I don't have any personal experience yet, but I know of a few people who have and they seem to be happy with them. I'm curious to hear firsthand experiences for the various tunes myself. I haven't heard any outright negative reviews/comments, so that may be a good sign.

 

Our community has a habit of not disclosing their personal mistakes. I've seen it over and over again. In general people don't like admitting that they made a bad/poor decision. They also don't like calling someone out when they still want them to make it right. Easy to do with big guy hurting the little guy. Or people complaining about stuff that doesn't even effect them. Example: Easy to complain about food poisoning at a big restaurant like Chili's but not the small mom & pop place people in town cherish.

At any rate the website has been improved. Easy to see services and options to place orders.

The good thing about me running the test is my car is already stage 0 with a lower mileage engine replacement, fresh cylinder head, newer turbo (less than 40,000 miles on it). Then I'm going to do several improvements:
- From a 15G to a 18T
- Will do a RIP kit.
- Will change the exhaust manifold.
- Will change the downpipe.
- May do a fresh sports exhaust.
- Already installed NA cams.
- Will add a boost gauge.
- Will do acceleration times. 0 - 60, 1/4 mile and likely 40 to 80 times at each stage.
- May do Dyno if I get financial support from viewers.
- Will do injector upgrade as advised.
- Will do NA intake.
- Will probably do new Do88 intercooler.

Will there be problems, probably. It's not about the issues but how they are handled.

I'm also going to mod my T-5RM. Already have a 19T w/Billet and most other mods have been installed.

 

Here is the website link: http://vasttuning.com/

Much clearer ordering process on the website.

 

subscribed

 

I'll probably order one in April. Then make mods and order a update. Test it and run it for about 30,000 miles this year. That ought to be a good test for everyone.

 

Not planning to go crazy with pressure/psi. We'll see what he recommends. Going to lean on that pretty much.

 

You know, thank you OP for starting this thread because I have a pressing question.

I know people with various modified cars and what not. When it's time for them to do a tune, they have many choices, even local, where they can go. Dyno it and tune it accordingly, street tune it as well, dyno it again, perfect it, etc etc.

When it comes to our cars, the consensus or shall I say "perception" has always been to get an off the shelf or data logging tune from a very small select list of providers; ipd, viva, ard, vast.

Now I understand this may be due to the fact that are cars are old, not really common, not popular, etc, but is it really a bad idea to have a local dyno shop tune our cars? Like what's the problem, is the concern that the tuner wouldn't be familiar with the setups that something may break? Or is it because tuning something specific like a 19t has yielded some unfavorable results in the past by people who didn't know how to treat them? Shouldn't a boosted car be pretty standard as far as tuning goes, adjusting timing, fuel, etc accordingly.

I'm really looking forward to discussing this because I really don't like being limited, especially when I'm far away from someONE who's qualified to tinker with my car.

Side note, met a dude yesterday on service road who has a pretty sweet looking wagon. 18t, exhaust, ipd tune, manual, lowering springs, etc. Makes 320awhp.

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Vast/büest tuning review



I'd say when it comes to dyno tuning and not knowing the background of the motors and how everything works, I wouldn't trust one. Yea all cars are basically the same for trying to tune but understanding how the system works and applying that right is the key. Example: our cars don't control boost by a boost sensor. They are controlled by load. Newer cars have map sensors and boost sensors to read from to help with efficiency. That's my insight on dyno tuning. Plus I would want someone with some background knowledge of tuning Volvo's to tune my car.

A 18t making 320 to 4 wheels? I'd want proof to see that, nice looking car though. I don't think they had v70rs in that color did they? Looks like a t5 to me. Or was it a awd v70?

 

I'm currently in this boat. I decided to go with Vast at the recommendation of a friend and another forum.

I like the idea of having a tune that's made specifically for my car based on it's current running conditions. Price was decent as well compared to iPD.

As far as communication goes, it's kind of tough to say. When I was looking to make a purchase response time seemed pretty quick, got the ecu to me a day after promised but that was no big deal. Some thing you can't control, stupid snail mail.

Vast gives pretty clear instructions on how to data log and flash tunes. Trust me when it comes to anything with technology I'm not the brightest and they made that part painless. JUST READ EVERYTHING.

Got the ECU Wednesday, data logged that same day and emailed it to them.I'm currently waiting to hear something back based on the data log that was done with the baseline tune on the ECU. I completely understand people are busy and sometimes business picks up, but a simple email to say "hey got the data log, we're working on it" would definitely help. From what Aaron told me it could be 4-6 tunes that are sent before he has the car where he wants it. With the drop in response time it seems like this could probably drag out to 2-3 weeks before i get the final tune on my car, not what I was expecting. I guess timelines would've been nice, my fault for not asking.

