Experience with tune on automatic 06 V70R

[Turbolena]

Hello Group.

I am considering a hilton tune, for my automatic V70R and I am wondering if anyone can give me their experience and opinion on the quality of that idea. It makes me a little nervous with the automatic transmission, how does it hold up with the torque limiter removed or any of the other aspects? At the moment I just have a 3" IPD hi-flow cat and downpipe, but I want to upgrade the intercooler and the S4 MAF and intake setup.

Any thoughts ?

Thanks in advance .

[- Pete -]

I wouldn’t be too concerned about the trans. I do believe you can opt to keep the torque limiting in 1st & 2nd, though I would generally just take it easy in those gears regardless of this topic. The 6-speed auto transmission you have is pretty tough, just don’t be a numpty with how you dole out the power.

As I’m sure you know, the R engines have been known to do bad things, like cracking sleeves. Heat & the rapid fluctuation of it is the enemy here. This is why I said I wouldn’t be too concerned for your trans. And honestly, I firmly believe that a tune lessens your overall risk for cracking a sleeve. An IC & DP/exhaust helps this also. Lastly, being mindful of your RPM’s is very important. I try to keep it under 4K on mine. The car makes incredible power below 4K anyhow.

I have a Hilton 2+ tune on my 04 V70R (M66). Previous to that I had IPD Stage 1. Cool thing with Hilton tunes is you keep an image of your previous software (tune files) so you can revert back to it at anytime (IE go back and forth between your tunes). I do think that from street/daily drivability the IPD tune is a little better suited. If you’re pushing the car or on track, Hilton.

For your intake, I personally don’t see a whole lot of sense in the bigger MAF, open top “airbox” etc. Get rid of the garbage on the bottom of your stock airbox and stick in a brand new Mahle filter and be done with it. If you want to have a little more flow, take the lid off. Also for flow, get a better pipe to run from your MAF to your turbo. Snabb’s pipe is good and inexpensive, “fun” to install too. I have all the piping on mine - do88 turbo inlet pipe, IPD intercooler/ETA pipe (stock OTE pipe), TurboSmart CBV, 3” catted turbo-back exhaust. Bigger Intercooler = YES. I run the do88 big intercooler and do88 radiator in mine and it is well worth the coin. My IAT’s (w/AC off) rarely hover more than 2-3 degrees over ambient...under 21psi boost, incredibly stable. Most often my IAT is equal to ambient. With the stock IC your IAT’s will climb quickly when your in boost. The do88 big intercooler is pretty heavy, installation is good exercise.

Here’s my take - get the tune. If you feel it’s stressing the car too much, revert to your previous tune. On nice spunky days you can always put the car in race wagon mode