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96 940 Turbo Cam Upgrade

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Old Sep 19th, 2020, 11:27   #11
Thejdizzler
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Originally Posted by classicswede View Post
That is not really correct. Cams with turbos are far more complex than cams for NA to get working right and the smaller the turbo the more critical cam choice is.

Typically a turbo cam will want a wider LSA as you want less intake/exhaust overlap. On a NA engine the overlap allows the intake charge to flush out the last of the exhaust charge. Turbo engine tend not to be able to use the overlap. With a small turbo that is restrictive to flow too much overlap with cause problems charge contamination making the engine lumpy. To make things worse in this aspect long duration cams have the low rpm improved by running higher compression, in turbo engines the compression really needs to stay low

I have tried a lot of cams and turbo combinations. The 13c can not use anything more than a A cam without drastically suffering low and mid range power.
Even with something like a T3 or 19t cams like the VX/VX3 do not make good low or mid range power.


Thanks for the info. It makes total sense what you are saying. At the risk of opening Pandora’s box. Is it worth just upgrading the turbo or should the turbo swap be combined with bigger injectors, FPR and 3” MAF? Also I was thinking of getting a 3” exhaust put on. Should I do this before or after a turbo swap? I’ve heard the turbo connector is different on the different turbos?
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Old Sep 19th, 2020, 11:42   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Thejdizzler View Post
Thanks for the info. It makes total sense what you are saying. At the risk of opening Pandora’s box. Is it worth just upgrading the turbo or should the turbo swap be combined with bigger injectors, FPR and 3” MAF? Also I was thinking of getting a 3” exhaust put on. Should I do this before or after a turbo swap? I’ve heard the turbo connector is different on the different turbos?
What power are you aiming for?
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Old Sep 19th, 2020, 17:09   #13
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Good question. 250 would be nice in the short to medium term...
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Old Sep 19th, 2020, 17:44   #14
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I wouldn't bother changing cam for 250bhp. As Dai mentioned it won't make much difference. B23OFT with standard turbo and cam goes to nearly 200 when it had T+ added
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Old Sep 19th, 2020, 18:18   #15
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Turbo upgrade is the first step, if using a turbo with a flange not the same as original then it would make sense to also do the exhaust with it.

You can keep the boost down so as to keep injectors etc. Injectors are flow meter cam and intercooler would be next step along with chips to match what you are doing
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Old Sep 21st, 2020, 02:24   #16
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As with any car you are modifying, you start with the breathing mods...which kinda depend on your power goals.
250 bhp is fairly easy to achieve and a lot cheaper than chasing 300 plus bhp...
What most people do is fit a 15g turbo off an early T-5 which will have the right flange to mate to your stock downpipe. At this power level a 2.5" exhaust will probably give better results than a 3" exhaust, A 2.5" system is available off the shelf from a few vendors without the need for a custom 3" system although I think there are people that make an off the shelf 3" system.
Whatever you do with the exhaust the car will always benefit power wise from a decat but that will involve a 'friendly' MOT tester or swapping in the cat come MOT time....
This along with either a conical or performance panel filter should sort that side of things....
But....At around 250bhp the standard clutch and dual mass flywheel will not be able to cope so will need upgrading, there are cheap ( using other OE Volvo parts) or a bit more expensive with a TTV flywheel which will allow you to run a T5-R clutch which is probably the most popular and preferred option.
At this power level a camshaft upgrade is probably not necessary to achieve the power but never hurts, just depends on personal preference as to where you want your power band, Again you can use OE Volvo parts which can be bargains secondhand or the more expensive aftermarket options like IPD or KL Racing....hope this helps, feel free to PM me if you have any questions, i am defo not the oracle but have read enough to save you alot of time!
Whatever you do performance wise, you will definitely need handling/ braking upgrades too as they will soon start to show their incompetence as you upgrade the power!!

