Good luck with the project!

Very interested in your dyno results - would be great if you could post them once done


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Never knew there were any alternatives for us except for Polestar and Heico. Good to know. Did you have Polestar installed in your Vehicle before going for the Race Chip? I would also love if you could share your Dyno results (if you plan to dyno it)! Good luck with the Car.

EDIT: After checking out their website, I'm surprised they do not provide Dyno results on their website. That would make their numbers so much more credible. It's difficult to digest that they are putting out almost 400 bhp from that tiny 2.0L.

https://www.racechip.us/shop/volvo/s90-ii-from-2016/2-0-t6-1969ccm-316hp-235kw-295lb-ft.html

 

I agree that the dyno would help. I did watch a lot of videos of other car's improvements. That's why I decided to take my chances with them. I haven't put Polestar in the car...yet, perhaps in a few months to see it shifting improves.

 

There's also Rica in the Netherlands: https://www.rica.nl/chiptuning.php?v=37-632-3230

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That's good to know. Sadly, they are located in the EU. Also, the stage 1 is currently in development (it seems) so they do not have any numbers for the tune!

 

I will definitively be posting the dyno results, no matter the results. To tell the truth, I'll be happy if real improvement is 50 engine HP, as Volvolic said, it is a lot to as from this tiny 2.0L engine. I'll be satisfied if CAI gives me 5-10 HP

 

Am I correct in assuming this would void my Volvo New Car Warranty?

Hi folks, I've been reading about the Polestar optimization and I've thought it is kind of sad it only provides a few extra HP and torque...although shifting and other things are also improved...while keeping factory warranty. Because of that...and because I most recently come from a BMW with lots of possibilities for performance upgrades...I decided to try Race Chip in my car. Now, their website only lists the chip for the S90 and XC90 T6 engine, but considering it is the same engine across these platforms I took my risks and ordered it anyway.

I installed this chip in my vehicle and the results are....GREAT! It is now a vehicle with more character...the one most people (including me) think it lacks! Installation is pretty simple, I was done within 20 minutes...once I located the connectors. Put it in the most aggressive map (in theory over 70HP!). I cannot confirm it is 70HP stronger, but my butt dyno says it is a very noticeable improvement. I'm planning on a real dyno test within a few weeks, so I'll post the updates.

I am also building my own cold air induction (CAI), and plan on testing it under the dyno as well to have prove (to me) whether it works or not, as CAIs are always motive for controversy where some people say they don't do anything and others (like me) say they do.

Shifting under full power and load gets even stranger now because it seems like it hits the RPM limiter in the first 4 gears! So, for now I am manually shifting around 6200 RPMs. I do wonder if now Polestar optimization will fix this...it might be more worth the cost now.

Before anyone suggests anything weird, I have no affiliation or receive any compensation from Race Chip...I am just an automobile enthusiast. In the past I've owned a Corvette, AMG E55, Chevy Impala (500 HP) and others...I just like improving my car's HP and efficiency (hard to believe the latter but it is true). I also just wanted to share the info because, from what I've read thus far, there are other enthusiasts like me in this board.

 

The CPO, extended warranty, maintenance agreement, wear agreement and anything else, but only if you tell them... [emoji6]

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but only if you tell them...

I think they'll know it the minute they plug in an OBD II reader.

 

I'm not sure how. This is a physical piggy back. If something were to happen, you unplug it (two plugs), take it off the car and there are no traces of it. It doesn't reprogram anything in your ECU so there are no dates for ECU to record or anything.

In about 20 years (and a few hundreds of thousands of miles) that I've been using chips and piggy backs nothing has ever broken in my cars directly related to them. I'm not naive though, I know that such performance enhancements will prematurely wear items in the car, but I am willing to take my chances and put the extra maintenance in them for the performance and extra fuel efficiency they provide. For example, I change my spark plugs every 20k miles, oil change around 5-8k miles (synthetic), injectors as needed, put an oil catch can (on turbo engines), etc.

 

Curious to hear if you eventually get Boost Pressure Sensor faults on your car.

Hope it works out!

 

Curious to hear if you eventually get Boost Pressure Sensor faults on your car.

Hope it works out!

No codes after a week of every day driving (only about 7 miles per day split into several trips though)

 

Chances are they mostly would not care to check for it.

Unless you present them with a major blown-engine warranty claim.

 

Haha. Of course!

 

Curious if you are seeing any MPG improvement close to the 20% they claim? The whole thing (70HP + MPG) just seems to good to be true.

