I drive a 98 S70 base...I wanted to get the T5 but my parents weren't willing to pay an extra $300 for it, I know its around 60HP faster and I wanted to know if it's a complete different engine and is there any way of boosting my engine to the same of a T5..maybe with an Air Intake kit?

 

To get near the same amount of horsepower as a T5, you'd need a turbocharger and an ECU upgrade. As for completely different engines...the main differences in S70 engines is whether or not you have a turbo, and even then, a low pressure or high pressure turbo. If you find a Chilton's manual, you'll see that there are a couple different engine models and you just have to look around the inside of the engine compartment to find out what which one you have.

 

The T5 has a 2.3 liter high pressure turbocharged I5 engine. The base non-turbo and the low-pressure turbo have a 2.4 liter I5 engine. Don't waste your money on a cold air intake for a non-turbo car as you will see no difference in performance. The only way to get the power of a T5 is to buy one or replace the engine in your base model car (and you're better off just buying a T5 if you can find one).

 

man, should have bought the T5 for sure

 

I agree. The T5 is just a beautifully designed car. I could have gotten the base model or the GLT, but I had my mind made up that I wanted the T5. Is it just me, or are they almost impossible to find?

I got mine with 94000 miles on it, which I'm told is a great mileage for a car like that. My friend and neighbor has the base model and the one of the biggest differences I feel is when merging into the freeway, the T5 just takes off and gets to 60 in like 5 seconds or something like that, making in great for those kinds of situations. I believe the Base comes with 168 HP, while the T5 comes with 236 HP. 300 dollars seems like a small price to pay for it. I'm not sure how much it would cost to upgrade, but if its too much, you may as well consider looking for the actual T5. Despite all that, the S70s in general are fun cars to drive.

 

My mom has an '03 Honda Pilot with 2?? hp, my GLT has 190 hp...my car is off like a shot and my mom's Pilot is a slug.

 

The T5 was the top of the line S70 during its model run. There was far more than a $300 difference in price between the T5 and a base non-turbo car so I'm not sure what mean by your comment. The T5 (particularly the 5-speed stick) is far more rare that a base model or a GLT and finding a 9-11 year old car in good shape is also a challenge.

 

You're absolutely right, I agree with you on every point. I just assumed the car described was used and the difference between the two models was $300. Brand new back in the day, yes, the cars were much more far apart in terms of dollars. I think the base ran somewhere around 32k and the T5 ran roughly around 40k.

 

I'm thoroughly satisfied with my GLT b/c it has all the options except for heated seats, which isn't that big of a deal anyway, but I'd love to get a T5 just for the extra hp. If I get an S60 to replace my S70 when I can no longer maintain it, I'll probably get the T5 or the 2.5T. R is way out of my price range. I wish that they sold the S70 R here in the U.S. and not only in the UK.

 

Actually I paid under $34K new for one of my 98 T5s. The base model could be had for mid-$20Ks. If you can find a T5 in decent condition with reasonable miles it will also be much more than $300 more than an equivalent base model.