hi all i drive a 1996 850 GLT and was jus wondering about some performance upgrade options that i should consider motor wise. people have told me to drop it and jus get a t-5 but i have faith in my car. please i would like to gain a more HP while keeping the MPG at a resonable place

 

With a non turbo car there isn't really anything you can do to get performance gains. Pretty much the only thing you can do is a K&N drop in filter and and an exhaust. But even those things will not give you much of a gain.

 

Yes upgrading a non turbo is pretty pointless. As I have done it and gained nothing.

-Intake
-Catback system
-ECU upgrades

All of these combined will net you possibly 10-20 Hp and in the long run that isn't much more then what your making now. And yes there are ECU upgrades for the N/A models. Inmotion sold one at least they used to they may still sell it.

Personally I'd sell your car and pick up a turboed model. Be it the Turbo or the T5 or R models. All are nice and have good power and tons more mods you can do to them.

 

+1. The turbo is still really good on gas mileage. I get almost 25 mpg on average.

 

Regardless, it's not like modding your car gives your horrible gas mileage. In fact, the majority of people that have done numerous performance mods are probably getting a lot better of a mpg than your stock N/A is getting.

 

Have faith in HIM. Locate a nice Turbo, sell yours and go get the turbo. That is the only mod you should do.

 

Agreed

 

Most mods that you do on a Turbo won't really affect MPG... on one hand, you're usually breathing more freely, meaning fewer what are called "pumping losses," which improves MPG a bit... but then, added boost pressure= added fuel usage under acceleration. The two cancel each other out. This, my friends, is the beauty of a turbo... gives you tons of power under acceleration, without having to waste energy turning and carrying a gigantic engine while at cruising speed. I find that my '98 S70 GLT (low- pressure turbo, no mods) gets about 28 MPG on the highway, and averages 25 or so... which is darn good for a midsize car with decent performance. I expect that if I ever DO do any mods, that my mileage will stay about the same.

And yes, on these cars, if you want performance, find a turbo. The number of ways to add power, lots of it, relatively cheaply, will blow you away. Actually, the ~60 extra HP you get with just the stock config with a 2.3 HPT of any type or the ~30 extra of the 2.4 LPT will be a huge thing, if you're used to the NA car.