850 T5 newbie

[Marko]

Evening all,

just recently got myself a nice 850 T5 se saloon , in dark blue....virtually bog standard with the exception of an open filter and an unknown exhaust.

i know virtually nothing about these cars apart from that they are big comfortable cruisers with a decent turn of speed. im very impressed with the T5 overall, although slightly disapointed with the performance compaired to my celica gt4.

what upgrades are there available for the T5? and how easy are they to tweak? Im not interested in going silly with it just a bit more ooomph would be nice around the mid range..

mark

[Jod T5]

Originally Posted by Marko

Evening all,

just recently got myself a nice 850 T5 se saloon , in dark blue....virtually bog standard with the exception of an open filter and an unknown exhaust.

i know virtually nothing about these cars apart from that they are big comfortable cruisers with a decent turn of speed. im very impressed with the T5 overall, although slightly disapointed with the performance compaired to my celica gt4.

what upgrades are there available for the T5? and how easy are they to tweak? Im not interested in going silly with it just a bit more ooomph would be nice around the mid range..

mark

Moved to the 850 Forum...
OP, Please complete your signature thru the User CP tab
Cheers
Jod

[st5ve]

Originally Posted by Marko

Evening all,

just recently got myself a nice 850 T5 se saloon , in dark blue....virtually bog standard with the exception of an open filter and an unknown exhaust.

i know virtually nothing about these cars apart from that they are big comfortable cruisers with a decent turn of speed. im very impressed with the T5 overall, although slightly disapointed with the performance compaired to my celica gt4.

what upgrades are there available for the T5? and how easy are they to tweak? Im not interested in going silly with it just a bit more ooomph would be nice around the mid range..

mark

There are loads of mods/upgrades for these cars depends on how far you want to go.

Remap or Chip cost around £300
MBC very cheap way of getting more power
Strut brace is a cheap upgrade

[Nightmare1971]

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH, I'm looking to buy a GT4......

Sorry for going off topic.....

Andy..

[ovlov25]

Originally Posted by Marko

Evening all,

just recently got myself a nice 850 T5 se saloon , in dark blue....virtually bog standard with the exception of an open filter and an unknown exhaust.

i know virtually nothing about these cars apart from that they are big comfortable cruisers with a decent turn of speed. im very impressed with the T5 overall, although slightly disapointed with the performance compaired to my celica gt4.

what upgrades are there available for the T5? and how easy are they to tweak? Im not interested in going silly with it just a bit more ooomph would be nice around the mid range..

mark

My advice would be ignore the engine for now and get your suspension and brakes into shape. These cars are old and speaking from experience they benefit from new suspension bushes. I did mine and followed that with decent Koni and Eibach dampers and springs, now I know the car will handle and I can push on a bit harder. Also well worth the money is the OE Volvo strut brace and a poly top mount.

T5 brakes are pants. There is plenty of info on here on the larger 302mm disc upgrade, match that with some decent pads and you are half way there. Some guys do Porsche brake upgrades but thats big £££

Once thats done then look at a remap. Rica and MTE both do decent setups. Do a forum search on these. Personally I'd think a remap is wasted money if your suspension is shot.

Certainly the Gt4 is a decent car (in st205 trim) Looks sleek, handles well and is pretty punchy. On the flipside though a T5 is more versatile, more discreet. Sure they can get 'interesting' when you really push them on through the twistys but that big 5cyl, even in standard tune not much modern stuff will embarass you. Oh, a Gt4 wouldn't be able to pull a transporter carrying a trackday special either

[st5ve]

Originally Posted by ovlov25

My advice would be ignore the engine for now and get your suspension and brakes into shape. These cars are old and speaking from experience they benefit from new suspension bushes. I did mine and followed that with decent Koni and Eibach dampers and springs, now I know the car will handle and I can push on a bit harder. Also well worth the money is the OE Volvo strut brace and a poly top mount.

T5 brakes are pants. There is plenty of info on here on the larger 302mm disc upgrade, match that with some decent pads and you are half way there. Some guys do Porsche brake upgrades but thats big £££

Once thats done then look at a remap. Rica and MTE both do decent setups. Do a forum search on these. Personally I'd think a remap is wasted money if your suspension is shot.

