Howdy folks, My wife commutes 80 miles per day to and from work, mostly open highway driving at 70 mph in her '95 850 non turbo sedan. MPG is anywhere from 23-25.5. I recently ordered a full tune-up for the car including the Volvo 3 prong plugs, plug wires, distributor cap & rotor and O2 sensor,Which has never been replaced as far as I know (166k) and we had a leaky head gasket awhile back which is now fixed. But the parts haven't arrived yet. I'm hoping economy will improve a little. However, a turbo sedan has recently popped up in our area for sale, I've been wanting a turbo for a while but my wife is afraid the economy with the turbo will be even worse. I say it will be better because of the forced induction plus the availability of performance parts for the car, that generally help fuel efficiency. Can anybody help me win this argument, and possibly end up with a turbo car, I'm going to look at it tommorrow night after work. Thanks

 

LOL.

If you're wife an absolute idiot, then you can win lol.
But the premise of your argument is completely incorrect.

For mileage though, from what I've seen most people are averaging 24-26 if they do a lot of highway. One guy even hit 30.

 

I retract my earlier comment.

I've been thinking about it, and I got it!

The turbo version has 3 modes. Sport/economy/winter.
If you drive in sport, it's obviously going to be more sporty, but in Economy mode, the ECU limits the motor so it doesn't boost.

So in simpler terms, the 850 has a lot of lag which is because the Turbo runs in two modes. You can run it as a n/a engine, or as a turboed engine.

If you lighten your foot, you'll be able to conserve gas (you're car would be identical to your wifes). I spent the first 2-3 months of owning this car driving very very conservatively and rarely boosting.

Let me know if you don't understand this post..

Edit: Economy limits the boost. You will boost, but it's going ot stay in n/a mode as long as it can.

 

I think my wife is just overly cautious to trade for another car in the sense that the turbo will definately need premium fuel and if the fuel economy is worse it would cost more to run than her current car, and gas prices continue to skyrocket. I'm going to look at the car after work tomorrow anyhow. If it's real nice with service history, I'm going to buy it, we'll keep her car for now,drive them both to see which one does better on gas.

 

Premium fuel is not required but it is highly recommended.
I started a thread over at VolvoSpeed about this topic, and here was one of the more convincing answers for me...

You can definetely run 87, but the car might feel slightly sluggish since the car will adjust itself to the fuel grade. You may even consider a mid-grade if you cannot afford the premium.

Another thing to consider is that since prices are higher, the 20 cent increase is less of a percent, so you're getting more now lol.

Here is the thread, it might be helpful..
http://volvospeed.com/vs_forum/index...mp;hl=gas+poll

Please update. I'm curious as to if you buy the car and what it looks like.

 

My opinion is that you should be worried about the cost of repairs you might have to do to the unknown used car, not about the fuel consumption.

 

GET THE TURBO!!!

I get 21.8 mpg in mixed city/highway on the 95 T5R and think that is bad so I am getting ready to clean and replace the PCV system. The 97 850 R gets just under 25 mpg with the same driving. Actually when my wife drives it, the mpg is a little better than when I drive. Probably because she weighs a less than me. haha My 98 V70 gets close to 25 mpg also and it's the low pressure turbo GLT model.

I took the T5R on a 800 mile trip recently and got the same gas mileage as stated above. All other 850 Turbo's I've ownded will get 28 mpg on the highway traveling at around 70-75 mph. They get even better mileage if you stay under 70. One time, in my 94 that I ownded previously, I got 32 mpg on a 200 mile trip by just driving to get good mileage..

 

When it comes to an argument about getting Turbo or Non-turbo, I trust JimKW. Jim has owned many 850s and knows the car pretty much inside/out. 850s do require some maintenance, but once they're all done, it'll serve you many miles (well over 200,000 or even 300,000 miles, depending on how the previous owner took care of it).