I have mixed feelings about my experience so far with the drop in response time. I'll wait to the end to make a final review. Hoping everyone is right about how awesome Vast is and it's just me being an impatient dick.

 

Got my final tune and I couldn't be happier. Car runs so much better and more importantly I can finally pass emissions. The car is a different animal altogether once the turbo spools up.

Aaron was easy to work with and his instruction made everything extremely easy. Highly recommend Vast

 

Good to hear! I recently made a discover with my car that the accelerometer might be bad. A buddy of mine told me that my 96 had one. I thought it was just the 97s and up. On 97s the accelerometer is located on the front of the subframe. On 96 and below it is located under the cowl. Changed it out with my one off my parts car and most of my knock detection has went away. Talking to him now about getting a e85 tune for my car. Response time for me is usually at most 2 days. He does respond faster when it comes to purchasing something

 

The knock sensors are attached to the block

 

bump

Bumping this thread as it's been a while and wanted to see if there is any better feed back yet. Their pricing seems reasonable enough.

 

Bumping this thread as it's been a while and wanted to see if there is any better feed back yet. Their pricing seems reasonable enough.

I have owned my '98 V70R since June of 2010, nearly ten years. I bought the car bone stock and steadily began modifications. At that time I worked at iPd and had access to their in-house tuner, Marco Alsterfalk and MTE tuning out of Sweden. As an employee, this access made it a smidge easier than an everyday customer for me to get custom tuning on my car, particularly after I swapped in an M58 manual transmission and then subsequently began engine and turbo upgrades. At that time nobody offered remote tuning options for M4.3/4.4 engine management systems, so I would wait for Marco's yearly or bi-yearly trip to the US for him to tune my car.

MTE Tunes:
Tune:
- Canned 18t "Stage 3" manual tune. (By the way, someone above on this thread a few years ago mentioned that the iPd/MTE Stage 3 tune with the 18t makes 320 awhp- it most certainly does not. At best maybe 290-295 fwhp.)
Result:
- Bent connecting rod

Tune:
- Custom tune for stock B5244T5 (first ever US-based B5244T5 swap into a P80), green injectors, K24 turbo. No VVT control/ utilization, solenoids left unplugged.
Result:
- Cracked cylinder sleeve (#5, IIRC)- 81mm bore engines crack sleeves, too when engine detonates due to poor tune.

Tune:
- Custom tune for built (h-beams and forged Wiseco pistons) B5244T5, DW300, 650cc deatchworks/iPd injectors, iPd 4T4 turbo (first US-based iPd 4T4 turbo installed on P80). No VVT control, solenoids unplugged, but cam timing advanced on both cams by 12 degrees.
Result:
- Cracked sleeve (#4/5 cylinder)

Dejected, I replaced the broken built motor with another stock B5244T5 just so the car would run.

At this point I began to doubt Marco's ability to properly tune my car with the modifications I had performed. Marco, to be fair, spent a great deal of time with each of the tunes he prepared for my car. Each tuning session would take hours- one time he spent 8 straight hours tuning my car, doing data logs, then returning to tweak the tune. It wasn't that he was hurried or uncaring, I was just beginning to think that his tuning abilities for 4.3/4.4 were perhaps not as strong as his ability in tuning ME7 cars. I dug and found some *old* threads on some European forums where Jan (JC Viggen, a legend in P80 world) eviscerated Marco's tuning ability. This made my own reservations and suspicions feel a bit more grounded. At this point I decided there were a few glaring "tuning holes" that I wanted to address:

1) Cam timing and what to do with those uncontrolled dual VVT cams flopping about in there. Ok I'm being flippant here (pun intended), but those cams- left uncontrolled- do fully retard immediately once the engine is running. This was why I attempted to manually advance the cams, so as to offset their natural retardation when VVT was unplugged and provide a more robust power band.

2) Coil-on-plug (COP) conversion so as to actually have proper ignition control. ANYONE looking to make serious power on a P80 should consider COP conversion a must. Even with the MSD ignition amplifier the stock ignition system is lacking in appropriate resolution.

3) Ability to remote tune.

4) E85 compatibility

At this time, maybe 3 years ago now?, VAST was beginning to provide all of these tuning options so I reached out to Aaron and kind of explained my journey, current setup and limitations, and goals. A few months later, Aaron was in a plane out to Oregon to spend a few days working on car. I did the COP conversion myself before he arrived, and he then helped me to change my MAF setup, get the VVT solenoids wired into my harness, and to complete some wiring upgrades for my fuel pump. Then, the tune. I really wish I had been more thorough in documenting before and after, but it was night and day. The VAST tune in combination with E85 fuel, COP, VVT control, and proper MAF setup finally gave me the results I was looking for. The MTE tune with the 4T4 gave me 293 AWHP and 325 AWTQ on a dynojet dyno. Aaron's help yielded 388 AWHP and 426 AWTQ on a Mustang Dyno:

A year later I then trailered the car out to Denver for Aaron to build the new B5244T5 motor using my old rods and pistons, replace the iPd 4T4 with a Gen 2 Garrett GTX3071R, larger injectors, custom tubular exhaust manifold and downpipe, a bigger MAF housing, and larger injectors. This setup yielded 484 AWHP and 598 AWTQ on a Mustang Dyno (E85).

