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Volvo S40
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Comments
The BMW 3 automatic is an absolute dog going up gradual long highway hills. It flat out did not perform. Less features for more money--BUT the maintenance is a year longer.
I didn't like it as much. Thought I did, but on a redrive, it wasn't so great. Even though *every* website seems to love it and rave about it etc.. etc.. I found 2 out of 2 dealerships to be really well, almost snobby. I don't want association with the brand, I guess...
My experience with BMW is the same as yours. I'm no expert, but I thought the Volvo S40 T5 was the better car for the money anyways.
But if you're not the sort of person who drives like that, it can be a waste of money. And the 325i with automatic is not very potent.
I'm still kind of torn between waiting for the new 3 and getting something more "practical" ( like the s40 ).
Can i pop a chip in the s40 and get more hp?
dave
you can pop a chip in just about any car(wrx sti and evo have their engines pushed hard already) with a turbo and see a signifigant increase in hp and i'm thinking it could be around 100+hp for the S40 since most enthusiast reviews i've read say that the T5 engine was electronically toned down substantially....my question is, will doing something like this cancel your warranty?....and how much will this effect the ammount of wear the engine goes through?.....i definately don't want to lose my warranty or beat the crap out of my engine, but 300hp sounds awfully tempting...
I was just wondering if i can buy such a chip, as i'm not going to re program the car's computer myself. There's also the issue of the tranny handling the extra power, etc. I'm sure we destroyed the tranny, volvo might point to the chip.
dave
The R engine has an entirely different block and internals. As well as a different turbocharger.
Also, you have to send you ecu to the tuner to be flashed. There are no chips available that you can install yourself.
To be honest though, I do not see what makes the S40 cost thousands more?? In comparing the 3s to the 2.4 what justifies the price difference?
I am no way trying to start anything. I was just wondering what everyone else thinks.
In any case, i just searched this thread for "mazda" and got 4 pages of hits. plenty of discussion about the exact topic you are interested in. good luck with your decision. Let us know how it goes.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '08 Charger R/T Daytona; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '08 Maser QP; '11 Mini Cooper S
06's are due this August.
However value brands like (Toyota, Honda, Hyundai, etc) compromise performance and safety for the sake of economics and reliability rating.
Example, the most common maintenance/repair in any cars is the braking system. For European brands the brake pads and rotors are replaced more frequently (due to higher standards of performance and safety) all rotors in these cars cannot be resurfaced/machined. And in some car such as Saab you might have to replace the pads and rotors every 30K (cost about $500 - $750)
For cars produced by Toyota/Honda/Hyundai..etc you can change your pads every 30K, resurface your rotors at 60K, and in some cases you can resurface it again at 120K. So at the extreme end you'll need to replace the rotors in your Saab 6 times before you replace the rotors for the average cars. Very economical, small bills, and may lead some consumers to say "WOW" this car is reliable. In fact it just mean less maintenance, more economical while compromising performance and safety.
Folks, Toyota/Honda/Hyundai learn and study reliability rating surveys and perceptions very well. They design their cars for their intended consumers
Furthermore, when comparing the TSX vs. S40 one result that clearly illustrate that Volvo does not compromise performance and safey for any reason is the braking distance stat. As some have mentioned in previous posts the S-40 beats the TSX braking distance by a whopping 30 feet. Let's repeat it 30 FEET. That's a difference between going off the cliff on your ski trip in your TSX and staying alive in your Volvo, killing a woman and her kids in your TSX or stop safely in time in your S40. 30 Feet is a world of difference on the roads in case of an emergency.
Folks, it's not the tires, it's not the wheel, it's Acura compromising performance and safety for economics and reliability perceptions, and Volvo doesn't
Another stat that point to superior engineering and handling of the S40 is the turning Circle 34.9 ft. for S40, and a dismal 40 ft. for TSX
when that happened to me, I just turned the system off and when I turn it on, the problem it's gone. I thought it was part of my imagination...... or a computer glitch....!