Last edited by deeman940; Sep 21st, 2020 at 02:27.
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Old Sep 21st, 2020, 16:16   #17
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Thanks Deeman, all this info is giving me a lot of food for thought. I was approaching things (probably wrongly) from the view that a new Cam might add a few horsepower and then an exhaust might add a few more, then I might upgrade the suspension and clutch and then a turbo last on the list. I guess a turbo upgrade is one thing that is going to make a much bigger difference than anything else initially, I’ve got a quote for a custom exhaust and I’ve been looking on google for a 15G turbo but no luck so far. I know it’s going to get real expensive real quick but it is fun
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Old Sep 24th, 2020, 00:06   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Thejdizzler View Post
Thanks Deeman, all this info is giving me a lot of food for thought. I was approaching things (probably wrongly) from the view that a new Cam might add a few horsepower and then an exhaust might add a few more, then I might upgrade the suspension and clutch and then a turbo last on the list. I guess a turbo upgrade is one thing that is going to make a much bigger difference than anything else initially, I’ve got a quote for a custom exhaust and I’ve been looking on google for a 15G turbo but no luck so far. I know it’s going to get real expensive real quick but it is fun
As you probably well know when it comes to making cars go faster, nothing is ever cheap!! A lot of 940 enthusiasts seem to have facilities/ are a lot handier with spanners than me...Therefore i have to try and structure when and where i modify things around the general wear and tear items which are expected with a car of this vintage...to try and save on labour costs!
15G turbo's turn up if you look regularly...they are not ten a penny but do turn up, alternatively try specialist Volvo breakers. Unfortunately when the prices of the cars go up it drags the parts up with it!
i decided to sort the chassis before I embarked on power mods as i feel this is the area that needs sorting first. i have been spoilt by having owned more exotic and technologically advanced machinery than the 940 and was perhaps expecting a bit much from it's slightly antiquated design but it actually does handle properly now with probably ALL the chassis mods you could throw at it short of fitting a 960 rear end with IRS...
The original R and D which went into the original 700 series was phenomenal and produced what is a fundamentally great base for a performance car, it;s just that you have go that slight bit further to achieve your goals than you normally would with a car which is performance orientated.....many parts are incredibly over engineered where they ned to be.
I don't think you will go wrong putting money into a 940...the values are not rising as fast as some other actual 'performance' cars but the love i get for mine tells me that a nice, well modified 940 will always get love and therefore value at resale.
Because of numbers made, spares are still fairly cheap but will soon be rising...
The 'sleeper' effect is priceless! No one expects to get beaten by a 940 estate in the traffic light grand prix!!

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Old Sep 24th, 2020, 00:24   #19
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When you look at RWD cars of the same era,,,for instance E36 M3, Nissan S14 200 SX/ Silvia. Toyota Chaser . R33 Skyline GT-T the values have gone stratospheric...it won't be long before that happens with 940's in my opinion...at the moment they are still pretty much a potential performance bargain.
i remember an article in PPC that kind of inspired me to begin with, from memory it more or less implied you could build a 300bhp 940 for a round 2k. I think values have risen significantly from the time the article was written but at the time it was barely realistic...
If you keep an eye out for bargain parts and spanner yourself it is probably still achievable! Although my major gripe with that article is that it ignored upgrading the stock brakes which they deemed sufficient!!
i can wholeheartedly confirm the stock brakes are not even up to 200 odd bhp!!! I would recommend a 302mm upgrade from a 960 at VERY minimum with some decent discs and pads!
As per usual it all depends on how fast you can afford to go v how fast you want to go!!

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Old Sep 24th, 2020, 02:20   #20
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A lot of interesting point there Damo, particularly the brakes. Yes, they should be upgraded but are more than capable of stopping up to 200bhp as standard if you have the 282 x 22mm vented front discs and standard rears - don't forget you don't want anything too good on the back because of weight transfer during braking, all the weight goes to the front so that's where you want the better braking.

The handling is a bit more subjective, a lot depends on exactly what you plan on using it for.
For normal daily driving, most 7/9xx are fine as they are, a bit wallowy if you get a bit "enthusiastic" but always predictable and safe, it's seriously hard to get the back end to break traction without being very brutal and even then it usually recovers itself quickly.
Uprating the springs would reduce the body roll or doubling up on anti roll bars would also reduce it while maintaining the ride comfort.

Lowering springs will drop the centre of gravity which is always useful to improve roadholding and handling. Uprated dampers will control lowered uprated springs better as well.

Something often forgotten when making the suspension stiffer is to stiffen the upholstery. This not only improves your comfort but helps to keep you seated when you're hoofing it round a corner - on the standard soft(ish) upholstery, stiffer suspension will have you bouncing up and down in your seat like Zebedee on a pogo stick on acid otherwise.

It's always a good idea to make it stop and handle better before improveing performance, that still gives you a quicker car without having touched the engine.

As you say, the sleeper effect is great. Both my beasts have that, the 760GLE because people think it's a "normal" 7/940 until it leaves them standing with a 90 degree V6 howl.
My other beast (827 Sterling) does similar but has a 24v 90 degree V6 howl and accelerates a fair bit quicker than the 760 although that is no slouch either.

The Rover is viewed, particularly by the younger generation as being a "gutless 2.0 granddad car", ditto the 760 and they get a hell of a shock when they find that both have a 2.7/2.8 V6 lurking under the bonnet and the twin tailpipes serve a real purpose!
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