I have been looking for a long time to upgrade my car with:
> engine chip/software tunning
> bigger wheels
> better exhaust
> sport filter
> etc.

Aside from the fact that I'm not sure how much I want to get into this while the car is still under warranty I haven't found much information on how valuable these upgrades are.

I understand that a lot of wheel based upgrades (tires, brakes, suspensions, etc...) will help car sporting stability I still don't understand as much engine based upgrades.

For example does anyone know how engine tuning improves 0to60 timing performance?
My engine can deliver 218HP but what do you gain if you add 10hp (intake or exhaust upgrade)? What do you gain if you add 30HP (chip)? What do you gain if you upgrade all?

I suspect my car to do 0 to 60 in 7.1 sec if I push it hard. I don't think I've ever pushed it that hard to make that time. For that reason the benefit of upgrading will feel lesser on a daily basis.
So if after $2000 to $4000 of upgrade I gain let say 3/10 of a second (from 7.1 to 6.8sec) on 0to60 miles/hr time some how it doesn't quite feel worth it. I might as well wait for my next car purchase. At home my wife and I own two cars so I'm planning on buying a new car every 5years (10 years ownership on each car).

Doesn't anyone can bring light to my questions?
As anyone done some of these upgrades and felt a significant difference?
Thanks

Greg :grin:

Well there is no need to spend that kind of money to get that performance. You can get it for way less. The great thing about a chi, intake and exaut are that they will save you money on gas. Also the jump is about a second not 3/10.

for the turbos, a good exhaust and intake will net the cheapest, easiest gains that will also save on gas. chipping will net more power but usually at the cost of gas and a move to premium. Bigger wheels will primarily improve cornering, not a whole lot in the speed area, but they also can look better.

id go for good exhaust first, then intake.

I have the BSR Stage 1 upgrade. I don't know exact numbers, but it is definitely more powerful, and a lot more fun to drive!

I also have 18 in rims which made a difference in handling. Part of it was getting rid of the crappy Michelin tires that came with the car, but also losing 2 inches of side wall made a difference. The ride is a little bit rougher now, but it isn't obnoxiously rough. If you live somewhere where the roads are really bad though, you may want to consider keeping your current rims and just upgrade your tires.

Thanks guys for your responses. :57:

I like what harmavoidance0 said about the exhaust before intake. I never thought of it that way. Its interesting, in a way you almost need to improve both to get good results. After all you can only pull out what is allowed to get in or it's just plain magic. The question is what can be squeezed hard and perhaps it is easier to pull the air in than it is to get the gases out.

However I have seen somewhere that you get more improvement for your money with a software tuning upgrade but some of you seem to think otherwise. I also thought that software tuning help with gas saving. Any thoughts?

I have Michelin tires too and they are rated very well in most places for all season performance tires but I can't tell you how many times they slipped when pulling hard from start. Kind of embarrassing. They do seem to hold ware very well but than again that is may be why they slip on start especially when it is a bit wet on the ground. They are fin in the winter though.

And yes before I forgot the roads are terrible here in western PA (USA). I whish I could get 18 inches wheels but I'm afraid I'll regret it. I just have 16 right now and for a while I thought of getting some 18" with summer tires and keep my 16" for the winter.

Greg

You will get better gas mileage with a software upgrade, provided that your driving habits stay exactly the same as they are now. I've noticed that my MPGs dropped about 1-2 miles per gallon after I loaded the BSR stage 1 because I'm a little (ok sometimes quite a bit) harder on the throttle. IMO, an ECU tune is kind of pricy, but it is the best bang-for-the-buck power wise.



When I first got my car, one of the very first things that I noticed is that the Michelin tires that came on it are crap! It only had them for about 2000 miles and then I ditched them. Even if you stick with 16s, you won't be disappointed if you upgrade to good all season tires.

You can do the exhaust first and the intake 2nd. This is not too much money (K&N have two filters for s40's) and you get 10 ~ 20 more HP and about a second gain in 1-100.

The software / chip upgrade give you about 30 ~ 50 but if you go to the dealer for a software upgrade or repair, the Volvo software will overwrite your upgrade and you will need to go to the chip upgrade dealer and do the work again!!

And I don't know what is the "BSR Stage 1 upgrade"... can please someone clarify?

My friend have a bmw 335i, is a twin turbo, 0-100 in 5.5 seconds! but is veryyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy expensive if you put all the luxury I have on the volvo (i have the elegance version with sourround and subwofer, bixenons, seats with memories, etc). If he put all this in the bmw, the cost rise to 80,000 usd (more than twice the volvo price).

Good luck.
Alex

First thing, the chip upgrade will NOT get erased. the chip is the chip. if you get a flash upgrade, THAT will get erased. The difference being about several hundred dollars in upgrades. Go to a reputable shop, you will get a correct chip placed in your ecu. if you get a flash through a computer connection, it only works up untll you access the info again. About the exhaust, you have to understand that if your car can't breathe or exhale, it won't make any power. Start off with exhaust and work your way up. no sense in going for the expensive stuff first, since you have to do the exhaust and intake anyway with a chip upgrade. finally, the Michellins that are on both of my 850 R's are fantastic in the wet. with the suspension done on both of them, the tires hug the road better than stock. Admittedly, the second R had Vrdesteins on them when I bought it and I thought they were better tires, but they cost A HELL OF A LOT MORE. Dig? Later and good luck.

It is a flash tune. The thing that I like best about it is that you get the programmer included in the cost. This way you can tune it back to stock before you take your car in for service, and the dealer can do all of their updates without messing with your tune. If something that the dealer loads isn’t compatible with your tune, you can use the programmer to read your cars settings, upload the file to BSR, and they will make you a new tune to download. I have had to do that twice, and both times it took less than 24 hours to make me a new file.

where could i find a good '05 s40 t5 exhaust upgrade for a good price? (website or stores in Socal)