Hey recently i have been looking into a volvo 850 t or t5 model for my first car being 17. I found a 97 850 t-5r for 8 grand with 90k origional miles on it. I was wondering how fast these cars are stock, what they do 0-60, quarter mile, and top speed. Also what is a good way to start with performance parts. I am only 17 and just got my job, so my paycheck is all going to my car parts and accessories while my parents pay for the car. I was also wondering if you could give me a list of sites that sell alot of 850 parts inside and out and performance as well. I am interested in these cars very much soo, and would like some help from people that already own them. I have looked online and it doesnt look like theres many performace parts out there as well with body kits and so on. Thanks alot for your time!
Kyle Vickery

 

I would recommend spending your money on a driving (not Driver's Ed) course. Knowing how to drive a performance car is much better than having one, and teenage males' first cars generally do not have long lives.

JM

 

They are fast, and you need to be careful. I had three teenage kids learn to drive on my 94 850 Turbo. They all loved the car as much as I did. But when going around a bend and putting you foot on the gas the car has a tendency to try to go straight. In some ways I think it is too powerful for a front wheel drive car.

In 94, when I bought mine, Motor Trend did a special on cars that will go 140 mph for under $40,000. The Volvo 850 Turbo Wagon was on that list and was clocked at 152 mph. It was the only FWD car on the list.

One time I was in the middle of Kansas on an open road that was perfectly straight. I just wanted to know at what speed the car would shift into overdrive when holding the pedal to the floor. After all it hits pasising gear at 100 mph. Well I kept my foot in it and it finally shifted at 127 and shot up over 130. Problem was there was a cop going the other way. He turned around and came up behind me. Luckily I had done what I wanted and was just driving at this point. He ticketed my for 85 mph and I said thank you and was not being sarcastic.

JUST BE CAREFUL.

 

I agree. I've driven a lot of performance cars including the new Z06, custom built F4 cars, M3s, and M5s. Having power is not the key, knowing how to use the power effectively is what it’s all about.

I encourage you to also invest in performance brakes.

 

I have a friend whose father has made a nice sum of money in collectible cars. He buys nice 10 year old cars -- cars that have one or two characteristics that make them unique. He stores them in a couple of old warehouses. He waits 10-15 years and sells them between 3 to 10 times more than what he paid for them. He doesn't restore them. He just squirrels them away as is. He has recently started buying turbo Volvo(s).

Your 850 T5/R is fast enough without mods. But if you insist, don't waste your money on the usual stuff that the typical Eclipse, Grand National, and Supra folks buy. Everything on our Volvo(s) is controlled electronically (by computer) -- not mechanically. If you do the typical mods that are done by other car folks, you will definitely harm your engine -- the Volvo ECU, unaware of your mods, WILL run your engine lean.

Do some research, before you buy...

Wideband O2 Sensor
http://www.innovatemotorsports.com/products/xd1.php
http://www.aempower.com/product_ems.asp
http://www.zeitronix.com/Products/zt2/zt2.htm
http://www.techedge.com.au/vehicle/wbo2/default.htm
http://www.plxdevices.com/products.htm

Reprogrammed ECU
http://www.ipdusa.com

Downpipe
http://www.eurosporttuning.ca/Mercha...Code=VL-S70-en

Magnaflow high-flow cat convertor
http://www.magnaflow.com/02product/02converters.asp

Dynomax high-flow cat convertor
http://www.discountconverter.com/news/obdii.htm

Flo Pro
http://www.flopro.com/FloPro.htm
http://www.precisionkelowna.com/exhaust-flopro.html


Dynomax, WLK-17223
http://store.summitracing.com/partde...rt=WLK%2D17223

Borla
http://www.borla.com/welcome

Hooker Aero Chamber
http://www.jegs.com/cgi-bin/ncommerc...60&prmenbr=361
http://store.summitracing.com/defaul...4922711+300044

I don't know. To me, eight thousand dollars is a lot of money. I would be more interested in protecting my investment.

