up. The next step after that will be to ditch the restrictive double wall headpipes for SS single walls and add a good high flow cat likely Magnaflow. They have a full bolt on cat up system here but I would have to add a second port for the O2 sensor( and NO I will not pay that price found it shipped to my door for $350!) http://www.magnaflow.com/02catalytic_co ... tfit=23954 it's more likely I will build my own with this cat http://www.magnaflow.com/02catalytic_co ... al=99067HM
I am shooting for over 225 wheel HP and 30 MPG on the highway with 25 City as the goal with this one with just some simple easy mods (exhaust ,intake mods and a computer reprogram). With this engine design it should be pretty doable. Biggest thing on these is to get it breathing!

Post by **precopster** » 01 May 2011, 02:26

Keep it coming. I looked up an eBay seller in the US called overstock-auto for the same item but the shipping to Australia was the limiting factor.

I've got a bit to do on my own 960 wagon. The head must come off again for the new head gasket as during re-assembly one of the head bolts stripped well before much torque was applied and had to be re-tapped.

The 960s are tricky. The thermostat housing fouls the inlet manifold during removal so it must come off first...GRRRR. It's tight in there.

By next week the new head gasket will be here so in about a fortnight (or three) she will be back on the road after a 5 month gestation. I discovered afew things which kept her performance at bay:

1) a dirty air cleaner which was replaced with a washable Pipercross brand (not happy with quality against K&N)
2) a plastic injector cap that had almost popped off so fuel was not atomising on cylinder3 (the one that had the most carbon on the piston)
3) an old O2 sensor (i fitted a Bosch OEM but the loom was way too long, so beware)

Hope to hear more on this thread about your progress.

RCR · Post by **RCR** » 02 May 2011, 09:17

Will do. Both O2 sensors will be replaced ( mine is OBD2) when I do the new cat and headpipes on mine. The front double wall headpipes on these cars are a major restriction in the exhaust. I went with a paper MANN filter on mine as I want the filtration for longer life. Also make sure you service the flame trap/PVC and then do a MAF,Throttle Plate and intake clean on yours it helps.

Right now I have a problem with fluid spewing out of the PS pump looks like from the joint between the pump and the reservoir so I will have to drop a new pump I have on her. The serpentine Belt tensioner uses a 3/4 drive pull handle to loosen the belt and I am having trouble finding some one with one that is slim enough to fit. Why they did not use a normal 1/2 in drive is a ?? Sometimes working on these things can be so much FUN.

RCR · Post by **RCR** » 02 May 2011, 09:34

tjts1 wrote:My ye olde 960 intake from 2002 when I bought the car. Definitely a worthwhile modification.

Pretty much what I did on mine except I blocked the flapper to the cold air side and hooked the tube there.

I looked hard at doing what you did with pulling that whole flapper assembly and running the intake tube there but the inside box mounts were on the flapper assembly so I modded it and left it. What restriction there is in that assembly should be offset by the ram air effect at speed and will not be an issue at this power level. That would change if I push much more and say go to the early cams and the BMW header.