rutledri Posted April 19, 2011 Report Share Posted April 19, 2011 The intake and exhaust on my 98 V90 are both super restrictive. Intake is ok from the airbox up for a NA cruiser but the tube from the box to the front is a MAJOR problem! The Tube from the box to the front necks down after the core support and is positioned where is sucks super heated air off the AC condenser. Looks ok from here don't it?? NOPE! notice how it slims down after it goes through the core support. Note the sharp 90 turn and narrow opening Now look where that opening is pointing. It's backwards from the airflow coming through the grill and is pulling in super heated air right off the AC condenser! My solution? I grabbed a super cheap flexible universal intake hose. Full 3 inch tube that is now tied up flush with the top of the core support at a 75 degree angle toward the airstream coming in the grill. It was tied up and the angle tweaked after this photo was taken. REMARKABLE difference it throttle response in traffic with the AC running as it is no longer pulling in super heated air off the AC condenser. Also has much sharper response at highway speed due to the ram air effect from drawing cooler air in the high pressure area between the grill and radiator. Takes much less throttle pressure to maintain speed it will be interesting to check mileage on my next long road trip. The exhaust on these cars may be worse than the intake though. First off cat up looks great and like it has decent size and should flow well-- that is until you cut it open and realize the front pipes from the converter up are double wall and super tiny inside! The mufflers also are super restrictive on these cars in particular the rear resonator. These things are beating through a small straw and being strangled! I have Magnaflow mufflers on my V90 now and will do a high flow cat and single wall headpipes soon. Keep you posted as I get it all done. With just the mufflers and the breathing tube + blocking the flapper in the airbox open to the cold air side it has made a huge difference in how she responds. It's not fast by any means but a LOT more responsive and fun to drive not to mention the mufflers alone were worth 3 MPG over what I had been getting when I checked it on my last road trip! Next will be the cat up system then a chip/ reprogram if I can find one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gilber33 Posted April 19, 2011 Report Share Posted April 19, 2011 V90s :wub: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rutledri Posted April 19, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 19, 2011 V90s I agree. There is a lot of disrespect for these cars with the N/A 6 on the Volvo boards but I love them. I also have a 745 Turbo wagon but IMO the V90 is the better everyday cruiser. Super smooth decent MPG and is pretty responsive with some simple mods. That + the 6 sounds SO nice when she revs! Here is a audo clip of mine in my drive way. http://www.box.net/shared/ztuqgj2r4q And a couple photos of the ol girl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gilber33 Posted April 19, 2011 Report Share Posted April 19, 2011 Gorgeous. Either this or an S90 are like my dream daily driver. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scandalo Posted April 19, 2011 Report Share Posted April 19, 2011 A friend loves his 960 as a dd and even more as he works on it. Not much aftermarket but doesn't mean you can't get creative. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gilber33 Posted April 19, 2011 Report Share Posted April 19, 2011 A friend loves his 960 as a dd and even more as he works on it. Not much aftermarket but doesn't mean you can't get creative. If I had one I would leave it completely stock, strictly a DD. Someday. :( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rutledri Posted April 19, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 19, 2011 If I had one I would leave it completely stock, strictly a DD. Someday. Mine is staying close to stock. However the intake and exhaust on these cars are SO badly restrictive they absolutely kill the MPG and drivability. Volvo was so concentrating on keeping these cars super quiet and refined as high end luxo cruisers they killed the performance potential in the big smooth 6. You can have you proverbial cake and eat it too with these cars as the mods on mine are hard to hear and spot but have made a MAJOR impact in overall performance, drivability and MPG! Mine is staying close to stock. However the intake and exhaust on these cars are SO badly restrictive they absolutely kill the MPG and drivability. Volvo was so concentrating on keeping these cars super quiet and refined as high end luxo cruisers they killed the performance potential in the big smooth 6. You can have your proverbial cake and eat it too with these cars as the mods on mine are hard to hear and spot but have made a MAJOR impact in overall performance, drivability and MPG! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dree Posted October 18, 2011 Report Share Posted October 18, 2011 Hi! Interesting topic here! I'm driving a 1996 960 2.5 and I'm looking for better pick up on the throttle as well. The only thing I changed so far was (experimental but I'll keep it in) a boxed open air filter connected to the 'cold air intake'. That looks like a good and easy tune up; better response already. So I asked on a forum how to get a better airflow from beginning to end by changes in the outlet circuit. Destructive answer: keep it as it is, it's perfectly designed air flow wise. The idea behind that answer: you want to get a higher airflow after the engine, and high temperature gasses flow faster (as they expand) thus use a small diameter pipe. Bigger diameter pipes would get the gasses to cool down faster and thus slowing down the airflow. So it's all about temperature. You can widen your outlet pipes after the cat since the gasses then are cold(er) so you want to get rid of those ASAP, and there a wide® diameter might help. Their idea: keep it as it is. From engine to cat high flow in small diameter pipe because of high temperature gasses, and large diameter pipe after cat because gasses are colder. Any luck on your experiments? And that 75 degree angle on the intake, is that 'the scientific angle' or just a wild guess? Mine is still connected to the original cold air intake (which in high temperature environments indeed won't be that cold if you're not driving speedy enough). Dree Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnloves850's Posted October 19, 2011 Report Share Posted October 19, 2011 Just got a 93 960, different suspension, rear end, and styling from yours, but this makes me so giddy to put miles on it now haha. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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