Cold-air intake and fuel economy Volvo 850s (non-turbo)

Discussion in 'Volvo 850' started by socraticquest, May 14, 2010.

  1. Hello,

    Can cold-air intake yield a small improvement in fuel economy on a
    1997 Volvo 850 (non-turbo)? Would fuel economy improvement sacrafice
    performance?

    What would be the best ways to go about adding a cold-air intake?

    Thank-you
     
    socraticquest, May 14, 2010
    #1
  2. socraticquest

    James Sweet Guest


    All of the Volvos I've dealt with already have an intake snorkel from
    the airbox to up in front of the grill. Seems the one of the first
    things performance nuts do is mess with the airbox but the factory setup
    is excellent. If you want to maximize fuel economy make sure your tires
    are filled to the max pressure, remove unnecessary cargo from the car,
    and run synthetic oil. All of these things will have a greater effect on
    economy, particularly the tires. Driving style has a huge effect as well.
     
    James Sweet, May 15, 2010
    #2
  3. socraticquest

    ransley Guest

    Its all advertising, you wont notice a difference, if you took all the
    milage claims of all the different gimmics sold your car would be
    getting 1000 mpg by now, but non work. Hydrogen generators are the
    lastest scam
     
    ransley, May 15, 2010
    #3
  4. socraticquest

    Leftie Guest


    It's best to inflate the tires to 10% below the max listed pressure,
    both to avoid gauge error related damage and to give an acceptable ride
    with the higher economy. If the handling seems too 'touchy' at 10% below
    max, try 15 or 20% below. I've been running tires at 38-40psi for many
    years.
     
    Leftie, May 21, 2010
    #4
  5. socraticquest

    franz47 Guest

     
    franz47, Jun 6, 2010
    #5
  6. socraticquest

    franz47 Guest

    In my opinion the most important single factor reducing fuel
    consumption/distance is the grey jelly-like mass sitting between my ears. Just
    consider that every time you brake you are converting mechanical energy (for
    which to get you had to burn about 3 times the energy amount as fuel) into
    useless heat, means practically burning your money into smoke. Your driving
    habits is what mostly influences fuel consumption, if the rest of the car is ok.
    Franz47
     
    franz47, Jun 6, 2010
    #6
  7. i think the question is if one of these new electric superchargers
    will work. yes & no! yes, they will provide a real intake boost.in
    fact my ME friends find them infinitely superior to mechanical
    superchargers. the trick now is to intercool them efficiently. once
    they're in production, Geeley (Haaaaaaa......) will bring them to you.
    no, YOUR ecu is too old to make seemless use of it. the simplest
    required modifications would be changing the timing & using higher
    octane (Myst races on 102 & is eco-sensitive on 96, both w/ a BTU
    boost {how did they do that? do you have a very,very,very long
    time?}).

    but i race. for ordinary purposes Volvo weighed & balanced a number of
    factors. they then built a beautiful engine. you can't save money by
    changing it!!! if i tell her to Myst will get 13 km/l, but i'm ripping
    her apart -- esp on the track. i'm saving up for a complete rebuild
    this winter maybe sooner, you have no idea how much all those ti
    widgets cost. i'll consider myself lucky. formula 1 teams consider
    themselves lucky if they get 1 race.

    finally i'm w/ the smart man who responded earlier. just do the simple
    stuff & the rest will take care of itself. do maintainance as per
    Volvo spec. most of the rest is snake oil -- i own a snake or she owns
    me, we're not quite sure. she has no body fat. syntec is better. is it
    more cost effective? probably not, but it is more forgiving. if i talk
    air filters, we'll just have an argument. however; new & clean is
    better than old & dirty. if you drive in a # of different enviroments,
    consider having different air filters. if you intend to keep the
    vehicle a while you won't end up buying any more filters. you will
    learn to identify need for replacement by inspection, not mileage.
    tyres? well it's a trade off. better traction means worse mileage.

    off subject: have you read the Phaedo?
     
    Richard W Langbauer, Jun 6, 2010
    #7
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