Ok so I am new to this forum, but my family has a few volvo's. I am going to pick up a 1998 volvo s70 t5 on Monday for $3300. The guy told me he got it from an old lady for dirt cheap. He works for a shop that specializes in volvo's for over 20 years. The car has a 106k on it, he just did the timing belt, water pump, thermostat, tensioner, and roller done on it along with a breather box cam seals and turbo return line seals. Front struts and mounts were replaced not long ago.

So he set the psi to about 20. He said its a beast and does the qtr mile in 13.7. It's stock except he played around with a few things. He said his boss has a 1998 volvo s70 t5 with 185k and he runs it off of 28psi and it does just fine. Do you think 18 to 20 psi is too much for this engine. He said he's been running it on it for about 5 months and its runs perfect. I know the glt's can take about 15 psi, but this is a high pressure turbo. He has the convenience of being to work on the car if anything happens and he's going to show me how to turn the psi down. Do you think I should leave it at the 20 or turn it down a little.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

turn it down to 15psi untill you get a 3" turboback exhaust, and a tune.
I assume they got rid of the fuel cut to run higher than 15psi?

 

I don't have any psi guages to tell what I am changing it too. I am going to ask him to do it at the shop when I go pick it up... I figured for all the work a mint s70 t5 for 3300 is a steal. Yeah he told me the fuel cut was gone. He said he opened something up so there is no fuel regulation which makes sense with what you're saying. His boss is running 28 psi to a 185k with an upgraded exhaust. You think the 20psi is dangerous for daily driving? Do I have to get a turboback 3 inch exhaust and a tune to run the 20 psi?

 

1. 20 PSI on stock turbo and stock internals isn't good. It might be able to handle it for awhile but something is going to go bad after awhile with it running that high on the stock turbo and internals.

2. 28PSI? With just a exhaust upgrade I don't believe it. That is extremely high and the stock turbo wouldn't be able to handle it efficiently. Same thing with running 20 PSI, the turbo might run it but it wont do it efficiently.

3. If you tell him to turn it down tell him to turn it to 15-17 PSI. Your turbo can run this all day long and be fine.

4. You don't have to get an exhaust upgrade, but when your running higher boost it helps out a lot with the added pressure your putting on your engine.

Also....

A. I don't care what he may or may not have done to the car mechanically, but do STAGE ZERO first.

B. Get a real boost gauge one that can read 25 In Hg / 25 PSI.

C. If you want to do other mods then I suggest intake and exhaust work first, followed by an ECU upgrade. Even though the guy messed with your car. I doubt it is a reliable tune that he did.

 

Alright thanx for the input. I figured 20 would put a little too much stress on the car. So I'll turn it down to 15ish so I don't kill the engine. Do you think he has done damage to the car if he's been running it hard for about 5 months with this much psi? He said it takes it well, but even if he turns it down to 15 when I pick up the car, I don't want to have to worry about blowing the engine. I mean I figured when he told me he did 13.7 qtr mile and about a 5.1 0-60 on a stock t5 it was a little weird. I want this car to last me a while so being as fast as it can on stock parts is not necessary at the moment but I read that the GLTs can take 15 psi stock so thats why I was wondering if 20 would have hurt this engine.

 

depends on how much they abused the car.
28psi...on a 16T turbo? that is out of it's efficiency range

It will be fine at 15psi or less. don't buy the car without test driving it. YOu should be able to tell if the car has been abused.
it is hard to say if 20psi is safe or not.

 

Well a LPT can handle 15PSI but it is basically out of its efficiency range. I own an LPT with an ECU upgrade at 15PSI and I can tell you that it is fun to drive, but that it struggles to hold 15PSI strong.

20 PSI on a HPT can be done yes, but how efficient it is, is to be determined. Also depends on how well the car is maintained, etc... However I wouldn't run 20 PSI on an HPT without some supporting mods such as a full 3" turboback exhaust system. Silicone turbo hoses, vacuum lines and T-bolt clamps.

Also if he has had it for 5 months like this I would like to know how much he beats on it.

 

Yeah he said he siliconed the turbo hoses cause they blow off once in a while. He did all the maintenance to the car and before that was driven by an old lady. He said he's just running high boost and believes it is about 18-20 psi. He said he permanently closed the wastegate...but doesn't have a turbo guage to hook up to be able to tell the exact boost levels. He told me I can run it as hard as I want when I go test drive it, and it doesn't have any leaks at all and the transmission fluid is clean.

 

Messing with the wastegate BAD idea. Don't ever mess with the wastegate. If you want to up your boost, then you do it by ECU upgrade and or a Manual Boost Controller (MBC) and since it is a 1998 car it will take a MBC nicely. However the ECU tune would be the best, safest and most reliable route to take.

Also it worries me that he doesn't have a real boost gauge hooked up to it. He could be running more boost then he thinks he is. Just seems like he is telling you a bunch of BS and is selling you a potential problem car.

 

He told me he'll put it back to normal he doesn't care. What do you advise I do when I get down there. Tell him to open the wastegate. What does keeping it closed do? Also how much does an ECU tune cost and what turboback exhaust do you advise I get. What's a good website to order them from?

 

oh....S70driver has a good point. no boost gauge and closing the wastegate....leads to trouble

Now if these guys have tuned cars before and know what they are listen for, that is another story, but I am also very sceptical about this car.

