ovlov760
02-26-2005, 05:31 AM
My understanding is that there has been some talk that the staged mods list could use some updating? I decided to take a stab at it. What am I missing so far? suggestions?
<table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse" bordercolor="#111111" width="100%" id="AutoNumber1" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" height="534">
<tr>
<td width="50%" height="514">Stage 0</td>
<td width="50%" height="514">Before you attempt to bump the power on your
b230 there are some things you need to check.<ul>
<li>Cooling system: It's not a horrible idea to replace all your
radiator hoses. If that's not financially possible at least check
them all over and replace any that look suspect. How old is your
radiator? If it is the original aluminum Volvo one with plastic side
tanks you might want to consider upgrading to a Nissens 2 row aluminum or
3 row copper. Consider swapping in a 82<font face="Times New Roman">°</font>C
thermostat.</li>
<li>Do a compression test. This is especially important if you have
a high mileage motor.</li>
<li>Replace your o2 sensor if it is old. You can test it with a DMM.
On a warm engine it should cycle between .1 and 1 volts</li>
<li>Consider replacing your intercooler hoses. At least check them
for soft spots or tears.</li>
<li>Replace your fuel filter. More boost will require more
fuel and you don't want a clogged filter keeping that fuel from your
motor.</li>
<li>Buy a boost gauge and find out how much boost your currently running.
Stock boost should be between 6-8 PSI. if you're running more than
that you may want to check your waste gate rod.</li>
<li>Plan on running GOOD oil and a GOOD oil filter from here on out.</li>
</ul>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="50%" height="19">Stage 1</td>
<td width="50%" height="19">I suspect that views may differ on Stage 1.
You could start with just a MBC or you could go the more expensive route at
purchase a 3" DP. Doing both is really the best idea in my own opinion
as they will compliment each other. You should at least do a cat-back
exhaust system.<p>You can feel free to gut your stock air-box of the heater
flapper and the foam or alternatively delete the entire thing and run a cone
filter.</p>
<p>Don't plan on running above 12psi of boost unless you have upgraded your
injectors.</p>
<ul>
<li>MBC</li>
<li>3" DP (optional)</li>
<li>2.5" or 3" cat-back exhaust</li>
<li>Boost Gauge!</li>
<li>A/F gauge </li>
<li>Gut your air-box or cone filter</li>
</ul>
<p> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="50%" height="19">Stage 2</td>
<td width="50%" height="19">For Stage 2 you should definitely purchase a 3"
DP and a 3" hi-flow cat. Consider a full 3" exhaust system.
<p>You should also consider upgrading from the stock camshaft. It's
likely you have either a T or M cam which both suffer from dismal top end
power. There are several Volvo cams you consider swapping in: K, A, or
B. The K is the most radical and you will suffer a penalty in low end
grunt. You could also consider a IPD turbo Cam or a Enem V15. If
you plan on running a K cam you may want to purchase a adjustable cam gear.</p>
<p>If you plan to run more than 12psi you will also want to upgrade those
stock injectors. Your best bet for fuel are brown top (E5ZE) injectors
from a Turbo charged Ford thunderbird model. These injectors should
supply you with enough fuel to safely run 15psi or more. Too keep from
running too rich with browntop injectors you can swap in the AMM from a B280
which has a larger housing and allows the metering of more air, build your
own larger housing or use resistor in line with the AMM signal wire to fool
the ECU.</p>
<ul>
<li>3" DP</li>
<li>3" hi-flow cat</li>
<li>3" or 2.5" from cat back</li>
<li>Cam upgrade</li>
<li>Fuel injector upgrade</li>
</ul>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="50%" height="19">Stage 3</td>
<td width="50%" height="19">In Stage 3 you should consider upgrading your
turbocharger and swapping to a 90+ exhaust manifold. If you're
planning on running a Garrett turbo you'll need to hog out the opening on
the 90+ manifold to match the larger opening found on Garrett turbochargers.
Upgrades will vary depending on whether you have a Garrett or
Mitsubishi turbo. What housing and wheels are swappable to your turbo
should be available on Tbricks or by a quick search of Yahoo.<p>Plan on
purchasing some form of EMS. Mega Squirt & Spark is currently the most
popular form of EMS among Volvo tuners.</p>
<p>Because you have EMS you will also want a way to monitor your a/f
ratio. At this point a narrow band o2 isn't going to cut. You
will need a wbo2 sensor to accurately measure your a/f ratio and keep your
engine from running lean.</p>
<p>Some form of knock sensing should also be considered. You can
purchase a Knock sense unit to monitor any knock recorded by the stock knock
sensor. Be warned the stock sensor is relatively useless over 5K RPM's
because there is so much noise.</p>
<p>Dump the stock intercooler. A NPR intercooler is a drop in
replacement for the Volvo unit. You could also go with a custom unit
or cut down a Power stroke intercooler.</p>
<ul>
<li>Upgraded turbocharger</li>
<li>90+ manifold</li>
<li>Mega Squirt&Spark or other EMS</li>
<li>WBo2</li>
<li>Knock sense</li>
<li>Upgraded Intercooler</li>
</ul>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="50%" height="19"> </td>
<td width="50%" height="19"> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="50%" height="19"> <p> </td>
<td width="50%" height="19"> </td>
</tr>
</table>
<table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse" bordercolor="#111111" width="100%" id="AutoNumber1" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" height="534">
<tr>
<td width="50%" height="514">Stage 0</td>
<td width="50%" height="514">Before you attempt to bump the power on your
b230 there are some things you need to check.<ul>
<li>Cooling system: It's not a horrible idea to replace all your
radiator hoses. If that's not financially possible at least check
them all over and replace any that look suspect. How old is your
radiator? If it is the original aluminum Volvo one with plastic side
tanks you might want to consider upgrading to a Nissens 2 row aluminum or
3 row copper. Consider swapping in a 82<font face="Times New Roman">°</font>C
thermostat.</li>
<li>Do a compression test. This is especially important if you have
a high mileage motor.</li>
<li>Replace your o2 sensor if it is old. You can test it with a DMM.
