uprated recirc valves ???

[t4 tony]

as above really, what are the benefits of fitting one ? apart from being a piston operated one or a diaphragm one ?

[DSK]

Firstly, if your OEM unit is fine, leave it and it can also handled remapped ECU's.

I bought a replacement diaphragm unit from IPD USA (at the time I could not get Volvo to quote me for a replacement), simply because when we did the actuator and turbo smoke test etc, due to labour costs, I thought should the OEM valve be faulty at least I will have a new unit to hand saving labour costs twice over.

My OEM Volvo upon removal after 144,000 mind bending miles was fully in tact, but, we put the IPD unit in simply as it would be new. This split within 2 weeks!

The Forge Motorsport unit is a quality bit of kit and with it being a piston design, this eliminates the possibilities of a split diaphragm associated with other recirculating valves.

The one thing to bear in mind is that all these non OEM Volvo items come with a slightly harder spring (thus requiring more boost pressure to make them function - which is my understanding). IPD supplies 2 uprated springs with theirs and Forge Motorsport offer 4 uprated springs, this is beneficial for those who tune their cars above and beyond a simple remap.

My findings based on my T5 for replacement valves are as follows;

OEM Units from ebay = approx £35

Volvo (FRF Volvo in our traders section) = approx £160#

IPD USA = mine worked out to be around £100+ after all shipping taxes were applied (had I known this I would not have bought it!)

Forge Motorsport - about £100-£130 depending on application

My opinion is, if your OEM unit isn't faulty, leave it alone! If you genuinely need a replacement then despite the cost, go for an OEM Volvo item or a Forge Motorsport Piston type unit.

[t4 tony]

i could get my hands on one you see and thought if it was a better bit of kit than the standard one i would get it ?

p.s. it's a forge one.

[DSK]

Originally Posted by t4 tony

i could get my hands on one you see and thought if it was a better bit of kit than the standard one i would get it ?

p.s. it's a forge one.

If its a Forge Motorsport one, I'd get it, sounds like you are getting one cheap from somewhere etc. Ideally get it if this is the case and just hang onto to it replacing it only when your car needs it.

[loopy]

the forge kit is good but i used a baileys one it louder

[t4 tony]

Originally Posted by loopy

the forge kit is good but i used a baileys one it louder

lol. not the dump valve, a recirc valve

[gmain1967]

Originally Posted by t4 tony

lol. not the dump valve, a recirc valve

Forge products do seem good. I have used them on a couple of Volvo's, and a couple of Subarus, and not had an issue.

And a big plus with them, is that there are "tuning kits" available for valves (recirc and vent to atmosphere varieties).

These include different rated springs, so that if you modify things and run higher boost, you don't end up with a valve that is no use. Simply change springs and/or shims, and tailor it to suit.