Hi guys, Im new to volvo's and this forum so any help would be much appreciated. I just got my hands on a 1998 S70 T5 5spd. Im in the process of doing stage 0 and notice..WOW that turbo isnt that that big. Ive read other threads and it seems that an 18T or 19T upgrade is pretty popular, but my dilema is that I dont know if Im running a 15T or 16T. If theres anyway to tell please let me know, and also what size turbo upgrade can i go with without having to completey restructuring my ECU or go changing internal parts. Thanks

 

1. Welcome

2. Go to Volvospeed and go to the PERFORMANCE section of the forum. Read the PINNED threads in there. In the one there is a list of what turbos came on what models. You should be able to tell from that list.

2. If you go with any turbo upgrade your going to have to redo your ECU. It is just as simple as that. Without a proper ECU tune your going to be more prone to bending rods and yes it has happened on 18 and 19 T turbos in Volvos. Not to mention that you should really upgrade your exhaust as well when your upgrading to a bigger turbo like that. 3" mandrel bent downpipe to a 3" mandrel bent catback system with a straight through design muffler like a Magnaflow.

 

Internals need to be thought about when going over 300Hp.

 

I am glad your doing STAGE ZERO a lot of people miss this step and mess up later and wonder why. If your going to do this at all do this right and do it only once. This is my suggestion, you don't have to follow it but it would be wise to do so. On a side note I hope you have a boost gauge. Your going to need it.

1. Once STAGE ZERO is done get on the dyno and get a baseline of what you have to work with. With this dyno get A/F ratios.

2. Get whatever turbo upgrade your going to go with 18T or 19T and have a 3" mandrel bent downpipe to a 3" mandrel bent catback system with a straight through design muffler like a Magnaflow made for you by a local muffler shop that can mandrel bend. You want your car to breath better and this is how to do it.

3. Do a second dyno run with the new mods and get A/F ratios with this as well.

4. Now send your ECU and baseline dyno sheets with A/F ratios and now your updated dyno sheets with A/F ratios to an ECU tuning company. I would seriously suggest RICA. Have them tune your ECU to your specific mods and what your dyno sheets say. This will give you a very nice ECU tune and boost in power as well.

This is only my suggestion.

*On a side note you may want to think about making your own custom FMIC system. This will be much much more efficent then your stock OEM intercooler.

 

Hey thanks alot. Yeah too many people miss stage 0 and drop tons of cash then come across problems later. You need a good foundation to build off of. Now when I go for the second dyno run thats on my stock ECU? also, does the MAF cause any problems when changing out the BOV to an aftermarket one? Nice Volvo BTW.

 

Yes the second dyno run is on your stock ECU with your new exhaust system. Then you send both baseline results and new results into your tuner so they can tune your car to the mods and the dyno sheets.

You don't have a BOV on your car. You have what is called a CBV. You can buy a blanking plate and block the CBV off and run the vaccum line that goes to the CBV to the BOV. Or you can run a BOV and a CBV at the same time.

Thank you