V70: Stainless steel exhausts and CATs

[El Padrino]

Hi,

A few questions regarding stainless steel exhausts and CATs, in particular for a 98 V70R. I'm not looking to tune or remap the engine. I want a nice rumble (but not too loud) to enhance the sound of the inline 5 engine at idle and acceleration and an exhaust that will last (as she'll be a keeper).

1. Is it possible to have a turbo back exhaust, but with the original Volvo CAT in place?

2. If it's not possible to keep the original Volvo CAT with a turbo back exhaust system and it needs a 200 cell sports CAT, would the ECU need reprogramming on the car, so the it passes the emissions test come MOT time?

3. If a full turbo back exhaust with a 200 cell sports CAT say produced an extra 10BHP, that would supposedly take my BHP to 250BHP. With my car being an auto 98 V70R (which only produces 240BHP), would it be detrimental to the gearbox?

Many thanks.

[Shinsplintz 101]

In response:

1. Not really, no. You can leave the original down pipe and cat bolted to the turbo and change the rear half of the exhaust system to SS , there's a clamped Union in the middle.of the car that allows for this. Chopping out you original CAT and grafting it into a full SS exhaust system is possible, but most come with 200 or 100 cel CAT anyway, so why bother?

2. No, ECU won't poo itself with an uprated exhaust. The only reason you'd fail an MOT with a 200 cell CAT is (a) it's a cheap Chinesium CAT with no rare earth metals in to clean up the gasses (b) your car is in a poor state of tune and is running rich, stage zero required.

3. The gearboxes are rock solid to about 300bhp. Auto and manual. Would be worth investing in an uprated clutch if your is a manual or an external oil cooler for the box if an auto if your worried about longevity. Neither are expensive and well worth doing as part of proactive maintenance.

Personally, and I've been in your position, buy yourself a nice quality cat back 2.5" SS exhaust and give it a go. I've always found Ferrita good, but there are plenty of others available.

Good luck and have fun. These cars modify easily on the original ECU and OEM mechanicals upto abut 280 bhp ish, then more thought is required.

Cheers, Morgan

[Luxobarge]

As above. However, note that while your autobox will take the kind of increases you are talking about with no problem (although I'd recommend a thorough flush, and if you can run to it a magnatec thingy) do bear in mind that the 5-speed box is a good deal weaker than the 4 speed, so if you decide to further upgrade power in the future you might be wise to not go too far if you have a 5-speed box. Not sure which it would be on your year, you can tell by the gear selector options.

[El Padrino]

Originally Posted by Shinsplintz 101

In response:

1. Not really, no. You can leave the original down pipe and cat bolted to the turbo and change the rear half of the exhaust system to SS , there's a clamped Union in the middle.of the car that allows for this. Chopping out you original CAT and grafting it into a full SS exhaust system is possible, but most come with 200 or 100 cel CAT anyway, so why bother?

2. No, ECU won't poo itself with an uprated exhaust. The only reason you'd fail an MOT with a 200 cell CAT is (a) it's a cheap Chinesium CAT with no rare earth metals in to clean up the gasses (b) your car is in a poor state of tune and is running rich, stage zero required.

3. The gearboxes are rock solid to about 300bhp. Auto and manual. Would be worth investing in an uprated clutch if your is a manual or an external oil cooler for the box if an auto if your worried about longevity. Neither are expensive and well worth doing as part of proactive maintenance.

Personally, and I've been in your position, buy yourself a nice quality cat back 2.5" SS exhaust and give it a go. I've always found Ferrita good, but there are plenty of others available.

Good luck and have fun. These cars modify easily on the original ECU and OEM mechanicals upto abut 280 bhp ish, then more thought is required.

Cheers, Morgan

Shinsplintz,

Thanks for clarifying those points. As I don't intend to retune the engine, I can't see any point in a full turbo back exhaust. I think a CAT back will suit me fine and keep costs down. I've heard the Ferrita's are good, but will give a few custom exhaust builders a call for quotes too.

[El Padrino]

Originally Posted by Luxobarge

As above. However, note that while your autobox will take the kind of increases you are talking about with no problem (although I'd recommend a thorough flush, and if you can run to it a magnatec thingy) do bear in mind that the 5-speed box is a good deal weaker than the 4 speed, so if you decide to further upgrade power in the future you might be wise to not go too far if you have a 5-speed box. Not sure which it would be on your year, you can tell by the gear selector options.

Thanks Luxobarge. Good to hear the auto boxes are solid. Mine is the 4-speed auto. Regards to flushing the auto box, I was going to ask on a separate thread how often should the auto box be flushed on a car with over 216K. I don't do a lot of mileage these days (maybe a max of two 50 mile round trips, but not every week), but do want to ensure the auto box is kept in good shape.

[britten_mark]

Reading this thread with interest as the original Volvo Cat on my 850 T5 was stolen a few years back and the PO junked the whole lot and fitted a cheapy from Ebay.

The Lambda light seems to be a permanent feature, not sure how it has got through the last few MOTs like that?

Anyhow I plan to replace with a new stainless system, but searching through Ebay I notice a few "Cat delete" options......can the 850 really get through the MOT without a Cat? Even 200 cell options would make me nervous at the annual test.

[Shinsplintz 101]

You won't get through an mot without a CAT. Unless it's a very "friendly " mot tester. Brown envelope with a deposit the MOT testers retirement fund required....

[britten_mark]

Originally Posted by Shinsplintz 101

You won't get through an mot without a CAT. Unless it's a very "friendly " mot tester. Brown envelope with a deposit the MOT testers retirement fund required....

Is a quality 200 CEL sufficient? I dont know much aboout Cats but that "200" seems to be the figure quoted on all adverts/threads about performance stuff. Are more robust ones available in stainless aftermarket? I'm more concerned with peace of mind, silence and longevity than performance.

[Luxobarge]

Not sure why you'd want to go to the additional work, aggro and expense of a full system, why not retain the original Volvo CAT (which is very good quality and long lasting) and just go for a new cat-back system? Or am I missing something?

[britten_mark]

Originally Posted by Luxobarge

Not sure why you'd want to go to the additional work, aggro and expense of a full system, why not retain the original Volvo CAT (which is very good quality and long lasting) and just go for a new cat-back system? Or am I missing something?

Yes as mentioned above Cat was stolen 2 years ago and the previous owner junked whole exhaust system. Now running an Ebay cheapy exhaust with a Lambda lighton and an MOT advsory last inspection for minor leak of exhaust gases in middle so I'm guessing a new whole exhaust, complete with Cat, is on the horizon.