So I'm 16, interested in having a car that's fun to drive, and I'm slated to be driving my mom's '98 s70 GLT for the next 3-5 years. I don't mean to offend anyone, but I'm not the greatest Volvo enthusiast. If I could afford to buy a car in the $5000 range I'd have a Saab 9000 Aero or if I had more money a 9-3 Viggen. I'm trying to think of ways to improve overall performance on the Volvo. I really hate the four speed auto transmission, but it's something I'm going to have to deal with. Aside from that, I'm looking to make the car as much like a T-5 as I can without spending over, say, $2500. I have a lot of specific questions and if you have any kind of basic information about any of them I'd really appreciate your response. Here are the upgrades I've been considering:

- Swap the light pressure turbo (which really provides no noticeable "boost") with the higher-output turbo from a T-5. I'd like to know what ballpark the cost of parts for this would be, and what other parts I'd need to go along with it. Also, depending on whether it seems like I can do it myself, a general idea of the labor cost to do it would be nice too. It would be great to hear from somebody who has actually performed this swap.

- Sway bars. Maybe it's because the car's 10 years old and has 126k miles on it. Whatever the reason, the amount of body roll I get when taking reasonable corners at reasonable speeds is just ridiculous. Other than getting sway bars, what else could I do for under or around $1000 that would greatly improve the feel of the car and this handling aspect?

- 17" rims. I'd keep the 15s for snow tires (by the way I'm not lowering the suspension or anything like that... it has to be a ski car in the winter), and hopefully the 17s would help to aid handling and a give more precise feel. I'm kind of lost in the world of rims with there being so much to pick from, and it'd be good to hear from someone who has 17s that they like. I'm not looking for an outrageously unique look like bright chrome or anything along those lines, just something that looks decent and performs well.

Those are the three main upgrades I'd like to get done in the next year or so. I can spend absolutely no more than $3000 and I'd prefer to keep the cost well below that. Which things would you do first and how could I save money doing them? Do you have other suggestions for increasing performance on a fairly low budget?

Thanks.

 

Well you could get a MBC and a Boost gauge for under $100, instead of getting a 16T which will cost you $600 new. Then put in Koni sports or Koni fsd's and anti sway bars. Note that 17" rims will lower your car not raise it. At that point I would put in an air intake system and possible and ECU flash.

 

If you want it more like a T5, spend your money on engine parts.

1. Intake, create your own or buy an IPD USA or EST short ram system.

2. 3" mandrel bent downpipe and 3" mandrel bent catback system. Buy prefabbed or have a local muffler shop that can mandrel bend make it for you. Might be cheaper then getting a prefabbed system.

3. ECU upgrade, IPD USA, RICA, BSR best three tuners on the market for Volvo's. Or you could go with some smaller tuners like Upsolute, SpeedTuning USA or Inmotion. Cheaper and are not as well developed as the first three.

4. Create an FMIC system, can be done for under $600 easily.

You should see some nice gains from these mods. Now take it your $2500 may not cover it so you might want to up your budget if you can. Having a Volvo isn't cheap. Expect to dish out the cash to make the power.

Now you could up to a 16T turbo which is the HPT turbo however your not going to make more boost with it just by installing it. It will run the same boost your LPT turbo is right now. Only benefit is it will run it more efficently then your LPT turbo does right now. It will also run higher boost pressures more efficently then your LPT turbo does right now. New your looking at $600+ for a 16T turbo. You could try to locate one used.

But with the above 1-4 you will see nice gains that is a given.