On a warm engine it should cycle between .1 and 1 volts</li>
<li>Consider replacing your intercooler hoses. At least check them
for soft spots or tears.</li>
<li>Replace your fuel filter. More boost will require more
fuel and you don't want a clogged filter keeping that fuel from your
motor.</li>
<li>Buy a boost gauge and find out how much boost your currently running.
Stock boost should be between 6-8 PSI. if you're running more than
that you may want to check your waste gate rod.</li>
<li>Plan on running GOOD oil and a GOOD oil filter from here on out.</li>
</ul>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="50%" height="19">Stage 1</td>
<td width="50%" height="19">I suspect that views may differ on Stage 1.
You could start with just a MBC or you could go the more expensive route at
purchase a 3" DP. Doing both is really the best idea in my own opinion
as they will compliment each other. You should at least do a cat-back
exhaust system.<p>You can feel free to gut your stock air-box of the heater
flapper and the foam or alternatively delete the entire thing and run a cone
filter.</p>
<p>Don't plan on running above 12psi of boost unless you have upgraded your
injectors.</p>
<ul>
<li>MBC</li>
<li>3" DP (optional)</li>
<li>2.5" or 3" cat-back exhaust</li>
<li>Boost Gauge!</li>
<li>A/F gauge </li>
<li>Gut your air-box or cone filter</li>
</ul>
<p> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="50%" height="19">Stage 2</td>
<td width="50%" height="19">For Stage 2 you should definitely purchase a 3"
DP and a 3" hi-flow cat. Consider a full 3" exhaust system.
<p>You should also consider upgrading from the stock camshaft. It's
likely you have either a T or M cam which both suffer from dismal top end
power. There are several Volvo cams you consider swapping in: K, A, or
B. The K is the most radical and you will suffer a penalty in low end
grunt. You could also consider a IPD turbo Cam or a Enem V15. If
you plan on running a K cam you may want to purchase a adjustable cam gear.</p>
<p>If you plan to run more than 12psi you will also want to upgrade those
stock injectors. Your best bet for fuel are brown top (E5ZE) injectors
from a Turbo charged Ford thunderbird model. These injectors should
supply you with enough fuel to safely run 15psi or more. Too keep from
running too rich with browntop injectors you can swap in the AMM from a B280
which has a larger housing and allows the metering of more air, build your
own larger housing or use resistor in line with the AMM signal wire to fool
the ECU.</p>
<ul>
<li>3" DP</li>
<li>3" hi-flow cat</li>
<li>3" or 2.5" from cat back</li>
<li>Cam upgrade</li>
<li>Fuel injector upgrade</li>
</ul>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="50%" height="19">Stage 3</td>
<td width="50%" height="19">In Stage 3 you should consider upgrading your
turbocharger and swapping to a 90+ exhaust manifold. If you're
planning on running a Garrett turbo you'll need to hog out the opening on
the 90+ manifold to match the larger opening found on Garrett turbochargers.
Upgrades will vary depending on whether you have a Garrett or
Mitsubishi turbo. What housing and wheels are swappable to your turbo
should be available on Tbricks or by a quick search of Yahoo.<p>Plan on
purchasing some form of EMS. Mega Squirt & Spark is currently the most
popular form of EMS among Volvo tuners.</p>
<p>Because you have EMS you will also want a way to monitor your a/f
ratio. At this point a narrow band o2 isn't going to cut. You
will need a wbo2 sensor to accurately measure your a/f ratio and keep your
engine from running lean.</p>
<p>Some form of knock sensing should also be considered. You can
purchase a Knock sense unit to monitor any knock recorded by the stock knock
sensor. Be warned the stock sensor is relatively useless over 5K RPM's
because there is so much noise.</p>
<p>Dump the stock intercooler. A NPR intercooler is a drop in
replacement for the Volvo unit. You could also go with a custom unit
or cut down a Power stroke intercooler.</p>
<ul>
<li>Upgraded turbocharger</li>
<li>90+ manifold</li>
<li>Mega Squirt&Spark or other EMS</li>
<li>WBo2</li>
<li>Knock sense</li>
<li>Upgraded Intercooler</li>
</ul>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="50%" height="19"> </td>
<td width="50%" height="19"> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="50%" height="19"> <p> </td>
<td width="50%" height="19"> </td>
</tr>
</table>