Volvo S40 (updated 15/09/08) Pics and LC vid

[Andy P]

Hi guys,

I'll introduce myself first. My name is Andy from the Portsmouth area of the UK. I've owned the S40 for about 2 getting on to 3 years now. It came from the factory in 1998 as a 2.0T SE (1948cc) and produced 160bhp. I bought it with the intention of modifying it to around the 250bhp mark with the aid of a new turbo (from the T4 motor) a few other bits and bobs along with a remap.

Here's one of the oldest pics I have to hand -


Mmmmm... lovely.. Ok, on with the mods. It wasn't long before the 250bhp "goal" was out the window, a nice 300bhp was in order. In went new cams (from the 2.0n/a model) hybrid turbo, custom FMIC all the piping made by myself (virtually nothing is off the shelf with this car), full 3" turbo back exhaust and 441cc bosch injectors.

As well as the power I wanted it to handle well so it was fitted with KW coilovers, whiteline rear ARB, 17's with good rubber and a rear strutbrace. I also made a few minor exterior mods and I crafted an RS4 front bumper to house the FMIC. The car was looking more like this...



So, off i went to get the car mapped. All was well and the car was amazing. It was put on the rollers (in 3rd gear for some reason) and made ~290bhp and ~340lbs/ft!!! The very next morning was nice and dry and very cold, perfect, I'll give it a little "test" down the motorway to see how its performing.....it came off the motorway like this...











Banana spec rods!!

Now this was the turning point, it all went a little mad from here. Those of you that have rebuilt of engine will know the saying "whilst its out I might as well...."

New rods of course..


But then I might as well fit lower comp pistons...(Phase 2 T4 pistons 8.5:1cr mahle forged OEM)


My standard pistons had valve pockets in them so just in case...


Now the engine is good for much more power, so I might as well.....

(turbo is a Turbotechnics T38)

But I was having traction issues with less power so...


Big power, makes sense to get....

(KAD billet alu 6 pots and AP racing 330mm x28mm dics, alu bells)

All in...


...And off to get mapped again.

Unfortunately I didn't have the time to get the map 100% finished. It was only maxing 1.4/1.5 bar (75% DC on the BCS) and the fueling was only good up to 6500rpm. According the the mapper it was making around the ~375bhp mark on the "butt dyno" (car was mapped on the road).

The car was fast but I wasn't happy with it. The car was smoking a little so i took the turbo off and sent it to CR turbos for a diagnosis. I guessed that the piston rings wern't staggered gap and was leaking a bit of oil. CR took it apart and rebuit it and found it did have the staggered rings (replaced with new anyway) but noticed that I wasn't using an oil restrictor and that was the cause. Sent it back with a restrictor fitted totally FOC!

The manifold I was using was a modified T5 cast one - basically with one of the runners lopped off. I wasn't particularly happy with it so "whilst the turbo is off" I just as well make a tubualar...

I bought a cheap Mitsu Evo 1/2/3 manifold to switch flanges to make fit


Then I was offered a GT2876R, which would suit my car better so I snapped that up...


Whilst all this was going on I thought I'd upgrade the head, so I got a rare Phase 1 T4(t2) head which comes standard with solid lifters and high flow valves..... But as it was out I just as well port it!



I thought it would just be easier to build the engine out of the car so...


Just a random shot of the one or two parts laying about...


And finally, because I chat to Tomislav (Tcode on here) every day when I should be working (like now!) he finally talked me into getting a standalone ECU, obviously biased towards VEMS.

It wasn't long before I had placed my order with Rob (thanks again). I've not done much work with it because I've got LOADS on my plate at the moment - I need an engine in the car to start with! But I've managed to do this..



I'm reluctant to cut out all of my existing loom so I've decided to develop a harness to make the VEMS as "plug and play" as possible and keep the additional wires into the engine bay to a minimum.

As there is almost nothing on the market for performance S/V40 parts I've always tried to make things as simple and effective as possible so I can easily replicate it or use my knowledge to help others. If my manifold is a success I'd like to make a few more and offer it to others that are in my position - likewise for the VEMS harness.

Anyway, I should really get back to work (the MD is just in the next office!) Hope you like the project and expect lots of questions coming from my direction!

Just one more pic -


Cheers, Andy P.

[[email protected]]

Nicely done sir
Those S40s are an awesome 'sleeper' you're not going to expect a car that looks as bling free (and thats a good thing) as that to put out that much power.
What engine is that derived from?  Is it Volvo only or in other marques too?