Certainly the Gt4 is a decent car (in st205 trim) Looks sleek, handles well and is pretty punchy. On the flipside though a T5 is more versatile, more discreet. Sure they can get 'interesting' when you really push them on through the twistys but that big 5cyl, even in standard tune not much modern stuff will embarass you. Oh, a Gt4 wouldn't be able to pull a transporter carrying a trackday special either

Good advice there, my assumption was that all handling and brakes would have been done. When looking to add performance to a car always start with brakes and suspension. Keep us posted on the upgrades you decide to do

[Marko]

cheers for the replies folks,

im not wanting to go to mad with the T5 just some nice punchy midrange id be happy with 300hp and shed loads of toque all through the rev range.

the suspension is in top shape the previous owner has just replaced all the bushes a month before i purchased the car. i cant really complain about the brakes either, then again i havent really pushed it.

the reason i bought the T5 is because im going mad with the gt4 so its no longer usable as a daily driver..as a daily driver the T5 wins hands down and i like the sleeper appeal

[Jod T5]

Originally Posted by Marko

cheers for the replies folks,

im not wanting to go to mad with the T5 just some nice punchy midrange id be happy with 300hp and shed loads of toque all through the rev range.

the suspension is in top shape the previous owner has just replaced all the bushes a month before i purchased the car. i cant really complain about the brakes either, then again i havent really pushed it.

the reason i bought the T5 is because im going mad with the gt4 so its no longer usable as a daily driver..as a daily driver the T5 wins hands down and i like the sleeper appeal

Hi Marko,

300 bhp is going to cost you alot of wonga, TBH, you will need a custom remap and a new exhaust system at the very least to get to that mark...However with a MTE/Rica remap or chip, you can expect using the existing exhaust to get a credible 260 BHP or so, depending on the dyno.
I would recommend that you come along to a meet in your area to sample some cars with remaps for yourself. You can then decided if the additional umph is worth the wonga. (It is!!)
Another cheap way to gain torque is tho install a MBC (manual boost controller) which will elliminate the factory bleed valve, thus delaying the opening of the wastegate..This is a popular method of power increase but is not without its issues. It will be important to ensure your Air/Flow ratio is correct so it may be necessary to employ a AFR meter and a adjustable fuel pressure regulator...These are not expensive items but will push the price up towards a remap. A cockpit boost gauge is always recomended with DIY power...
It is also important to make sure your car is in tip-top condition before you try to get extra power. I would make sure a Stage 0 tune up is carried out http://www.volvoforumsrepairs.org.uk...irs/stage0.htm and that the fuel pressure is checked to be correct (around 3 bar)...
Provided the AFR is true the engines themselves are great for well over 300 horses IMO, the auto boxes are a weak link but this can be helped greatly with additional cooling.....
Cheers
Jod
http://www.volvoforums.org.uk/announ....php?f=16&a=40

[Marko]

great info jod cheers.

im not fussed about how much things cost id rather have it done right than destroythings by trial and error.

im very familiar with turbocharged cars and i totaly understand the wastegate operation, but obviously need to know the limits of the turbo and the engine...( iv blown 2 celica engines up by running it too lean dnt want to do the same again lol) what is the standard psi of a T5 and what is considered safe pressure? is there a fuel cut or boost cut and at what levels do these occur

at the end of the day im not after numbers just the drivability with as much flexability as possible.

i appologise for all the questions as you'l have had them all before,

[bigV]

Originally Posted by Marko

great info jod cheers.

im not fussed about how much things cost id rather have it done right than destroythings by trial and error.

im very familiar with turbocharged cars and i totaly understand the wastegate operation, but obviously need to know the limits of the turbo and the engine...( iv blown 2 celica engines up by running it too lean dnt want to do the same again lol) what is the standard psi of a T5 and what is considered safe pressure? is there a fuel cut or boost cut and at what levels do these occur

at the end of the day im not after numbers just the drivability with as much flexability as possible.

i appologise for all the questions as you'l have had them all before,

Everyone on here will tell you that the standard boost on a T5 is 10psi, however in my experience it peaks at 10psi and only actually holds about 8psi.

There is a fuel/boost/air cut (whatever you want to call it), basically when the car detects too much air flow through the sensors it cuts the ignition to protect things.................. Again in my experience this usually happens around 13psi, butt as you will be aware cold weather = more dense air and a chance that the fuel cut will be triggered at lower PSI and part throttle openings.

I had both my 850s fitted with an MBC, running about 13.5psi, what I can say is it greatly reduced turbo lag and mid-range performance was amazing, very few cars stood any chance in a race at a trackday from 40mph+, but although I did many miles with the manual boost controller fitted, I was always half waiting for the engine to go bang (paranoid maybe) due to running lean - As it was obvious the ECU was pulling back the timing at times as the boost would die off and obviously in cold weather the fuel/boost cut could be triggered with over aggressive use of the go-go pedal from low/mid range revs.

I just bought a newer much nicer T5 (A keeper!), and I intend to save up the £350 and get it chipped properly - Having it chipped or remaped by RICA/MTE/Superchips, etc etc, should provide the same performance as the MBC (although at 10x the price), whilst also adjusting the fueling and timing to match and also keeping the standard safety features working as they should.

This mod is also invisible to the naked eye, so no one but your insurance company has to know (you must tell them because they can detect it very easily with the correct tools), and you can always sell on the re-programmed ECU second hand when you sell the car on.