One year later, my car is now ( as of Thursday ) back in Denver to put in a new engine: Darton Sleeves, 143mm rods, 10:1 compression ratio and actual engine displacement of 2.56 liters along with ENEM stage 2 cams. I am keeping with the GTX3071R for now, I *really* love this turbo for the street and am less interested in peak Hp than I am usable power for a street-driven car. The compression, displacement, and cams should really improve the low-end power and reduce the relative lag in my current setup.

So, I wanted to answer your question thoroughly and in the context of my experiences of modifying my car from a stock 2.3 with a 16t to what is currently the highest horsepower m4.4 P80 AWD in the US, if not the world... at least for a few weeks until Matt (Simply Volvo) finishes his AWD swap!!.

Aaron is very knowledgeable, not only in terms of tuning but the whole p80 caboodle. His understanding of 4.3/4.4 engine management is second to none, and he only continues to hone his ability. He is incredibly easy to work with, always respectful, honest, and courteous to his customers. There is nobody else, at least in the US, who approach his ability with motronic 4.3 and 4.4, and for P80 Volvos in general. In terms of price, tuning is not where you want to cut corners or pinch pennies, IMO Aaron's pricing is very fair for what you get in return.

Thanks Aaron, thanks VAST.

- A satisfied customer.

 

So it looks like Lucky Arnold closed up shop, no more ARD IDEAS.
He must be too young to retire, I wonder what he is up to?

I am about swap out one of his old tunes with Vast.
Overall I found Lucky a decent guy, always responded to emails etc.

 

My buddy in FL just got an VAST tune for his manual swapped 855R. Its replacing an ARD Black tune that....killed a motor.

His comments:

"Holy **** that changed the car completely. Idle much better, no more throttle hanging between shifts. Way better deceleration and if I drive it normally it just runs like a nice car. Way better!"

 

ARD is out of business for a reason. That man had zero business tuning, and the misrepresentation of his ability cost a lot of people a lot of money.

What separates VAST, in my opinion, is two-fold. First, Aaron is a bright guy with an inherent propensity for problem solving. Secondly, he grew his interest and ability first out of a hobby. This allowed him to dedicate quite a bit more time and energy into learning and honing his tuning ability without the immediate pressure of providing a paid service. This isn't to say that other tuners aren't educated or experienced, but what Aaron did on his own free time surpassed what would have ever been considered economically viable as true business R&D, per se. The cost/benefit wouldn't add up to most. Really, how many people are into tuning P80 Volvos, and does that number justify how much time would be required to dissect Motronic 4.3/4.4 and to develop effective tuning for that platform. I think to most the answer is clear. It certainly was for MTE- Marco put his time and energy into developing ME7 tunes, because that's where the money was. The market dictated his and many other tuners' expenditures of time and money into things other than tuning P80's, because I believe it was deemed a weakening market in the shadow of the more advanced ME7 cars. Now, there was a little resurgence in P80 modification and tuning maybe ten years ago, as the cars began to fall into second, third, fourth owners who saw the P80 as an inexpensive yet responsive and relatively robust platform. By this point it was too niche a market to see much help from the more established tuners of the time, MTE, BSR, etc. They had already moved on. This in part explains why Marco wasn't really able to tune my car for my modifications: he didn't have the experience, he had moved on.

I have never asked him, but I'm uncertain if Aaron had the goal and objective of starting his own tuning business when he began what is now a 500 page long bible of open-source M4.3/4.4 tuning:
http://volvospeed.com/vs_forum/topic/159506-tuners-rejoice-free-tuning-for-m44/

All it takes is spending some time perusing that thread to begin to understand just how much time and effort was spent breaking down Motronic 4.3/4.4. I would lay money that outside of some engineers from Bosch and Volvo this dude probably knows it more intimately than anyone else out there. This is what happens when the thirst for knowledge and understanding is born more from a passion than from within the confines of what is dictated by business and economical decisions.

If you're looking for a good 4.3/4.4 tune for your P80, why on Earth would you want anyone but Aaron to do it?

 

I am happy with the tune and service from Aaron. For me at this time and level of modification I am glad that I went his tune. In the future I will be contacting him to go beyond where I am at. As said I believe he is an expert with these cars and not just some guy on the net that says he can tune any car... but has no specific experience with the 850.

