quirks you have either read of or done to your volvo in order to get as much omph from your
volvo as possible... or any other crazy ideas you might wonder about.
Engine (i wonder what a WRX engine would do for a volvo...hehe)
- Generally speaking: Bigger engine means more power, and the easiest engine swap I know
of to date is the B230, If you can bore it out... go for it (I think I read of a guy bore one out to
2.5L, not sure).
- Seeming this is where most of the weight of the car is, lightening whatever you can will
improve most performance aspects. the b19e is mostly cast iron, so swapping over to a lighter
alloy (T6 grade Aluminium) could cut the weight of the engine by as much as half.
- If it moves and its part of the engine, Get it balanced, aside from the better power it brings
and the higher redline, it reduces engine wear, meaning longer engine life and less dmg done if
you give it a flogging.
- Porting and polishing the intake and exhaust
- Spark Plugs, Iridium core and multiple earths(electrodes) if you can get em, cleaner burning
fuel and more reliable... i had some Bosch Super-4's in mine... they not cheap
- Pistons, well you can go either forged pistons or hypereutectic pistons... from what i've read
i'll be choosing the latter path, mainly for engine wear and unlike forged pistons, they dont
grow. Also if you can find the gapless piston rings that fit then do so, Less power waste, less oil
burning.
- Turbos, They are good, but can be problematic if old or you crank the boost up too much,
the ball bearing ones are more reliable though
Intake
- Air Filter, Oil based foam for quality filter, Pod style can help
- Air box, havent done much with this yet, Let me know if you have, but this is what i think one
of the most restrictive parts of the intake system.
- Piping, silicone piping is not as heat conductive, but keep it away from the hot areas just the
same.
- Intercooler, dont bother unless its turbo'd, if so, get an aluminum bar and plate one with duel
cores.
Exhaust
- Scavenging system, If you want to hear a most wicked burble that turns heads from up to 1/2
a k away, take the plastic piping off and break the valve... if you want power and to pass
rego, leave it as is or plug it up.
- Manifold, extractors wont do as much, as the manifold is of good design, but it'd still do
something for the powerband.
- Mufflers/Piping, never touched mine, but it was'nt stock. Nowadays they have titanium
Alloys, but mandrel bent steel is still good for most ppl budget. If you want a big tip, paint it
black, it wont look as much of a police/theif magnet then.
Crazy Add ons
- Water injection, it cleans the engine internals and cools the air down from vaporizing,
reduces chance of detonation/preignition... a good thing.
- If your not running a massivly powerful sound system, an undergeared pulley system adds
more power to the wheels than the cars electrical system, otherwise just lighten it up as much
as possible.
- Nitrous, if it could be bled into the engine gently rather than jammed into it, you could still get
a good kick but without risking killing the engine... oh make sure its disconnected if the police
pull you over
- Carbon Fiber Driveshaft, lighter, more powerful, and if it breaks, well its not going to shred the
floor of the car, rather wipe the dust off the bottom
Feel free to add to this and/or elaborate upon it, what crazy do up's have you thought
about?