[Andy P]

The "B4xxx" 4 cylinder S/V40 engines are the same as the 5 cylinder engines fround in the larger 850 T5's etc but with the obvious difference. The 5 cylinder engines are the same as the straight 6 volvo engines which I believed was actually designed by porsche - again with a cylinder lopped off.

Other engines in the S40 range (lower power/spec) are a mix of Renault and Mitsubishi lumps.

The chassis is the same as the Evo 1,2,3, Galants, Proton Wira and a few others. A lot of the suspension parts are transferable. A friend of mine in Basingstoke is converting his 2.0n/a V40 estate into a 2.2 stroked Evo engine (500bhp / 500lbsft) with full AWD running gear!!! (yes I'm trying to convince him to go VEMS too)

The newer T5 lumps again are redesigns of the older T5 engines with many parts being transferable - These engines can be found in many other marques now because of the FMC ownership. It can be found in the new Focus ST, S-max etc and the Mazda 6. Theres probably many more.

Andy P

[Andy P]

Did some work last night-

Rebuilding the head (collets can kiss my arse  )






And I bought some bargain track wheels off ebay. 17" OZ racing alloys with tyres off an Evo 3. In need of a bit of TLC but as track wheels a lick of paint will do. £83!!

Test fit -


Need some spacers on the front to clear the calipers, 10mm should do it.

Not sure what colour to paint them, black looks stealthy but white looks "race"



Andy P

[[email protected]]

The chassis is the same as the Evo 1,2,3, Galants, Proton Wira and a few others. A lot of the suspension parts are transferable. A friend of mine in Basingstoke is converting his 2.0n/a V40 estate into a 2.2 stroked Evo engine (500bhp / 500lbsft) with full AWD running gear!!! (yes I'm trying to convince him to go VEMS too)

I love this modern "parts-bin" engineering - it presents so many oppotunities to mix and match the bits you want.  I quite like the idea of an RWD S40 drift car
Have you shown your friend khracing's Evo?

[Andy P]

I love this modern "parts-bin" engineering - it presents so many oppotunities to mix and match the bits you want.  I quite like the idea of an RWD S40 drift car
Have you shown your friend khracing's Evo?

Yeah, if it wasn't for that there would be virtually nothing for the S40 modification wise! My rear strut brace is off an Evo 3, I've got a proton wira lower "h-brace", track wheels are off an Evo and I've got some front poly bushes to increase castor from an FTO!

I've not shown him khr's Evo yet, I'll send him the link next time hes online

Andy P

[[email protected]]

What's the Quaiffe ATB diff off then?

[Andy P]

Hah, you caught me out on that one. It's actually made for a Volvo! Originally for the 850 T5's but they use the same gearbox (M56) so it drops straight in

Andy P

[tcode]

Hello and welcome to this boards .
This car is simply awesome, and once powered by VEMS it will be even better. 

[Andy P]

Another small update.

I'n my quest to make a plug and play harness I bought another S40 ecu with plug and about 30cm of loom attached.

I had to rip open the ecu to steal the socket from it - only 90 pins to desolder!



At the moment it looks like this...



On the hardware side of things, completed the port/polish/rebuild etc of the mechanical head. Took ages because some idiot mixed up all the valves and tappets  Measuring clearances are a pain in the arse...

(covered in clingfilm)


Andy P

[Andy P]

Another update...

Continuing with the harness -


And now splicing in the VEMS -


And finally a pic of the cleaned block just after bolting the sump back on -


Andy P

[[email protected]]

Looks good - I can't see for sure if you've got the common ground cluster 10-15cm from the VEMS plug though.

[Andy P]

Its the collection of brown wires off to the LHS of the ECO36 plug. Its about 12-13cm long.

Andy P

[[email protected]]

Excellent, what sort of number of grounds do you have on the Volvo plug?  I found with the Nissan that the grounds were grouped with the injectors, ignition, general power (things like relays and what have you) and sensor grounds.  At least one wire has to go to each type because the earths seemed to be seperate in the loom (no ignition grounds = no ignition!)

[Andy P]

There are 4 power grounds on the Volvo ecu. I was contemplating whether to group all my Vems and sensor grounds and then branch these off to the 4 Volvo grounds.

At the moment I've decided against doing this. It would make the install neater etc but I don't want to run the risk of any interferance/noise. Chances are it would work perfectly fine but its one less thing to worry about if there is a cock up along the line.

Andy