 

For what it's worth, in my two previous cars, I saw major fuel efficiency improvement after injecting them with a virus

I was especially impressed with the ~15% fuel efficiency gain in my 3-liter diesel BMW I drove before switching to the V90CC T6. I had the Bimmer for 4 years, made around 60k miles and observed a major boost in performance coupled with MPG going from around 20.5 mpg to over 24 mpg, while quite frequently enjoying all the power and torque I had at hand (or foot )... the car was tuned to over 360bhp and over 510 foot-pound... It was a big, heavy and powerful car I (ab)used as a proper hooligan and still managed to use less fuel than with stock engine tune

So, yes, I am convinced that when the right kind of people get to work on a map for an engine, they will squeeze much more performance per every drop of fuel

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At least that what we will tell the wives

How condescending. My wife, for one, as a multiengine pilot, isn't dumb enough to fall for such phony reasoning. Are there really people still out there who believe that women belong in the kitchen and bedroom while the men handle the serious stuff?

As far as that goes, our V90 and our Porsche are both registered in her name, she'll be the one telling me.

 

How condescending.

I don't think we meant it like that. In this day and age very few men would really thing women belong in the kitchen and bedroom.

My wife is a well educated person, a scientist, the one that makes the most money in our household...I still tell her these things are for better efficiency but she knows much better than that, yet she is okay with letting me have my fun with the car. As she says "better you have fun with the car than with women".

 

excuse me,which engine do you have...T6?

 

Oops, need to update my signature, I have a T6.

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strange ...the EU racechip site does not include this T6 model at all.
...and you are planning to also install polestar on top ?

 

I haven't decided on that yet but most likely I will. I need find out if Polestar raises RPM limiter or not.

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I just bought the RaceChip for my XC90 T6. I already have the Polestar tune installed. Will see if the RaceChip adds anything else on top. I had trouble locating the right connectors. If you have any pictures of which connectors to use on the T6 please post them up.

I originally contacted TDI tuning and Viva Performance and they said the piggy back box for the T6 will likely never come out and/or will be delayed indefinitely. TDI told me they had issues with the T6 being turbo and supercharged and getting the turbo to produce more boost and not generate check engine lights. Based on your feedback it’s encouraging to know it’s been done successfully.

I’ll let everyone know how it goes once i get this RaceChip installed.

Thanks!!



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Good news! Got the Racechip installed and went for a 20 minute test drive. The install took me about 10 minutes to install the harness and about 30 minutes to tidy up the zip ties, etc.

Results for the T6 + Polestar tune + Racechip GTS = Success!! I'd say the Racechip adds about 15-20 hp on top of the Polestar tune. While this is on my XC90 I'm sure the smaller SPA platform T6 2.0's would get moving even quicker. The throttle in both comfort and sport modes is even more responsive and downshifts around corners put the rpms right in the power band. The increased boost definitely helps. I would definitely recommend this to anyone.

The install was super easy once I got the instructions from the Racechip support team. They should just send you a link to them instead of providing the generic paper manual which isn't vehicle specific and didn't help much.
Attached are the install pictures to help those who decide to go down this route as well.

Racechip GTS
https://www.racechip.us/shop/volvo/xc90-ii-from-2014/2-0-t6-1969ccm-316hp-235kw-295lb-ft.html

Packaging from Racechip. Ordered on a Monday, arrived by Thursday directly from Germany to the US:

Installation instructions from Racechip support via email after I ran into trouble finding the correct connectors on the vehicle. I'm not sure what vehicle this is but the instructions were extremely valuable. It bugged me because this engine bay doesn't match any SPA platform T6's that I know of. Note how the windshield washer fluid reservoir container cap is on the left of the engine. I think all SPA platform vehicles have them up on the drivers side of the engine bay near the firewall.

Final install shot (Dirty engine bay.... Chicago winters...)
I used 3m dual lock / velcro type adhesive to stick the unit down.

 

Good news! Got the Racechip installed and went for a 20 minute test drive. The install took me about 10 minutes to install the harness and about 30 minutes to tidy up the zip ties, etc.

Have you tried Map 7? It significantly improves the hp output in comparison from the default map.

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Very nice! Seems the new S60 can have about same power as the drive-E Polestar model now.

Fusion · Red · T8 · XC60

 

Went straight to map 7 to start! [emoji41][emoji106]

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You said an estimate of 15 to 20 hp increase...but Gts claims plus 77hp.
You think there is something missing there ...?

