Hello,

I am looking to get some more performance out of my '96 850R. I was thinking about a Manual Boost Control, but I was talking with some friends in the know and they said I should get the whole ECU tuned.

They said I should find a Volvo performance specialist with a dyno and pay to have it "re-programmed and dialed in."

Does anyone know a shop near Hartford, CT or maybe even near NYC.

Please let me know.

-Dave

 

Check out the dyno locater in the general chat area. It is a sticky at the top

 

Hi

1. There aren't many "VOLVO" tuning specialists out there in the world. Meaning brick and mortar type places. I am not saying there aren't any or that a performance tuning shop that doesn't specify in Volvo cannot tune your Volvo's ECU. What I am saying is that a specific Volvo tuner is hard to come by.

2. What we do have are some Volvo ECU tuners that you send your ECU to, they tune it and send it back to you and you put the ECU back in the car.

- IPD USA
- RICA
*These two above are the two best in the Volvo ECU tuning business. They range from around $600-$800 to tune your ECU. They are the most researched and developed tuners on the market.

- Inmotion
- SpeedTuning USA
- Upsolute
*These three above are three other tuners on the Volvo ECU tuning market. They cost around $200-$425. Yes that cheap. However you get what you pay for. They are less researched and developed. However they do work and if you want bang for your buck these are what you should look into. I personally have the SpeedTuning USA ($325) ECU upgrade and the upgrade is set at 15PSI and it boosts nicely! However the car does run a little RICH which isn't good. If I had saved the money I would have gone with IPD USA and or RICA. Their tunes are just that much better and are worth the extra cash.

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If you want to tune your Volvo first and foremost start off by doing STAGE ZERO...

Plugs
cap/rotor
oil/transflush
filter (oil)
hoses (the little vac lines)
samco hose kit (Turbo Models ONLY)
02 sensors
fuel pumps
clean injectors
clean IC/IC plumbing (Turbo Models ONLY)
Air filter
plug wires

*Above is a list of what STAGE ZERO consists of. You may say you have done some of it already. Great! But you haven't done it all most likely. This will get your car up to snuff and be ready to take on the added stress your going to be throwing at the engine. ****A boost gauge that can read 25 In Hg / 25 PSI is what you'll want to add to this list.**** Autometer makes very nice gauge. If your looking for a gauge pod try http://www.gaugepods.com they are made by LOTEK. Great single and triple gauge A-pillar pods. IPD USA sells them as well, same pods but hike the price up significantly.

Also is an ECU all you want to do to your car? Or are you looking to do an intake of some kind and turboback exhaust system? If you are looking to do these things I would do these before you do an ECU upgrade. Why? Well if you do these first and then do the ECU upgrade the tuner can make adjustments to the ECU tune to what you have done to your car to take full advantage of the potential power from each item.