850 T5R vs 130i ??
 

Hello everybody,

I am fairly new here and was hoping to get info on a future purchase. I have a few cars in my garage but an Wagon 850 T5R or R caught my attention.
I love sleepers and I live in France were it can be good sometimes to have underrated cars. For the moment i drive a E87 130i which I am very pleased with but i was hoping to get info on a 850 and how much effort would it take to bring it level wise to my 130i.

I have read a lot of threads about engine upgrades, turbos, stage 0 before everything. But what about handling ?
It is a do everything car i am looking for but still with enough performance to drive away from most people ( i used to be a pro racedriver ).

So yes my question is, is it kinda possible to upgrade a T5 Wagon and bring it beyond or on par with my 130i ? I would guess acceleration wise it won't be difficult but handling wise i would need a LSD ( i always install one ) and i guess upgraded sway bars, suspensions...

I know my question is vague but i just want to see what is easily achievable.

Thanks for your answers,
Cheers

I don't know, but I will say this. It's amazing to me how little space they have for tires. Tires are important.

The 850s are very easy to work on in terms of adding power ( ECU tune, downpipe, 16T turbo, green injectors etc). Similarly the suspension can be upgraded - first step would be to install the IPD sway bars and heavy duty end lines. After that, you can consider Bilstein or Koni struts/shocks and springs (HR etc). next would be a strut tower brace. You can also go to 17 inch wheels - but pay attention to rim width and offset. When you do the struts, consider installing the IPD heavy duty strut mount. Not sure about shipping to France or who in the EU offers similar products. I did the IPD bars on my 850 and that was the single most effective add on for the handling. You will need to drop the subframe to install the fronts but its not really that complex a job.

Thanks for your reply. Yeah i saw it is a pretty easy car to work on and add performance.
What you said was actually what i had in mind, a good chassis prep ( sway bars, bilstein B6 or B14, struts mounts, brace, etc..) and for the engine good stage 0 then followed by what you listed.
I would really installed an Quaife ATB too, i put one on each of my cars and it makes such a difference ( don't need though if i found an 850R ).

For the brakes i see people upgrading to 302mm from V70's cars, is it really a plus ?

The brake upgrade is also fairly easy - I believe IPD and others sell replacement carriers (brackets) for $90 for the front pair that move the calipers outward so you can upgrade when you do your next set of pads without opening the system. The theory of the brake upgrade is that the larger rotors have more swept area and cooling capacity thus are more resistant to fade. Both the 280s and 302s use the same pads so its not like you get a larger contact area. The downside is you will not be able to use 15 and 16(?) inch wheels with the 302s. Another choice would be to go to slotted (or cross drilled) rotors. Here the idea is when the pads squeeze the rotor in heavy braking, they actually boil the surface of the pad creating a hot gas that diminishes grip. The slots/drill holes vent the gas allowing for better grip.

As to the Quaife ATB, my recall is those are only available for the manual transmission like the M56 and M66 which would run you about $1100 US. Certainly a nice add on for a stage 2 car with 300+ WHP but not a small purchase so I'd question the value for a milder stage 1 tune.

Thanks again for the help ! I might need to use 16" for winter driving with snow tires so better keep the normal 280 and go with slotted or drilled rotors.
In any of my car low horsepower or high ones i have always ad a Quaife ATB and each time it transformed the car, i am planing on getting a manual transmission anyway.

Just need to find a car now, there are none for sale in France at present, will keep searching !