I have a '96 volvo 850 glt. i want to do performance upgrades i have little knowledge could someone please tell me whats the best things to do. i have no goals as far as horsepower or anything like that i just want it to be faster. maybe 0-60 time improvement my budget is probably around $500 dollars at first but am willing to spend more planning on purchasing some euro style 6 spoke rims but seems to be shortage of places to purchase things of that nature online does anyone have a volvo website where i can get rims halo headlight housings hid kits and such for volvos? also i have purchased about 5 hid kits and they all were crap what is the best brand of hid kit? i want some that wont loose color and look oem phillips? i dont know let me know thanks !

 

gts? or glt?

 

yea glt i dont know why i thought gts no it is GLT

 

Another post

https://volvoforums.com/forum/volvo-850-16/help-52274/

 

I am also looking to improve the performance and handling of my GLT. I know that options are limited because it is normally aspirated, but I just want to make it a bit better. I was thinking high flow air filter, performance plugs and wires, cat back exhaust, maybe some bilstien touring shocks, better motor mounts....? Any suggestions on what I should do to improve this car? Does anyone know of a company that does a chip tune for it? There are a lot out there that will tune the turbo model but not the n/a. All advice is appreciated

 

Contact Lucky (Robert) at ARD Ideas:
Active Research & Development

If you want to search and see all the fun stuff you can add to your car visit:
Volvo Parts, Accessories and Performance Specialist Since 1963

 

Uuuurrrrrggggg!!!

 

Headlights:

volvo 850 headlights | eBay

Wheels and misc:

Craigslist.org

There are a number of Volvo parts sites, you should try to just Google some strings or use the "sticky" in this forum.

https://volvoforums.com/forum/volvo-...s-thread-7325/

 

I know that options are limited because it is normally aspirated, but I just want to make it a bit better. I was thinking high flow air filter, performance plugs and wires, cat back exhaust, maybe some bilstien touring shocks, better motor mounts....?

 

Here you go:
https://volvoforums.com/forum/volvo-...-faster-58388/

 

HAHA RSPI...its like on Jeep Forum people wondering how to get more power from there 4 cylinder, solution that had been proven a thousand times over, swap the engine to a 4.0l.

I actually like amazon for searching for some types of car parts. Give you a wide range of accessories to choose from, and I like there search engine, works smoothly.

 

Turbo.

 

actually, I have built race engines, and am known locally for building some winners. I never "polish" the intake side of anything. You want the turbulence, its controlling the turbulence is where and how you get more high end only power from any engine.

Intake design, do not bother with messing with the stock one. If you take the head off, porting intake and port and polishing the exhaust side is a fine art, and involves many hours to get right, but in the end you can get 50 HP out of an engine, jsut by that.

Boring the TB, yes it does help, but less than 1% overall. Might get better throttle response, but that is about it. If you are talking about boring with a Turbo, bigger is always better.

 

For all engines it is the volumetric efficiency (VE) that is the true key to unlocking all the power the engine is capable of.

making sure the volume of the ports is the same, is important. Of course I has access of flow benches and much more when building all those engines, but there is actually a lot more to it that most people assume.

DO whatever outside modifications you want, you will never unlock the true VE of the engine doing so. I built a N/A Honda b16a doing only internal work for street stock class and got the engine to dyno at 330 HP @ ~7800 RPM. Honda has the most VE head of any stock N/A engine, due to the port design. The stock manifolds and equipment was bolted back on the outside.


Building one race engine takes about 80 hours to get it right.

 

I have been all about automotive for 8 years now. I have dabbled in almost everything. I sought the best and learned -- and am still learning from the best I can find.

Take my opinions and experience for what you think it is worth.

One of my favorite quotes which speaks truth "Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity." George Patton

This is getting off topic the last few posts let me get back in point.

I just remembered, tire size. Combined with a lowering kit, or just cut a coil off the springs as I always had done, and drop the tire size down a inch or so and you will notice an improvement, you loose top speed and perhaps MPG, but more torque is meeting the ground.