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Excellent observations!
Forget the free flowing air filter, there's a world of information out there to prove it is of no use on anything other than a competition vehicle. I would strongly recommend any XC90 owner stay with the stock filter, as the only gain you're going to see with the K&N type filter is more dirt in the motor, in my humble opinion.
In a turbocharged engine being changed from 8 to 14 psi, there "might" be a performance gain, indeed, but it's going to be a small one. With all the test data and testimonials I've seen about normally aspirated cars, there is little to zero performance gains with the "free flow K&N type filter".
Regarding the exhaust system, an IPD representative told me on the phone recently, that the exhaust system was "not" a requirement, but was a good idea because of it's abillity to remove heat from the motor. He said you wouldn't want to stay on boost for a long time, such as pulling a boat trailer up Signal Mountin out of Chattanooga (on continual boost), without a larger exhaust, but using power judiciously would represent no problem. Therefore, a larger exhaust system seems to be a good idea anyway.
The fact that IPD is selling the ECU upgrade, but not the larger XC90 exhaust system (at the moment) may have been partially responsible for the IPD response I got when I quizzed the person about the "engine safety" of the upgrade. He said the "engine safety" would be fine, as long as I didn't go overboard on the foot to the floor issue.
Contrary to the air filter issue, I suspect the larger exhaust actually "does" contribute to "some" horsepower gain, but the real gain is that additional force fed boost. A larger exhaust to evacuate as much heat as quickly as possible makes all the sense in the world. I wouldn't install a filter known to admit more dirt on any fine engine.
The more I drive the XC90, the more I suspect I wil not be doing the ECU upgrade, because despite the constant yearning for a V8 I keep seeing being posted, I really have no problem making a vehicle with this size, weight, and
suspension capabilities go as fast or faster than I need to. It would be nice to have the added power in reserve for emergency issues, but in every day driving, after getting to know the vehicle, you really have all the power you realistically need.
Automotive journalists are the ones promoting the V8 discussion, and they're right if you're going to be towing a load, for sure, as the torque of a V8 would be quite usable in that situation. I tend to drive way too fast anyway, and with the added power in a XC90 I'm not sure it would be the smart thing for me to do.
Since I'm a dyed in the wool sports car nut in the first place, I've given the XC90 motor and suspension a very careful look, and the upgrade I'm most interested in now is the IPD sway bar and the 2" lowering springs (if I can find a set with graduated firmness that will not induce harshness).
regards,
Mr. P
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2004 XC90 2.5T AWD, 1990 944 S2 Cabriolet, 1989 740 GL 16v, 1984 944, 1983 928S 5-speed, 1974 TVR 2500M
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