 

I was wondering the same, butt-dynos are terrible estimators...that's why I am trying to find a dyno facility locally, but I am running into problems, nobody has availability or desire to test my car, they claim the dyno is for their projects...if anyone knows of a friendly facility within Chicagoland of Northwest Indiana, please PM me!

 

Coincidentally I’m in the exact same location in the US. I’ll let you know if I find an AWD dyno facility that will perform the test.

Bad news though... Today I got a check engine light. Almost 100% certain it’s related to the RaceChip. I’ll scan the code tomorrow and get a picture of what’s going on. Maybe need to dial back the map from 7 to something lower. I notice at full wide open throttle on the highway that power seems to surge in the upper RPM range.




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Of course it's not 77hp across the entire powerband. But even a 77hp increase at peak output seems unlikely.

I think the big risk here is that they aren't being forthcoming about HOW they're achieving their claims. And as someone else pointed out, the lack of dynosheets is really sort of a red flag.

The fact that they're claiming a power increase AND a fuel efficiency increase is a red flag...big time. The only way that's possible is that they're leaning out fuel mixture. In the old days manufacturers used to run forced induction cars a little on the rich side as a sort of safety net. Tuners would lean them out with various methods, some better/safer than others, to gain back some power.

Since Racechip doesn't seem to be claiming any sort of increased boost, but is claiming increased power and mileage, I think they're just leaning out the fuel somewhere, which is dangerous for the motor if they aren't addressing timing/ignition. The installation photos shown earlier in this thread make me more certain that that's all they're doing since it appears this just connects up to the MAP sensor, and is therefore tricking the main ECU into thinking there's less air going in than there really is, so the ECU provides less fuel. Leaner a/f mixture means more power, to a point, but it also means it's running hotter...and since the ECU thinks there's less air, the ignition map is probably off.

I bet when/if you get this on a dyno you're going to see a wavy powerband as the engine fights conflicting sensor inputs. Well, that and something far less than the touted power figures.

 

The fact that they're claiming a power increase AND a fuel efficiency increase is a red flag...big time.

Not to me per my experience with other tunes. When you're not on the gas constantly your engine is able to run more efficiently. My BMW wagon gives me 29 mpg under my MHD tune and CAI, it is factory rated at 26 on the highway.

You do bring a few other good points. I hope I can get it on a dyno to at least prove or disprove Race Chip's claims.

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Members here who have purchased the Race Chip piggyback, could you, as official customers, request (before and after) dyno charts from Race Chip? I assume they are more obligated to provide you guys with such details which they might not to window shoppers. Just a thought!

 

In a conversation with Race Chip they said they were excited of an owner taking the car to the dyno as independent results have more credibility than theirs, as people tend to believe they're doctored, they asked me to share it with them as well. I'll contact them and ask them if they can send me theirs.

 

BTW,
asking racechip(Europe) for a possible tune/chip etc for T6 this is what they replied:

Thank you for contacting the RaceChip Customer Service.
Unfortunately we do not offer any chip tuning for your Volvo yet. However, we are constantly expanding our model range and will gladly inform you by e-mail as soon as a product is available for your vehicle.
The development process can take a few months before a RaceChip is released to assure you maximum performance and a safe drive.
We appreciate your understanding since we cannot provide an estimated release date.

 

That is the same boiler-plate answer I got when I asked about the chip for the V90. Not surprised if you told them XC60 T6.

Considering the T6 engine is the same across their models I went ahead and ordered mine as if I had a S90, it worked...even they said it made sense when I "confessed" I had a V90.

 

I’m not completely satisfied that going to map 7 on the RaceChip is giving me a check engine light with with a po23d map sensor error. I’m going to try to clear it and see if it returns while keeping it on map 7. If it comes back I’ll repeat the process at map 6 and so on to develop an understanding on how high it can be at without triggering a code. I’m not thrilled about having to settle for less performance.

Im surprised you haven’t triggered any codes? Did you get the RaceChip GTS?



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Have you checked your connections? I'd start there and reset the light. If it comes back then try map 6. I haven't had any errors but I've only driven about 100 miles in all this time.

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The error is because the Racechip device is apparently just tricking the MAP sensor signal the ECU is seeing to change the fueling.

The ECU is rightly calling out an error with the MAP sensor because it's seeing it as out of spec with all the other inputs.

You both might not be getting the same error for any number of reasons, like air temp, altitude, or how hard you're revving it.

I'll stress again that this way of tweaking engine performance is not a good idea.

 

I am skeptical; wouldn't Polestar and Heico tunes have gone to these levels earlier if sustainable?