Good morning,

I currently drive my dad's Volvo T5 V50 Station Wagon. While it's a great car, it gets poor milage. Is there a way, without spending a fortune, to physically modify this car to get significantly better milage?


Thanks, and a have a great day,

Sam

 

Hey sam, I am thinking like all things auto, changing a few things has a better cumulative effect on the mileage than any one thing alone. You can start with the engine, which you can redo the air intake system with metal mandrel bent tubing after the turbo and a cold air intake with a larger filter before the turbo. After that you can get some performance headers which will increase spool speed and then a higher flowing exhaust. Using a lower weight oil, while not recommended, has definite and proven performance advantages.

For the body you can pick lightweight wheels and the low rolling friction tires. If you want to really get into it, you can swap out the driveshafts for lightweight versions. You can also drop the body with a lower suspension kit to reduce efficiency lost through wind resistance.