Good luck finding a good turboed 850. But no hurry, and make sure to take a possible car to your mechanic, preferably by a Volvo dealer or a shop that specialises in Swedish/European makes.

Best wishes,


JPN

 

I win... going from MI to WV I hit 35 MPG.

 

Arg my mileage is getting pretty bad too....

I think I'm in need of a new PCV system also..

 

Would 38 MPG at 56 mph (90 km/h) driving stuck behind a huge truck be considered cheating? ;-)

That was measured by the instant fuel consumption indicator for about 1 km, with tires inflated at 36 psi and using cruise control. There were 2 adults and 2 kids in the car with light luggage.

 

25mpg @ 80mph with '97 T5. Well over 30mpg at 65mph. Average 23mpg city/highway.

Nick

 

Are you sure about that? Economy changes transmission shift points which in turn will limit the length within turbo boost, but by no means changes the amount of boost the car will put out. - AB

 

You're right.

I phrased it wrong. Not limit the boost in terms of PSI, but it limits the transmission/gearing, so it won't boost as often (It will stay in N/A mode if it can).

 

Got a question for you guys.

What typically goes wrong w/ the PCV system? Is it the oil trap or what?

Or would I might as well just get the entire kit?

 

I have owned 3 1995 850 non turbos, I now own a 1996 850 turbo wagon, the milage is comparable on both, I run synthetic oil and only Chevron supreme gasoline, cruise set at 70 mph or less I average 28-29 mpg, I drive for milage in town and could get 22 mpg, I do this by watching lights and avoiding full stops, will coast up to a light at 20mph just to keep the car over 10mph all the time.

 

80 miles/day X 5 days/week X 50 weeks/year = 20,000 miles just for work.

That is a lot!

If it were me, I would sell my 850 and buy a late 90's or early 2000 Jetta or Golf TDI. VW's are fairly safe - similar to Volvos, and the TDI's (diesel) get 50 MPG or more.

Let's do the math:

Volvo: 20,000 miles / 25 MPG * $3.00/gallon = $2,400 in gas/year
TDI: 20,000 miles / 50 MPG * $3.50/gallon = $1,400 in gas/year

$1,000+ in gas savings is a lot! Also, if it were me, I would look into tapping into the fry oil craze going on with used cooking oil at restaurants. If you can collect 5 gallons a week in oil that's 250 miles out of the 400 she is driving.

New math:
400 miles/week - 250 miles/week = 150 miles/week of bought fuel.
150 miles/week / 50 MPG * 3.50/gallon * 50 weeks = $525 in gas (diesel), for a savings of $1875/yr.

On a side note, switching from Regular (87) to Premium (93) in my 850 has decreased MPG for about 5%. Yes you read that correctly. I'm going back to Regular on my next tank...

 

going from an 850 to a TDI is a big difference. first off the late 90's TDI is only 90hp. those motors are prone to clogging up with carbon. i ve seen egr and intakes so clogged that the motors wouldnt even run any more. not to mention the timing belt need to be replaced ever 50k miles. not to mention glow plug failures.if it gets cold out you need to put anti-gel in the fuel.TDI turbos for the most part are strong thou.dont get me wrong i love vws air or water cooled. i ve been working for vw for 8 years. we do get some biodiesiel conversion cars in for service sometimes.i hear the conversions are not so cheap.they smell like french fries thou. they do get great milage thou. jetta's a lot smaller than an 850. i am just saying its a really big difference

 

I've had other cars that get better mileage sitting right next to my Volvo when I leave for work in the morning. 90% of the time I take the Volvo. I ended up selling the other car and buying another Volvo (the yellowT5R).

 

Yes of course, if someone is less sensitive to fuel costs than that has less of an impact on what they drive. It just seemed the poster was concerned with operating costs so that's why I mentioned the TDI's. The way I see it is if someone is concerned with fuel costs why spend a couple grand on another Volvo when the approximate same amount of money can be spent on a car that gets double the gas mileage, not 10% more at best.