(I didn't take it to the dealer yet)
To me, the main reason I crossed out the S40 from my list is due to the dangerously-narrow rear glass width for the lack of instant lane-change info. That's also why I avoid hatches & wagons. Otherwise, the S40's beautiful driving position is the only one that allows my left finger to be in the "ready position" all the time for signaling. That's even more effective for safety than the new 3-series' brake caliper that clings closer to the rotor in the "ready position" when the driver immediately lifts off the gas.
Volvo's previous history was poor when comes to accident prevention. The ABS was available kind of late compare to German cars, so our '86 top-of-the-line Volvo (760 turbo) didn't have it & slipped into the intersection on a wet day when trying to stop on a yellow light. I almost had a head on when trying to read the stereo indicator lights that require ducking down. & eventually my sister rear ended someone when trying to look over the shoulder while changing lane to the right on the FWY due to the lack of right convex mirror, which wasn't available until the '88 model year!
But if the trunk height is already too high to begin with, then it'll cut into the view of your inside rear-view mirror.
I was complaining about the width of the rear-view visibility on many new sedans including the new S40, Mazda3, G35, Passat, & G35. I think it's the auto companies' conspiracy to keep sedans' excellent rear visibility width nearly as narrow as the wagons/SUVs. So sedan owners will be willing to "upgrade" to the expensive SUVs next time w/o such complain. Ditto the size of the compact cars' turning circle getting bigger these days. What happened to the 32.2-ft turning circle of my 760 turbo & '90 Protege? I remember the Chevette's turning circle was 30.2-ft. & no, FWD is not an excuse, the '82 Sentra had a small turning circle, too.
Any thoughts? :confuse:
For all practical purposes, I would say that the manufacturer's warranty for the most vital units will be gone, once you upgrade the ECU.
It is the safest way to go. Soldering a chip to a Volvo ECU is just asking for trouble.
Just out of curiosity - do you personally know any incidents when there was a transmission failure on a car with the upgraded ("soft" flashed) ECU and Volvo did not revoke the warranty?
If such a failure did occur, Volvo would certainly disallow the warranty claim.
1. my car is comming from the factory...i know the cars are put through performance and handling tests overseas before they are shipped so i'm assuming the car should arrive with somewhere between 4-6 miles on it. is that about right? and if not, how many miles should i expect to be on it when it arrives? how much compensation should i ask for if the car has more miles on it then it should?
2. my father tells me it's not good to push a car too hard in the begining of its road life. however, he can't tell me how long to go easy on it and he's never had a turbocharged car. how long(or how many miles) should i drive my new T5 before i open it up?
The rule of thumb is - do not exceed 4500 rpm for a first 1000 miles.
The 4500 RPM limit means that you might have an excessive friction and overheating of the internal parts due to the tighter initial internal clearances, that might cause unproportionally high wear, galling and, some times, internal cracking.
All of this, though is rather unlikely, but possible.
Plus remember 4500 equates to 90 - 100 MPH @ 5th gear. You can restrain yourself from it for the first 1000 miles, can't you. Why take chances?
I know turbo has more hp and faster with more torque. What about reliability
Is turbo-engine less reliable and more maintenance than non-turbo engine?
Saab has the most refined turbo-engine in the industry (they're the first to introduce turbo engine), can I expect the same refinement from the Swede sibling?
By the way, your comment prompted me to do some research:
The Chevrolet Corvair Monza and the Oldsmobile Jetfire were the first turbo-powered passenger cars, and made their debut on the US market in 1962/63.
Interesting.
