Hi, im new to the volvoforums, but I would really like it if someone would be able to help me out at all. I have a 1996 Volvo 850 2.5 SE non turbo obviously, I was wondering if there were any chips or ecu upgrades for my car to increase performance, and what other modifications I can use? I don't want to hear sell your car and buy a turbo, because I can't in Australia due to my age. Much appreciated thanks all. Even if a chip only improves 5hp, anything helps, thanks.

 

I'm with you; smug people mocking you and telling you to sell your N/A is not helpful. While you're not going to turn it into a "turbo killer", there are small gains to be had.

Found below here; i did the airbox thermostat mod; anyone who has an N/A should do it for sure. Hope this helps. All that being said, I am shopping for a turbo 855 to replace my N/A..

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Re: 850 (non-turbo) 1997

by tjts1 » 06 Jan 2009, 09:26
What a bunch of useless rubbish. Yes, there's plenty you can do to your NA 850 to improve both power and efficiency at little or no cost.


The quick and dirty NA intake in 3 easy steps

Install an early 960 throttle plate.
http://volvospeed.com/vs_forum/index.ph ... try1168946

Fix the airbox thermostat.
viewtopic.php?t=8830&start=36

The stock airbox and filter is not a significant restriction to the intake. The problem is the stock snorkel going to the airbox. It starts with a 1.5x4" oval and ends with a 3.25" circle at the airbox. So get a 3.25" piece of flexible tubing.
http://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/airbox.php

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=501&st=0&sk=t&sd=a&start=10

A naturally aspirated 850 5 speed with minimal intake modifications can be as quick as a stock automatic 850 turbo with much better fuel economy and probably more reliable in the long term.

 

Thanks heaps, I'm in search for a 960 throttleplate at the moment, and putting the air box on the cold side, I also purchased a volvo 850 non turbo 20 valve chip from speedtuningusa.com hopefully it works well when it comes, hoping to get it close to as quick as a volvo v70 lpt 2.4 should be possible eventually. thanks for the help

 

And yeah if it was up to me I would have bought a v70R, but where I live you can't have a turbocharged car or a car over 210kw until you are atleast 20 years old. All we can own is a turbo disel very hard to get around

 

So I have a 94 855 non turbo and am looking around for cheap relatively easy power increases. I've seen a bunch of things from sell it and buy a turbo model to ecu chips and more. Both of these things are way out of my budget and I will not sell my car. I am looking for something under $100 and can be done in a day or two. I will look at doing the air thermostat mods and 960 throttle plate. What I am wondering is how hard would it be to get the turbo and related components off a 97 850 glt since it is the same engine. I haven't found a complete answer to this and while it would cost over $100 it is the best possible mod if it is doable.

 

most engine mods are related to improving airflow. Volvo's are relatively good on the intake side - I'd say the first thing to do is install a KN free flow air filter vs the Mann paper filter. Next is to ensure you have a really good tune. this can include fresh quality wires, hotter coil, new plugs (copper cores actually work better than the platinum/iridiums), clean intake (MAF, idle air control valve, throttle body). ECU tunes are available but probably cost $300 or more. Mostly they are able to advance the spark a bit for you. Finally you have the exhaust. If you can weld your own, you can make a 3 inch downpipe and install a free flow cat for a reasonable price. Dropping in a turbo is a bit more complicated as you would not have any of the controls to regulate boost (different ECU etc) but it would be possible to say restrict to a maximum of 5 PSI boost so you'd not need the extra bits (not exactly sure how you'd rig that up but its a trick some of the old Audi crowd would do..). BTW, the engines are not the same on the inside. the Turbos have slightly lower compression and added oil jets to cool the pistons and some extra hardening. As to getting an ECU flash, you may try contacting speedtuningusa.com - You can source a spare ECU easy enough and see if they will reflash...

 

Thanks for the suggestions I will see what I can do. The 97 GLT has the same 2.4L engine as in my car and they added a small turbo to it to increase the horsepower to 190. From what I've seen the cars don't even have a boost gauge in the cluster but I don't know if they made any internal changes to the engine.

 

the LPT (low pressure turbo) models like the GLT use an engine management system designed for turbos to regulate boost. The difference with the high pressure turbos is that the LPTs use a turbo with a smaller capacity (to spool up faster at low RPMs ) and regulate to a lower maximum boost. Some models also use the 2.4L vs 2.3L design to also improve low end torque...