ORIGINAL: bbaker80

This car will be a long term project due to budget constraints. Eventually I'd like to see it with a turboback exhaust, intake, modified ecu, coilovers or springs/struts, swaybars, brakes, and some subtle but good looking body mods. Coming from a vehicle with such a large aftermarket I don't really know what to expect, other than the obvious impact this will have on the cost of parts, but I'm a gearhead, and I know I won't be able to leave it stock for too long (the WRX had parts on order when it drove off the lot with 7mi on the odometer).

ORIGINAL: bbaker80

1. What is your budget?
I'm willing to save and wait for the right parts, so budget isn't really an issue.

2. What is your Hp goal?
What's reasonable? I'm truly new to the Volvo community, and coming from a WRX that was making 340HP at the wheels. I doubt I'm going to come close to that but I'd like to see some gain over stock.

3. What you should expect is high prices and not a lot of options.

It seems you want to do a hodpodge of things, but what would you rather start off with?

I'm planning now to start with painting the black trim strips, window tint, brake pads, and wheels when I get the car. As budget allows I'll go with the suspension mods like the springs/struts and swaybars. Engine mods will be last. I feel that if you don't have the braking or handling to get you out of trouble you shouldn't have the power to get into it in the first place.

ORIGINAL: bbaker80

I agree with the save save save mod model you have. My S60 is either a 2001 or 2002. It was my grandmother's and has 14,000 miles on it, so it's in incredible shape for it's age. I'm thinking aftermarket for wheels because of the cost factor. I love the R wheels but I doubt I'll clear enough to get them when I sell the Scooby. I'm considering 18's because the roads here in Vegas aren't too bad, and don't need to worry about winter driving conditions (when we go to the mountains we take my girlfriend's Jeep).

When you say 250-275 HP are you talking about at the flywheel or at the wheels? I have a piggyback ECU in my WRX which is nice because I can tune it myself on my laptop. Are there ECU tuning options that would allow me to tweak things on the dyno like I did with the Subaru?

Also I have a noobish question for you....how much boost does the stock 2.4T run? I saw on a vendor site that the TD04 is an upgrade turbo (it's stock for the WRX) so it seems like the stock car doesn't run too much boost. The TD04 isn't a monster turbo by any means, but it was good for 300WHP on my WRX.

ORIGINAL: bbaker80

I'm sure this car will end up being a money pit just like all of my other vehicles, but at least I have managed to restrain myself to what I have saved for the project and the cash on hand at the time. My debt is from my 6 months of unemployment and the move out here to find a job. All things considered being able to pay off all of with the equity in the WRX isn't too bad.

I don't think $7000 in mods for your two vehicles is too bad, I have $5000 in axles alone under my Jeep. The WRX is getting sold with $2000 in engine mods and another $1000 in suspension just because I don't have a garage to work in to swap the aftermarket stuff out before I need to get rid of it.