Volvo 850 Turbo

[Codd]

Hi all,

This is post I've waited a long time for. I've been a long, long time PH Reader (3+ years) and I eventually joined up a couple of months ago, but haven't found a way into many discussions as of yet!

Anyway, while I get up my posting nerves I thought I'd share my (what I'd call) first "PH" car.

It's a 1993 Volvo 850 Turbo, bought for a paltry sum, it's far from perfect, but I can tell with a little love it'll be an ace example. It came with it's service history (99% Volvo) all the way back to the day it was bought, and including the service checklist for leaving the forecourt at 12 miles; it's now on 140,000 and from what I've heard will easily do that again with enough care which I plan to make sure it gets!

I believe it's one of the very first 850 Turbos as the first reg date is Nov 11th 1993, and I have the original ad to confirm it's had most of the optional extras ticked (Wood dash, climate control, cruise control etc..)

It's off the road for the moment and I'm keeping it tidy and doing little jobs that need doing; plan is to have it going full time by the end of June. It has fairly bad laquer peel on the bonnet that will need sorting at some point and could do with a new set of rubber all round (all have good tread but all mismatched )

So yes. Enough of my waffle. Me and Mrs. Codd are super happy with the car and look forward to getting it back to peak performance.

The pics aren't ace but you'll get the idea.







(Interior is beige half-leather. Didn't manage to get a pic of that at the time )

[busta]

Looks tidy, 850s are top barges!

I assume being a 'Turbo' it's pre-T5? Does it have the same 5cyl engine?

[Codd]

busta said:

Looks tidy, 850s are top barges!

I assume being a 'Turbo' it's pre-T5? Does it have the same 5cyl engine?

Yup, still the same "T5 engine", 5 cylinder 225bhp (though the ad for this said it was running 230?). I believe the year after this they changed the model to T5 then the rest is history.

Pulls bloody well for an old girl

[v8will]

I ran a couple of 850 T5's for a few years, great old bus and still able to surprise many a modern car in a straight line

[soad]

What kind of mpg do these average out of interest?

[Codd]

soad said:

What kind of mpg do these average out of interest?

On my run back from collecting it (Colchester to Watford) I averaged about 26MPG (and I wasn't exactly going easy) that was mostly motorway at 80 leptons plus. From what I've read, if you stay off the Turbo you can get 30+ out of them, but with a heavy foot they can hit low 20's/high teens.

Unfortunately I haven't driven it enough to give a proper average, but I'm sure someone with a better knowledge will be able to give a better real world figure.

Edited by Codd on Friday 28th May 11:16

[SWH]

Codd said:

soad said:

What kind of mpg do these average out of interest?

On my run back from collecting it (Colchester to Watford) I averaged about 26MPG (and I wasn't exactly going easy) that was mostly motorway at 80 leptons plus. From what I've read, if you stay off the Turbo you can get 30+ out of them, but with a heavy foot they can hit low 20's/high teens.

Unfortunately I haven't driven it enough to give a proper average, but I'm sure someone with a better knowledge will be able to give a better real world figure.

Edited by Codd on Friday 28th May 11:14

Edited by Codd on Friday 28th May 11:16

At sensible commute speeds our one tends to get high 20s, managed 31 cruising down the French autoroutes once, but if you press on it'll drop to low 20's (or less!). When used around town or for anything short I see about 23mpg - it's auto, which matches the car perfectly IMO, manual you may get more.

..as for mileage, getting a little tired at 227K, but one advisory (rear discs/pads) at the last MOT:


If you're putting reasonable miles on it you'll find you go through tyres, brakes, bottom arms at the front, anti-roll bar drop links and the ABS may have fit, but then recover (and still work fine) and I've given up tracing the leak in my A/C. Dead easy to service yourself as well - when first acquired I put the best part of 40K miles on it, two years in a row, never missed a beat.

[soad]

Codd said:

On my run back from collecting it (Colchester to Watford) I averaged about 26MPG (and I wasn't exactly going easy) that was mostly motorway at 80 leptons plus. From what I've read, if you stay off the Turbo you can get 30+ out of them, but with a heavy foot they can hit low 20's/high teens.

Cheers - that's good going, i'd be pleased with that.

[v8will]

soad said:

What kind of mpg do these average out of interest?

Both mine (manual saloon, Auto estate with Rica remap) averaged 22mpg and that was a good mixture of fast A road and commuting. Driving hard would bring that down to around 14 or 15MPG or less - my record was £15 of petrol in 20 miles.

[Codd]

v8will said:

soad said:

What kind of mpg do these average out of interest?