If you want to read more, this site seemed to be chock full of info:
http://www.turbodriven.com/en/turbofacts/index.asp
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '08 Charger R/T Daytona; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '08 Maser QP; '11 Mini Cooper S
According to GM document
http://www.gm.com/automotive/gmpowertrain/tech/pdf/charging_tech.pdf
Saab introduced industry-first turbo engine in 1977
(If Chevy or Olds were first I think GM would have mentioned it)
Whether Saab is first or not, I believe its turbo engine is among the best if not the best
I heard that turbo lag in Volvo is noticeable compare to Saab
I found this after a lot of searching and help from other forums
I know allwheeldriv3 will be happy...so am I!
As far as lag is concerned, it really depends. There is just no getting around it when you are running high boost in a small displacement engine (unless you go with a twin-scroll setup, which I hear can help greatly). But, for the setups we are talking about here, the general rule is 'the higher the boost, the greater the lag.' I think you might find lag to be very similar between an S40 T5 and 9-3 aero (that's the faster one, right?). The Saab is pushing about 105 hp/liter while the Volvo is a bit under 100. so, really, the volvo may be a bit less lag, but who knows if you'd be able to tell. Only way is to try them and find out.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '08 Charger R/T Daytona; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '08 Maser QP; '11 Mini Cooper S
Turbo: i have to agree that for the most part turbo these days are more reliable than before and most new cars are watercooled rather than oil cooled: therefore turbo timers aren't needed; but i suppose it's always good to idle the engine after driving so that the water can circulate
IPOD: anyone have any idea as to the possible street price for the ipod connectivity? I've read about it before and heard that it's due out in june (i didn't visit the link)
Evolvecars.com has an ecu flash that's due out soon boosting from t5's 218 to around 250hp...good stuff seems like
Anyone know where i can get tailight housing with the rear foglight for passenger side connected? from what i've been told; even though there's a socket for the rear foglight on the passenger side: it's not wired.
awheeldriv3: to follow up on the "buyer's remorse" post that i put on the other string: i appreciate your feedback: but i do feel better about it now. i found out that the resist-all coating was 2500 and that the original purchaser basically returned the vehicle (friends with gm) because she didn't like the appearance of the coating. so i feel better about the price that i paid....but perhaps i could've squeezed another 500-1000
i also want to know the street price of the optical ipod hookup and the evolve ecu flash for that matter. did you happen to read about the performance gains from the new firmware? i know it adds about 40hp, but i want to know how much that will cut off the 0-60 time. evolve's site doesn't say much about it.
how does the coating change the apperance of the car?
you have to pull up a S60 for example and click on the ecm upgrade and it will bring you to a separate site. the torque will also increase to about 280 lb-ft.
i'm thinking that it will prob cut the 0-60 about 1-2 sec; i think that the biggest differenc will come in a quarter mile and reallife driving environment
the coating is a thin 3m film that's applied on like a wax....you can't notice it in any way except for where the coating ends...there's obviously the tiniest of drop off edge and that's what the previous owner didn't like. but the coating itself can be waxed and polished just like the regular paint
so the coating goes over the front end of the car as well as the door edges etc. and rocks etc can't penetrate it and any bug guts or tree saps come right off
btw...i think the price for the upgrade is 990...basically you take out your ecu and send it to evolve and they flash it for you and send it back...takes about a week and a half i think...well maybe not...depending on how you have it delivered...i guess you can get it done in about 4 days
So if you're an ipod owner, please add your email to their wait list ! I'd love to have a real ipod connection rather than the fm transmitter that volvo will offer in June.
Here's the link:
http://densionusa.com/merchant/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=DU&Product_Code=F_Volvo- _9488925&Category_Code=IA_VOLVO
if that doesn't work try:
http://www.densionusa.com/merchant/merchant.mvc
For example, selecting materials for its interior is one of many commending endeavors that Volvo undertake to make sure that Volvo drivers/passengers will not be allergic to the new-car smell
http://www.swedespeed.com/news/publish/Volvo_News/article_482.html
And the world take notice as the Volvo S40 came in second for the World Car of the Year Award (Audi A6 first, Volvo S40/V50 second, Porsche 911 third)
http://www.wcoty.com/html/winners.html