okay im fairly new to the excact names of the 850 series throughout 94-97. but ive got a couple questions and if sombody could help me out that would be great.

I am under the impression that the t5-r over the 850 r / turbo is about 20 + extra horsepower and that the power upgrade lies in the ECU.. If this is true.. is it possible just to upgrade / swap out the ecu to get what is basically a t5-r.

any help is much appreciated. thanks in advance.

if i am wrong about anything in here just let me know....

 

Yes, the change is in the ECU.

But...The R's have a different bumper (with foglights).

Check out Volvo Speed.com, there are a couple people selling ECUs in the Auction section, and these are even better than the stock, and will give you a greater increase in power.

Edit: they are better in that they are set for higher boost. The R has 10.5 PSI maximum, and I think some of these chips put you up to 15-16 PSI.

 

Yes the Hp difference is with the ECU's. However I suggest you look into an ECU upgrade. Take a look in the General Volvo section of this forum and click on the PINNED thread titled VolvoForum Resources Thread. It is also linked in my signature. The link right above the picture.

I would suggest going with RICA, IPD. These are great ECU tuners. Expensive but worth the money. Other tuners out there are Upsolute, SpeedTuning USA and Inmotion. You can find out more information about each tuner in the links provided in the resources thread.

However I suggest before you do an ECU upgrade complete STAGE ZERO. This can also be found in that resources thread I keep talking about. This is an important step to getting your vehicle up to snuff.

 

^IPD and Rica to add to the list of ECU tuning companies.

 

Here are some basics about the 850 naming convention and the models that were produced each year:

93 - First year for 850 did not make a turbo
94 - First year for the Turbo model called 850 Turbo and had 222 HP vs. the 168 in the NA
95 - The Turbo was till called the 850 Turbo, but came out with the T5R which had 240 HP and different suspension and ground works. Only made the T5R in Black and Yellow.
96 - The 850 Turbo became the 850 T5, the T5R became the 850 R, and added a different rear spoiler,but basically the T5R and 850 R is pretty much the same car. The 850 R did come in different colors and the Yellow is gone.
97 - Pretty much same as 96, but added a Low Pressure Turbo to the 850 GLT. This model has 198 HP. Prior years the GLT did not have a Turbo.

 

They are on the ECU tuning list already. Also I mentioned them above.

 

thanks alot for the info guys. it will help me alot along the ways.

 

Ugh, I need to read better. [][]