Both mine (manual saloon, Auto estate with Rica remap) averaged 22mpg and that was a good mixture of fast A road and commuting. Driving hard would bring that down to around 14 or 15MPG or less - my record was £15 of petrol in 20 miles.

Blimey! You must have been really pressing on to gobble it up that quick!

What're your thoughts on the RICA remap? Is it worth the outlay? I hear as well as the BHP boost, they also say it increases fuel efficiency; is there any truth in that from your experience?

[walter leever]

if you want to flash/chip this one go for an MTE flash(the best there is),bit expensive,but can be easily upgraded if you're doing more to the car.
Nice example you've found there,i'm sure in the near future these will become classics(icons they're allready)

here's mine:





another tip,replace the top parts of the back lights for the V70 ones(white indicators)

gr,walter

Edited by walter leever on Saturday 29th May 06:21

[Max M4X WW]

Looks nice,

Is there any difference between TURBO and T5 then? Never seen one badged TURBO like yours before!

[walter leever]

Max M4X WW said:

Looks nice,

Is there any difference between TURBO and T5 then? Never seen one badged TURBO like yours before!

Actually it's the same car,first volvo called them Turbo's,later it changed into T-5.

gr,walter

[Codd]

Exactly as Walter said. I believe the first year they were just sold as "Turbo" then they changed that to "T5" then went on to add the limited edition "T5-R" and further the "850R"

As for those indicators, I'm looking to replace mine with the V70 ones as the back lights on mine are strangely tarnished, looks like the plastic has become foggy over the years.

Crackin' looking 850R there Walter

[Morningside]

Turbo and T-5 being the same car handy thing to remember.

[fabienne]

Great motor well done and thanks for sharing.

[Stedman]

Don't go for a remap until you've done your homework. They are all very different. Get onto the www.volvoforums.org.uk

and t5d5.org

Edit - It does seem though that the MTE remap is the one to go for (in my opinion of course!)

Congrats on the new car! They can be made into very subtle cars. Check out the IPD anti roll bars they transform these cars

Before a remap, I would also make sure the brakes are top notch. Volvo produced cars with 280mm and 302mm discs on the front. The 305s are adequate, but 280s are far from it!

There is also something in the Volvo forum world called a 'Stage 0'. Do this before you even consider a remap!

Edited by Stedman on Sunday 30th May 14:26

[v8will]

Codd said:

v8will said:

soad said:

What kind of mpg do these average out of interest?

Both mine (manual saloon, Auto estate with Rica remap) averaged 22mpg and that was a good mixture of fast A road and commuting. Driving hard would bring that down to around 14 or 15MPG or less - my record was £15 of petrol in 20 miles.

Blimey! You must have been really pressing on to gobble it up that quick!

What're your thoughts on the RICA remap? Is it worth the outlay? I hear as well as the BHP boost, they also say it increases fuel efficiency; is there any truth in that from your experience?

First off, don't bother too much with some of the Volvo forums, they are very tribal for want of a better word, especially where remaps are concerned. If you want to test that theory, join a forum and post a general question about remaps and watch the sparks fly

The two main maps available are Rica, of which they're are various pirate and genuine copies of and all of which are very aggressive. My car hit full boost at about 2500rpm and wheel spin was a big problem below 50MPH. It was alot of fun but the tyre bills became silly. The MTE map seems to be the one to go for, it's more progressive and IIRC the guy who owns the company can tailor it very well to any modifications you have. Big bucks though and no doubt the Uk vendor will twist your arm into a full exhaust system as well

Really if you want to go down the route of remaps you really want to make sure the car is in tip top order (Suspension bushes, PCV system, ignition system, boost pipes etc etc) T5's run very well even when they are sickly. My own car, even with a blown headgasket still performed an epically fast drive to it's final resting place

You'll also want to look at a brake upgrade (302mm discs and uprated pads IIRC, available 2nd hand on most forums) hauling a T5 down from 'ahem' high speed is almost frightening on standard brakes. I ran mintex on mine and it was still hard work

Before you pursue more power my advice is a real good comprehensive service (stage zero), a OE Volvo strut brace (about 60 quid) and a powerflex top mount (about 25 quid) That'll be the best money you ever spend on the car.

Fuel economy? Nope not really, I ran my boss's W210 E55 for a week (5.4 V8) and the fuel bills were similar.

Edited by v8will on Thursday 3rd June 19:38

[5potTurbo]

I'm surprised to see 'i love volvo' (Russell) hasn't posted in this thread yet. He's a knowledgeable chap on all things Volvo - he should be, after all!

[Stedman]

v8will said:

Alot.

Well said, I can't comment on remaps as i haven't even been in a car with one. Every forum does have it's valuable bits. Some just have more than others! (I know which one i have in mind that doesn't seem to offer much!)