 

I already have a Vast tune ready in a box, I have a bit of work to do before I plug it in and tune it. Aaron does impress me as an expert, and he can give you detailed instructions for any prep work or maintenance issues to do before you move up to a tune.

I am going to stick up for Lucky a bit. I think his tunes work fine, to a point something in the under 300 hp target for your 850. And they are only recommended if you have already brought your 850 up to factory or better specs, and that means with these cars at the 25 year mark, there is a LOT of work to be done. If you plug in a tune, any tune, to a improperly updated 850 you are like an highly overweight person trying to run a marathon. It is not gonna go well, and you might have a heart attack.

I will be working with Aaron in the foreseeable future as well though.

 

I already have a Vast tune ready in a box, I have a bit of work to do before I plug it in and tune it. Aaron does impress me as an expert, and he can give you detailed instructions for any prep work or maintenance issues to do before you move up to a tune.

I am going to stick up for Lucky a bit. I think his tunes work fine, to a point something in the under 300 hp target for your 850. And they are only recommended if you have already brought your 850 up to factory or better specs, and that means with these cars at the 25 year mark, there is a LOT of work to be done. If you plug in a tune, any tune, to a improperly updated 850 you are like an highly overweight person trying to run a marathon. It is not gonna go well, and you might have a heart attack.

I will be working with Aaron in the foreseeable future as well though.

There are a lot of threads full of ARD-bashing so I'm going to leave this at this, but the reason the more basic ARD tunes worked ok is because those tune files were actually MTE tune files pilfered when he "left" iPd. So those ARD-branded MTE tunes are pretty good, you're right.

 

My experience with Aaron thus far has been very positive. I've ended up becoming way more familiar with the 850 electrical system than I would have liked and every question I've had so far it's seemed like he has the answer off the top of his head.....I'm talking like specific ground/branching points etc. Although he has definitely been confused by a couple of the ideas I've presented up with lol but that's mostly just a product of my lack of experience with/knowledge of the tuning process. My base tune shipped last week and I'm hoping to be ready to attempt starting my 850R in the next 10-15 days or so, so I will of course be updating that thread as that happens.

 

Lol, I've had those same types of interactions with him, where you can tell his wheels are turning, but not necessarily on how to answer my questions, instead on how to answer my questions without making me feel like a dumb-dumb. He's equally tactful in nudging me away from pre-conceived notions and concepts I misunderstood. I'm not ignorant when it comes to cars, I manage an auto repair shop for a living, but I also know my limitations and one of Aaron's strengths is in his presentation of information in a clear and concise manner. No fluffery, no BS, just straight forward facts and data.

 

Well I have his base tune and I'm very happy with it. Certainly is set up for what I wanted; a good balance between HP/MPG, as well as a bit more throttle response. And I think mine is a bit more tuned down than most. But here's the deal - I'm very old school when it comes to cars ( carbs & points etc ) and even more so when it comes to tech. To say that I'm computer illiterate would be a massive understatement, so when it came to doing datalogs and downloads, I was totally lost. In fact I had not even used a laptop before starting on this. So I buy a second hand laptop just to tune the car, and I don't even know the basics of how to use the damn thing. Aaron ends up remotely setting things up for me ( watching that was an experience for me as well ), and then schooling me on how to do it all myself for in the future. Believe me - that took patience.
Now I've got my own little rocket ship that get 26mpg. Definitely thumbs up : )

 

Does anyone have a way to contact him other than the email on his site?
I emailed him from two email accounts and no reply.

 

Just give it some time- he travels/ rock climbs frequently, and I know he's really busy right now with his shop and tuning... if it makes you feel any better he's building a $10k sleeved/ built motor for me right now and it sometimes takes days for me to hear back from.

Maybe just shoot another email in a few days if you haven't heard from him.

 

Howdy Saffron,

Sounds like a nice motor, that going in your 850? I would not worry too much about it, but I am swapping out injectors and fuel pump next week, and I do not to drive with his base tune for very long, so I want to make sure he is around to get my file and send me the refined tune.

 

I've been waiting a few days on my last email as well....figuring I'll just shoot him another email if I don't hear back this week.

 

Hope he is alright, that is three of us waiting for him on here

 

I’m not sure what timeframe you guys are taking about, but I heard from him last Friday.


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I emailed him on Saturday. Not really concerned at this point....people take time off sometimes. If he's taking a week off then good for him.

 

[emoji106]

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Hey guys, I got an email back tonight, everything is good with him.
He was out of town

 

Anyone heard from him since June 23rd? I talked to him once and then, gone again. No replies to emails

 

Yeah I got an email back from him on the 4th. He was away somewhere where the internet was apparently not working.