Hey all
I would like to give the ol' girl some roar. After I get my front suspension taken care of and the ECM replaced and throttle body software updated, I was thinking about adding a custom intake manifold from ViVA and a turbo.
I know the s60 engine has a turbo on the 2.4-T model, but can my 2.3 L flat-5 handle the compression ratio? Am I going to destroy my engine?

 

In short the answer is YES.

What I don't think you realize is, that it just isn't the turbo you need to install.

Below is a list of some things you will need to make it work right and properly.

1. Turbo
2. Intercooler
3. Intercooler hard pipes
4. Turbo hoses (Silicone)
5. Vacuum lines (Silicone)
6. Hose clamps or better yet T-bolt clamps
7. Mandrel bent downpipe and mandrel bent catback exhaust system. 3" all the way the best. 3' downpipe to 2.5' catabck not bad but not as free flowing as a full 3' system.
8. Boost gauge one that can read 25 In Hg / 25 PSI
9. Oil or water lines for the turbo.
10. The most important thing is ECU. Your going to have to tune your ECU for all the new parts your putting on. And no you cannot just take a s60 turbo model ECU and place it in your car. Your going to have to get custom tuning. Dyno tuning to get the best results.

Your looking at spending some pretty big bucks to do this and do it right without damaging your engine and endangering your life. It would honestly be easier to sell your car and buy a already turboed s60.

 

I knew about the intercooler, piping, supply lines, and boost gauge... I thought a turbo'd s60 ECU would be fine.... good thing you said something.

do I really have to redo the exhaust manifolds? Shops charge so much for 3" downpipe installs, and I'm not good enough with my welder to do it myself... ugh.

I priced this out, and, including the stuff you said, it would run me ~6k. The car cost 4k. the main problem is, a turbo'd s60 (older model) is about 8k

 

I didn't say anything about manifolds. But it wouldn't hurt to port and polish your intake and exhaust manifolds.

A downpipe is needed. 3" mandrel bent while not needed, it will benefit you and give you the most free flowing exhaust possible, within reason. You could go 2.5" mandrel bent to a 2.5" mandrel bent catback system. And you don't have to go SS you could go Aluminized Steel.

Yes it is cheaper to sell your car and buy a turbo model. You can modify a turbo model much easier then you can a N/A model.