Was the timing belt and serpentine belt replaced at 70K miles? Still, I would have a Volvo trained mechanic inspect timing belt, serpentine belt, tensioners, and all pulleys. When (yes, I said when, not if) there is a problem with any of these items, you will bend every valve in the cylinder head.

Rather than spending all of your limited funds on mods, I think that you will be much more happier in the long run, if you teach yourself to replace...

Drain and Refill (NOT Power Flush) Auto Trans Fluid
New 87C/190F Wahler Thermostat
New OEM Engine Coolant Temp (ECT) sensor
New Zerex G-05 (yes, it must be G-05) Coolant
New OEM front O2 sensor
New Interstate MT-47, MT-48 battery
New Rubber Inserts for Headlight Wipers - made from 1990-93 Honda Accord Passenger side (2)

 

What's the G-05 coolant? I just put regular coolant in mine. Should I be using something different?

 

Jim, it really doesn't matter -- as long as you stay with the green stuff. I use Peak in my other vehicles. Kim's 850 still has Volvo OEM green.

I suggested Zerex G-05, only because it is used as original equipment in all Mercedes, Chrysler, and Ford vehicles and costs less than Volvo OEM green.

 

I think I am using the NAPA stuff, but it's green.

 

So will things like catback exhaust, ecu, upgraded turbo, bov, intercooler and so on ruin my engine? Cause i hear they are fast stock, but no guy just keeps his cars stock.

 

Why don't you drive the car around for a few weeks to see how the stock setup is. This will also allow you to make sure the car is in good shape before you start blowing lots of money on performance upgrades. It would be a shame for you to put a lot of money into it and then have something crap out.

 

I wasnt planning on getting to upgrades right away, i was going to wait a few months so i can get my money in order. But was planning on buying a 3 inch downtube, to 3 inch catback exhaust with a magnaflow muffler. I was going to get used to the car for a while, then once i have the money, to buy stuff for it. How much hp you guys putting out with your 850's?

 

I'm a complete stock setup on a NA engine so I wouldn't expect it to be very far from the numbers that Volvo reported. I can post the dyno results when the shop gets its dyno back up.

One thing to remember with HP is how it is measured. If you ever look at HP ratings you may notice that overall they go down (for similar engines). This is because of how the HP was measured. Back in the day, before I existed. The engine was run without anything on it (water pump, trans, alternator, starter, ect...) The engine would only run for a little bit before it blew up, but it was enough to get the HP rating. Nowadays most HP ratings are determined at what the car can produce at the wheel.

 

Catback exhaust...
Yes, look into a full 2 1/2 or 3 inch mandrel bent exhaust using catalytic convertor/muffler combinations that I listed earlier. There are many aftermarket exhaust kits available.

ECU...
Yes, there are many vendors that re-program ECU. I am happy with mine from IPD.

Upgraded Turbo...
Requires re-programmed ECU. And don't even think of touching your wastegate arm -- the ECU will become confused and run set your air/fuel mixture very lean. The same thing goes for manual and electric boost controllers. You will find a few people who use boost controllers, but they have done their homework to figure out how to communicate with ECU. Most folks have their ECU re-programmed to increase boost.

Bov...
Blown-off air confuses the ECU. By-pass (re-routed back into turbo inlet) works better. Besides, most 850's are automatics.

Upgraded Intercooler...
Requires re-programmed ECU. Denser, cooler air distorts MAS/AFM readings (which were taken in front of intercooler and turbo), confusing ECU, thus causing air/fuel mixture to be very lean.

Seriously, the only mods necessary are wide-band O2 sensor, full 2 1/2 or 3 inch exhaust and re-programmed ECU.

Do more research about turbo housing flanges. Some are conical. Some are straight. Some are angled. This will totally mess with your plans for a new downpipe.

And don't get caught up in Horse Power numbers... that's for the JDM crowd. Look at an engine's torque curve throughout the entire rpm range. That will tell you more about an engine's potential.

Still, I don't understand. I visit several turbo car forums. Most of the posts that I read are about owners of cars that have upgraded turbos, intercooler piping, injectors and such -- and their car's run so poorly that they ran much faster when they were factory stock.