Best ECU upgrade or Chip for the money??

[tahoeflyer]

I have a Volo Soft flash Chip at the moment.. and am Thinking about upgrading to a better set up... anyone have any comments? ..

Thanks..

[OffroadinXC70]

Im thinkin about my uprading my ecu also. Ive been looking at the IPD flash, but the cost has me at bay and hesitating to pull the triger on it lol. However the added hp and boost, I think its worth it..

[Forkster]

I have the IPD stage I upgrade. Let me tell you, this completely changes how the Volvo handles (in a good way).

Best $800 upgrade I ever paid for.[thumbup]

And it comes with the Softloader - always great to check and see how the Vo is workin, check/clear codes etc. And if I want, I can always back out the update. :)

[OffroadinXC70]

So do you think getting the softloader is actually better than sending your ecu to them to flash it? Yea, this is more money but im kinda leaning twoards it because I dont want to be without a car for like a week :/

[Art]

So do you think getting the softloader is actually better than sending your ecu to them to flash it? Yea, this is more money but im kinda leaning twoards it because I dont want to be without a car for like a week :/

No doubt. The inconvenience of having your car out of commission for a few days in addition to having to pay additional shipping costs are reason enough. Reflashing with softloaders can be done at your own convenience.

IPD, Elevate, and RICA all have proven results with their softloaders and are similarly priced with a few subtleties. IPD still requires use of a laptop but includes full diagnostic/data logging software with their full package. Elevate now offers a handheld tuner and diagnostic software is available as a pre-installed or added option for $150. RICA will be introducing a diagnostic software upgrade to their handheld i-softloader at a future date. Stage upgrades appear to run anywhere from $100-$150 for these units.

I'm really happy with the added performance that I get with RICA's i-softloader and was able to jump on a group buy earlier this summer. It's one of the best decisions that I've ever made plus the entire flash process take only 3 minutes tops. [thumbup]

[OffroadinXC70]

Alright thanks for the info..So you think the RICA softloader is the best all around option and most bang for your buck?

[Art]

Alright thanks for the info..So you think the RICA softloader is the best all around option and most bang for your buck?

I can't give you a definitive answer since the only experience I have is with the RICA unit. I don't think that you would be disappointed with any of them. I simply went with RICA since there was a $695 group buy occurring at the time. The turnaround period for me was pretty good. From the time my softloader was activated to the processing of the tuning file by RICA took about 24 hrs. Reprogramming from stock-> modified takes about 3 minutes and I'm done. Returning to stock is just as easy and fast.

That being said, the Elevate unit might have a slight edge when it comes to HP/Torque gains. A group buy for their new handheld unit recently ended on Nov 15.

http://forums.swedespeed.com/showthread.php?145536-Official-Elevate-Autotech-Performance-Software-GROUP-BUY-Part-Duece!

Of course it’s a known fact that IPD has a ton of experience and support and always stands behind their products.

[OffroadinXC70]

Darn, I wish I would have seen the group buy..Do you know of any other upcoming group buys? And thanks again for all your insight.

[ifnt420]

I've tried BSR, Rica and MTE/IPD.
MTE/IPD has the best torque curve that makes driving the XC a blast. [thumbup]
Rica is my second choice, and I wouldn't recommend the BSR. It makes the throttle very sensitive (throttle mapping chaged?) and in stop and go traffic it's not very smooth.
Haven't tried the Autotech/Elevate tune yet, but heard many good things about it too!

[Ocean Racer]

I've tried BSR, Rica and MTE/IPD.
MTE/IPD has the best torque curve that makes driving the XC a blast. [thumbup]
Rica is my second choice, and I wouldn't recommend the BSR. It makes the throttle very sensitive (throttle mapping chaged?) and in stop and go traffic it's not very smooth.
Haven't tried the Autotech/Elevate tune yet, but heard many good things about it too!

I have the Autotech / Elevate tune.
So far nothing but AWESOME results. However I trust Ben's [Ifnt420] opinion with his MTE set up.

Using the stock turbo and stage 1 tune, its completely changes the way the car drives. You can hear and feel the pull at 2800rpm like a slingshot.

I now have updated the turbo and have the stage 3 custom tune from Autotech and the car has more power and torque than the stage 1. Plus the support from Peter @ Autotech has been superb. [thumbup]

[gpzTurbo]

Does anyone know how much the boost is increased in a stage1 tune? I couldn't find it on the ipd site.

[Ocean Racer]

Does anyone know how much the boost is increased in a stage1 tune? I couldn't find it on the ipd site.

from 7psi to 14 I believe.

[Ars Gladius]

According to IPD's 2010/2011 Catalog (V70/V70AWD/V70XC/XC70 with the 2.5T engine - 2003-2007):

Stock:

HP - 208
Torque - 236 lbs-ft
Boost - 8 psi
0-60 - 7.6 sec


Stage 1:

HP - 245
Torque - 310 lbs-ft
Boost - 14 psi
0-60 - 6.4 sec

[Ocean Racer]

What does it say about stage 3 ?

[Ars Gladius]

IPD unfortunately don't list stage 2 or 3 data in the catalog (or online) or even reference those being available for the XC70s...?

Though MTE (http://shop.mte.se/group.asp?group=17) has the numbers on their site for the stage 2, 3 and 4 tunes.

S2 - 250Hp 420Nm
S3 - 260Hp 430Nm
S4 - 300Hp 450Nm

[PierreC]

I also got the Elevate (Autotech) tune on the group buy recently and it has transformed the car ... smoother and more responsive and ... well ... faster!

Might not be the "best" but well worth the money (at the fantastic group buy discount)!!

Pierre