Venderbroecks Tinkerings.

[venderbroeck]

I have contemplated for a while to start my own build thread, and finally decided to do so.

It probably wont be a very fast moving build, but I think there might be some interesting things to come.

I've been (and still am) pretty busy with the ECU software side of things, so I tend to neglect my own car a little.

I'll just post up the mods as they happen.

Some of the current specs of my 1994 Volvo 850-t5 (MT)

-It's very onyx green

-stock 15g turbo. The standard conical flange has been replaced with a straight one.

-white injectors

-M44 swapped with ongoing modifications/tuning.

-stock intake system. This one wasn't converted during the recall back in the day. This means it still has the stock "rip kit" (although the rip kit is actually what used to be stock)

-stock exhaust system

-suspension was replaced by previous owner with something rather firm. Handles nicely.

Some things that are in desperate need of attention:

-rear crank seal leaking badly.

-Clutch is worn and needs replacement.

-it needs a cleaning

Tuning the thing is alot easier with an Ostrich 2.0 rom emulator installed.

So to kick off with something more interesting than my rather stock specs, here's how I made that happen:

I first clipped all the legs of the flash chip, and removed them one by one with a soldering iron.

With a little tin on the tip, you only need to touch them lightly to release them from the board.

After some cleaning with desoldering strip, it looks like this:

I positioned the Ostrich to where I wanted it to go, and pre folded / measured the floppy flatcable I was going to use.

Then I cut one end of a floppy cable, and seperated the wires. I left them about 5 cm longer than required, so I could cut them to length and strip them while soldering.

After this soldering commenced. Using liquid flux helps alot with this:

I cut one of the original posts of the ECU to the proper height to support the ostrich.

I then unscrewed one the the screws of the ostrich, and used a longer screw to attach the ostrich to the post.

Then I then soldered some wires to a usb connector I had floating around, and soldered the other ends to some unused pins on the ECU connector. (Don't forget to cut these pins, I didn't and the ostrich didn't connect to the pc). This is what my dad did in his car, and it seemed very convenient.

Then the moment of truth... It fired right up after turning the key. After cutting the aforementioned pins off the ECU pcb, usb connected right up as well.

Very happy with the setup, can recommend to anyone who wants to do some tuning of his own.

The ostrich looks a little scratched. It was removed from another ECU where it was glued in, but it functions perfectly.

Edited February 1, 2015 by venderbroeck

[Piet]

It definitely needs a cleaning......first

Edited February 1, 2015 by Piet

[lookforjoe]

Clean work!

So, you use the stock wiring loom for USB connectivity?

[venderbroeck]

Thanks

The pins we used aren't populated in a stock MT car. (I believe some of them were AT related).

We used some pins from an old ECU connector to populate them, and ran the usb cable connected to them through the firewall.

Edited February 1, 2015 by venderbroeck

[ashvolvo]

Very neat.

[venderbroeck]

Something a little bit different for this post.

I always thought the 'throttle hang' while shifting, and the inablilty to engine brake effectively was hugely annoying.

I always had to either shift slowly to shift up smoothly, or let the clutch deal with the elevated RPM's and try to live with the clunkyness of the shifts.

With the swap to m44 this got alot better, but still not nearly good enough for my tastes.

Naturally I got fed up by this.

I started working on a solution almost 1,5 yrs ago, and I've since perfected it.

from this (first quick & dirty prototype with an arduino mounted on top of it):

to this (latest version with nice bosch plugs):

I call it the 'RPM defloater'

Its settings allow me to precisely control the RPM dropoff speed on upshifts.

I have it set in such a way that the revs are matched on my normal upshifts and the clutch pedal just seems to 'disappear into nothingness' when I let go of it.

I just don't feel the clutch engage, because it doesn't have to synchronise the crank with the gearbox.

No clunkyness, but smooth and fast upshifts.

When I let go of the throttle, my car will instantly start engine braking.

I wonder why Volvo ever implemented the RPM hang feature (supposedly to aid shifting, or to keep the turbo spooled), but I'm very happy with this little mod.

Edited February 7, 2015 by venderbroeck

[lookforjoe]

^ Now that is frickkin' awesome!!!!

What circuit does it interrupt?

[venderbroeck]

It manipulates the idle control valve based on a few parameters. It also makes the ECU think it's still in full control to avoid throwing any DTC's.]

Of course to get the 'clutch pedal disappear into nothingness' feel you need to shift consistently at the same speed.

With a little practice this is easy to master though.

I have it set to drop pretty hard as I like to shift quickly.

edit: I'm going over your maf table atm btw ^^

Edited February 7, 2015 by venderbroeck

[theForgottenone]

Isn't this is what Nissan 370Z (InfinityG37) newer model called double clutching from factory. That's pretty awesome you able to come up with that.

[VolvoNor]

It manipulates the idle control valve based on a few parameters. It also makes the ECU think it's still in full control to avoid throwing any DTC's.]

Of course to get the 'clutch pedal disappear into nothingness' feel you need to shift consistently at the same speed.

With a little practice this is easy to master though.

I have it set to drop pretty hard as I like to shift quickly.

edit: I'm going over your maf table atm btw ^^

This is so cool! Are you planning to sell these? I always hated having no engine brake.

[Big Will]

I agree. That's absolutely awesome.

[venderbroeck]

I've sold some of these in the Netherlands.

I can make some more for ppl that are interested.

It's m43, and m44 only though. No me7 (totally different throttle body setup), and I didn't look at the fenix ECU's yet.

Edited February 8, 2015 by venderbroeck

[volvoguy23]

I've always hated that about trying to shift fast as well, makes it hard to shift at higher rpm's quickly. You could probably sell a lot of those on here if you made a post about it and what it does specifically. I would love to have one!

[venderbroeck]

I made a little video where I explain its function a little more.

[lookforjoe]

I've always hated that about trying to shift fast as well, makes it hard to shift at higher rpm's quickly. You could probably sell a lot of those on here if you made a post about it and what it does specifically. I would love to have one!

Makes more sense for interested people to contact him via PM, since this is hand built product. It's not as if the word won't get around.

Works for me with the M66 trans mount bracket and the GT500 hood vent template.

I made a little video where I explain its function a little more.

'>

I'm not sure where to post something like this.

And I'm also not sure how the forum rules are regarding such a post.

I'm not making that much money from making these. In fact, I would probably get paid more bringing the mail , so having to pay any fees of some kind wouldn't be feasable for me.