 

Keeping the wastegate closed causes the turbo to keep building boost, it doesn't release the pressure when it's supposed to. If you want a good exhaust at a decent price try ebay, look for OBX, that's what I have, it's a 3" DP and a 2.5" catless exhaust, it will let your car breathe much better. They are only about 350-400 plus like 80 bucks for shipping, but they fit like a glove and sound great, would recommend it if your looking for an exhaust. Tunes are pretty pricey, IPD has them, viva performance, and some other places, but they're all about 700 dollars, I would go with an exhaust, K&N box filter, and a boost gauge/MBC. That will get you a decent setup up for pretty reasonable, and you notice great improvements on your cars performance.

BUT DO STAGE ZERO FIRST. full tune up.. new plugs, plug wires, cap/rotor, check all the hoses. once you start adding more boost and performance to your car you add more strain on the hoses, more expansion/compression, hence the recommended silicone hoses.

 

1. I would tell him to put the wastegate back to where it was OEM.

2. It depends on what company you go with for an ECU upgrade. IPD USA, RICA, BSR PPC are the three best and most researched and developed ECU tuning companies out there for Volvo. $600+, but well worth the money.

The less developed and researched are Inmotion, SpeedTuning USA and Upsolute. Around $325-$424. These work, but usually make your car run some what RICH which isn't good.

I have the SpeedTuning USA only because it was through a group buy and it was CHEAP. I'd go for IPD or RICA if I could spend the money.

3. I personally would have a local shop that can mandrel bend make you a turboback exhaust system. 3" mandrel bent downpipe to a 3" mandrel bent catback system with a Hi-flow CAT and a free flowing straight through design muffler such as BORLA or MAGNAFLOW.

If you don't want to go that route and what to buy prefabbed stuff...

- EuroSportTuning (EST) sells both a Downpipe and a Catback system
http://www.eurosporttuning.ca/mm5/me...Code=VL-S70-en
It says 1999-2004, call I believe it should say 1998 because the other two say AWD and your car is FWD.
http://www.eurosporttuning.ca/mm5/me...Code=VL-S70-en

- IPD USA (IPD) used to sell downpipes and catback systems. I don't see them listed anymore on their site. Call to ask.

- Viva Performance (VP) sells the downpipes and catback systems as well. But it looks like all their downpipes are out of stock. As well as the catback systems. E-mail them to see if they can get any in stock.
http://www.vivaperformance.com/catal...roducts_id=414
http://www.vivaperformance.com/catal...roducts_id=415

Also EBAY has an OBX system that some people have tried and liked and it is cheaper then a lot of the other prefabbed stuff out there.

 

yeah he replaced all the plugs and everything. He has been working on these cars for about 10 years and his boss about 20 to 30 years. His boss has had the wastegate closed for about 3 years and it has 185k boosting 22 psi with an upgraded exhaust on his t5. He told me he took the vaccum hose off and closed the wastegate but siliconed all the other hoses and it runs real well, everything shifts normal and doesn't sound like the engine is knocking, I'm sure he knows what he is listening to and is not gonna just do something randomly because his boss owns a well known shop that just specializes in volvo's in North Jersey and has taught him everything he knows. Should I get the car and see how it runs for a week or so, and then open the wastegate if need be? If it runs like a charm I don't see the fault in spending $3300 for a nice s70 t5 with all of the maintenance done that would cost me about $4000 if I went to a mechanic or volvo specialist to go to. Any other input is appreciated. Thanx guys.

 

the obx looks nice. S70 driver you think I should have a shop custom build me one?

 

Test drive the car, no harm in that. But I would have them put the WASTEGATE back to where it was OEM and whatever they did else to boost the PSI put it back to stock. If you want to buy it.

Yeah your going to like the added boost trust me, but the way your telling us about this car I wouldn't buy it because they are both running way too high of pressure on these cars with the supporting mods they say they are running. Sorry just seems fishy to me.

Yes any exhaust shop that can mandrel bend should be able to make you a full 3" mandrel bent turboback exhaust system for your car. If they say they can't or they wont, then go find another place to do it. But make sure they can MANDREL bend pipe. Also depending where your located you might want to use SS piping.

 

I hear you, he told me thats all he did was close the wastegate and take the vaccum hose off? and its boosting close to 20 from the feel of it. Yeah I understand the extra boost would be nice but I do not want to hurt the engine. He told me he'll show me how to put it back and it takes all of 20 seconds.

 

Yeah I am in Southern New York, I know a guy in Stamford that has been working on volvo's for over 30 years that does strictly volvo, bmws, audis, and mercedes. He's done all the work on my parents cars, my dad said he can do an exhaust for me. The guy that's selling me the car sounds confident it will run to 200k like this way it is without problems. What are your opinions, because there is no reason to waste 3300 on a car, but if it test drives fine, I say why not get it.

There is another 98 s70 t5 by me for 3600 but no maintenance was done on it, such as timing belt and water pump, so not as well kept as the one in North Jersey.

 

Let him show you, but tell him to do it. He is the mech and the one your buying the car from. If you want to buy it from him he should do the work before you buy it. Just seems very very fishy to me.

 

Yeah so if he shows me how to put the wastegate back open and the vaccum hose back on, and it runs flawless, do you think its a good find?