I am the proud new owner of a '97 850R wagon. Its in perfect condition with 46k miles. What would be the first things you would do to start improving things, ie. better performace and handling? Since the original owner did a great job with mantainence I can bypass that part. I was thinking of starting with all the cheap and free things first, ie. K&N filters, moving the horn locations, etc. but any other restrictive pieces that would benefit replacing with a high performance part? Are sway bars and strut tower braces needed? Any suggestions on making this car more fun to drive is greatly appreciated.

Steve,

A lot depends on where you will be driving (street or track) and what you are willing to give up in ride quality (read comfort). If it's pure grunt and straight line speed you're looking for the the chip upgrade and sport exhaust is the area you will see the most return.

If you are looking for on track (road course) handling then you can look at the suspension bits. The R version may already have a good set of sway bars, springs and shocks (I have a straight 850 Turbo Sedan and it needed some help). Adjustable shocks give you the ability to set the car up for both street and track use. Lowering springs will change the look and stiffness of the car which helps with handling but at a significant price in terms of ride comfort.

I'd drive it for a few months. Enjoy the knock-out performance

now and really learn what it can and can't do. Then I think

you will know better where to start (me, I want an IPD ECU upgrade).

Does this help performance??

GO WITH A ECU UPGRADE TRUST ME ON THIS ONE!! IF U NEED ANY MORE INFO ON ANTHING ELESE I.E. HANDLING , AUDIO , PERFORMANCE E-MAIL ME VOLVOSPEED@HOTMAIL.COM

REGRADS;