[McShake]

Alright, situation is as follows:

The car is a 1999 V70 AWD 2.5LPT manual, as we speak running with the stock 13T. The past year or so I feel I've gotten it back to a decent stage 0, the only thing I know remains is a slight oil leak, seemingly from the turbo. There's little or no PCV gunk in the intake, but always oil on the compressor outlet when I remove the pressure pipe. Whether or not this is flowback from oil vapor otherwise going through the combustion process is unknown to me, but I have a small and controllable oil consumption, thinking turbo seals. The turbo has been with the car all of its 234k miles, so I guess it's not unexpected.

So, time to change. I have a 16T angled outlet which is getting a rebuild in a couple of weeks, I'm getting a new cat and 3" downpipe, and thats all I intend to do partswise. My closest tuner I am wiling to consider either deliver ready to use PPC-units (ME7 uploader with software) designed to replace OEM software, and this does not take different turbo and downpipe into consideration. Only other alternative is a full on dyno remap. Price almost doubles.

I'm not looking for a monstrousity regarding power output, just ti utlize the improvements on the engine a best I can. I know ARD lets you custom select what upgrades you have made mechanically, will they do the same for LPTs, and customize it to the 16T with DP?

Will they ship to Norway? Do they supply the upload interface, or will I have to make something myself? Any other recommendations in tuners?

And being a relative turbo n00b, what spec wastegate would you reccommend? The 16T came off a T5 with half the mileage of mine, and the wastegate seems to be in working order... but better safe than sorry, or worse... without boost. Appreciate any replies.

 

[jschaefer7406]

Hello,

My car is very similar to yours, but automatic. Had my ECM tuned by Wothrline back in 2009 and couldn't be happier with it. Owner's name is Jan Ellwoth. He worked for Volvo for 20+ years, really knows his stuff. He still, over 5 years later, will respond within 24hrs to any questions I may have. So his support is great as well.

Jan can tune for the 16T and downpipe, plus any other modifications you choose. I personally chose to also run the higher flow injectors from the T5, and would recommend it if you can find a set cheap ("blues" are what you'd want; "whites" flow the same, but have a poorer spray pattern). Can maybe get away with using the stock set, I just like to have the peace of mind knowing the fuel is available if needed .

Here is his website: www.Wothrline.com

Lots of great info on his site as well.

As far as I know he's still offering tunes, but I know he's been busy working with Volvo again. Send him an email, see what he can do. He's in Sweden also, so shipping would actually be closer for you.

As for the wastegate, if the 16T actuator is good I'd run that. Mine is set to open @ 2 psi, hits the full 15psi target with no issues.

Hope this helps,

Joe

 

[McShake]

On basic wastegate function, it's set to begin bleeding off pressure at 2psi, and goes fully open at 15psi?

Still somewhat fuzzy on how the WG works. Not as in how its operated, but how it's controlled and what different things do. Tightening the actuator rod keeps bottom end pressure for longer before it starts bleeding off, right?

 

[jschaefer7406]

On basic wastegate function, it's set to begin bleeding off pressure at 2psi, and goes fully open at 15psi?

On the FWD/AWD Volvos, the wastegate is electronically controlled using a solenoid valve. The ECM can raise pressure beyond what the actuator is set to, but cannot lower pressure. So, for example, if you set the actuator to 5 psi, the ECM can deliver 15, 20psi etc based on the tune. However, it cannot reduce the boost to lower than the 5 psi.

That in mind, it's usually good (especially on a tuned LPT car) to use as little preload as possible to hit target boost, that way the ECM has maximum control.

As you suspected, tightening the rod increases the base pressure and therefore bottom end torque to an extent. Can cause boost to come on too soon though and damage engine internals. Can also cause reduced throttle on '99- cars, as the ECM will simply close the throttle if is sees more boost than called for...

Hope this makes sense

Joe

 

[McShake]

Makes perfect sense. I feel I have a good understanding of what each part does, it's just making it all fit together in a moving jigsaw puzzle thats the hard bit. Thank you all for your replies, and for tuner tips.