Want engine performance upgrade on 3.2

[barrysharp]

Volvo/Polestar claim fuel consumption is unaffected and has the same certified fuel consumption as the standard version... see http://www.volvocars.com/us/sales-se.../polestar.aspx

It's not all about money either. Drivability is also a consideration. My wife drove the 3.2 AWD and the 3.2 FWD and said she disliked the way the car drove. When driving the T6 she said, now this is more like it and that sealed our decision for the T6. The Polestar along with reviews and our research is simply another bonus for us and $1000 over 10, 15, 20 years is from $0.27 down to $0.14 per day. ...and that ignores the potential resale benefits that Polestar could provide in future.

Of course the Polestar isn't for everyone. We all have our own perceptions/opinions/biases when it comes to a car's performance and drivability.

[matt1122]

Polestar turns up the boost pressure and remaps the throttle so that less pressure on the accelerator pedal will give you more acceleration. Owners of turbo-charged Volvo cars have been doing this for years with ECM upgrades, however this is provided by Volvo and doesn't have the potential to void the warranty. The only difference between the engine in the 850 T-5R and R and the 850 Turbo and T5 was a chip upgrade, so it does make a difference. This thread is about an NA car though. Different story.

[XCovlov70]

This thread is about an NA car though. Different story.

Think your trying to pull my leg?

[budrichard]

"We all have our own perceptions/opinions/biases when it comes to a car's performance and drivability."

And therein lies the problem!
There is no way to objectively verify the claims made by Polestar for most of us.
My original assertion is; why isn't the Polestar upgrade standard if it is so good and is only a different chip. Pure marketing is my opinion.
Now the T6 rather than the 3.2 is perception but that is reality as we are taught.
14 cents per day has nothing to do with any of it except that it may be the only objective number for Polestar.-Dick

[matt1122]

Sure it's a marketing thing. Volvo knows they can charge more money for more power, so they do. The polestar upgrade is actually standard on the S60 R-Design and the C70 T5 Inscription. It is an option on every other vehicle and engine it is available for and is not even offered for the S80 T6. Polestar's claims can be objectively verified by looking at the performance figures and the specifications for the upgrade. These are real numbers and the performance is well proven.

The difference between the T6 and the 3.2 isn't a matter of perception. The T6 is much, much faster than the 3.2. If you meant to say that whether the 3.2 is quick enough is a matter of opinion, I don't think anyone intelligent would argue it's not.

"Am I willing to spend $0.14 / day over the next X years for that extra performance?" This has everything to do with it. You're paying for luxury. You have to evaluate whether that luxury is worth the extra cash, and this is a great way to break it down. As it is a luxury, trying to make it seem practical is really futile and irrelevant. No one is arguing that 325hp is "necessary" or "practical" for any purpose other than personal enjoyment.

[barrysharp]

If Polestar+ is not a feature you don't value or don't want you simply opt to ignore it. For others it's an upgrade option to be considered.

If the XC70 roof spoiler is not a feature you don't value you opt to ignore it.

If leather seating is not a feature you don't value you opt to ignore it.

Volvo provides options for its customers just like any other company.

Not everyone wants the extra 25 HP that Polestar+ provides, and Volvo recognized that, so it makes it an option rather than making it a standard. Same is true for the various "Packages" Volvo offers.

In fact, just about all `goodies' for the XC70 can be individually ordered rather than taking what the dealership may have ordered for their lots. There's a price list for all the `goodies' available on the Volvo web site and it can be downloaded as a PDF file. The only real downside to `custom ordering' is the waiting time for the built-to-order XC70 to arrive for pickup from dealership. It's roughly the same wait time as for Volvo OSD ordering program.

I personally believe Polestar/Volvo claims about the fuel use being no different from stock. I've had ECU upgrades done on two S60Rs (MTE ones from IPD) and I can say there was no noticeable difference in the fuel consumption after having made these upgrades. This is very difficult to substantiate as one's driving behavior is not constant, but from my fuel expenses before and after the ECU upgrades lead me to conclude what I've posted above. I really enjoyed the extra performance these ECU upgrades made to my S60Rs both for normal driving and for the days I took them to the local speedway to engage in driver education that allowed one to really appreciate what their cars are capable of -- hard braking, cornering, maneuvering, obstacle avoidance... realizing one can actually steer the car around an obstacle at 70 mph with brakes fully engaged and not skidding out of control always amazes me -- and it requires the space at a speedway to experience this... Sorry, I'm way OT with this.

[cattlecar]

As others have said, there is no readily available help for 3.2 engine to get more performance. So far as I know there is not a software update to make the older 3.2's behave like the newer ones with the few extra HP and torque numbers. Some of the extra perf of the newer engine is internal mods that reduce friction.

K&N likely would make no difference if someone installed it and didn't tell you it was done. K&N filters LOVE to oil up MAF sensor if the proper amount of oil is used and if less than that is used then the filter allows more fine particle dirt into engine.

Any mods you can do to get colder air source to air cleaner without a lot of extra risk of ingesting water or snow in foul weather would be time well spent.

[termite]

I have an '08 w/ the 3.2 and for the first 45k miles, I agreed with all of the posts, that it seemed both under powered and thrashy. A K&N filter increased gas mileage by a mile or two per gallon. The biggest change though was the software update for the engine and tranny that the dealer installed at just under 50k miles. The engine ran completely different than it did before and far more like 2010; smooth even power band w/o the thrashy feel. Initially after the update, the tranny was worse; it would slam shifts periodically, especially when I came to a stop. Within 3k miles, that all cleared up and it is now just fine to drive...I can't say enough good things about the updates...

[mader$]

Here is what Polestar said:

Hello Scott and thank you for your mail.

Our upgrades are unfortunately only available for turbocharged cars.

We do not currently offer any upgrades for TCU’s (Transmission Control Units).

Best regards,

Andreas

Andreas Naeslund
Sales Manager North America
Polestar Performance Inc.
22 Lightning W Ranch Road
Washoe Valley, NV 89 704
USA

[mader$]

Here is what RICA of the Netherlands said:

Hello Scott,

To tune your car you need to send your cars ECU to our Headquarter in Netherlands. After this you can use our iSoftloader to tune it with RICA ECU upgrade and tune it back to Original by yourself in a few minutes.
We send the ECU together with a iSoftloader back to you same day we have received the ECU from you.

Please let me know if you find this interesting.

Best regards
Patrik
Sales

RICA Engineering
Solbräckegatan 16
442 45 Kungälv
+46 303 58182
www.rica-engineering.com
[email protected]