For the record, I have a 1990 740 GLE 16-valve DOHC with about 126K miles on it, with a manual transmission (4+ OD). What can be done to it to make it go faster? Is there anything that can be done cheap with a fair return in performance?

So far, I have put slotted rotors from IPD on the front, and semi-metallic brake pads all around. When I next replace the rear brake pads, I will replace the rotors with slotted rotors. Is there any more that can be done for the brakes? I've heard that putting 960 calipers on it will help. I have also put Bilsteins and overload springs in the back. I know most of the handling upgrades that can be done (lowering springs, bilsteins, anti sway bars, etc), but I have yet to find much in the way of actual performance enhancements, as they are mostly for turbo engines.

I have been thinking about getting a K&N filter, if only for the gas mileage increase. However, there is a turbo filter and a non-turbo filter. What is the difference? My engine has higher compression than the non-turbo, so would I benefit from a turbo filter? (My compression is 10:1, whereas the non-turbo is about 9:1) Same with the IPD performance exhaust. What's the difference between the turbo exhaust and the non-turbo exhaust?

Is it possible to replace the camshafts and/or timing gears? I was looking at Unorthodox Racing in relation to the pulley and saw the gears, but it kept trying to load when I wanted to plug my model in to see if they had any for it. I'm on super fast Cable, so something was wrong with the site.

Any replies are appreciated, thanks!
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Manual tran 16v Wagon... Booyah!

You have some very good advice here already.

No air filter will increase MPG over ANY OTHER NEW FILTER. Why? All '82 Volvos have a Lambda sensor (Oxygen sensor). The sole purpose of this is to tell the EEC what the current air/fuel ratio (AFR) is. Now admittedly these sensors have a narrow operational range, but the EEC is pretty good at keeping the AFR at the designed level anyway, the Lambda is really for verification.

In order to get better economy (all things being equal), you need to inject LESS fuel for a given amount of air. That would be a "leaner" mixture. As soon as the folks at "Joe Blow" air filters tell you their filter will improve economy, you have to ask yourself you it changes the EEC or any of it's AFR inputs to accomplish this. Basically it cannot.

Sure, on a carbed car with a really bad filter design, you actually do see an improvement. That applies to basically no one in today's world.

The M/T is NOT the trans you want for a performance car. They are significantly weaker than the available A/T. Most of the "Turbo Brick" folks switched to A/Ts for this very reason. OR they spent big $$ upgrading to a stronger M/T like from a Mustang etc.
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JohnG 1989 245 MT @ 235,000

The 16v engine with a manual transmission in a wagon is an extremely rare combination. If you're interested in speed, you'd have better success finding a Turbo wagon with a manual transmission and doing some modifications -running more boost with more fuel, less restrictive exhaust, etc. As mentioned elsewhere there are plenty of modified Turbo Volvos out there and info on Turbobricks.com. Even a stock 740 Turbo will be faster than the 16v naturally aspirated motor...and you would have no trouble finding someone who wanted that unmodified 16v 4+OD wagon.

That's just it, I know how extremely rare the combo is, and I'd like to keep it. Eventually, I want to turbo it, but I'm just looking at options right now...
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Manual tran 16v Wagon... Booyah!

Try posting your questions at www.turbobricks.com

That forum is more active in the performance/tuning realm.

The problem is that the 16 valve is a somewhat rare engine, so there isn't much call for aftermarket parts for them.
The other thing is that it's already a modified engine right from the factory. Think about it this way: One of the most popular mods for any N/A car is to improve it's "breathing" -- which of course you'd achieve by altering cams and valves. Well Volvo already did that at the factory. They took a B230 (115hp/136lb/ft) and added a 16 valve head to it -- improving the stats to 153hp/150lb/ft (a pretty substancial increase).

I doubt the K & N filter will do anything for you -- studies show that they don't. The the difference between the turbo and N/A air filters is size. The turbo filter will not fit in an N/A airbox -- I presume the 16 valve has the same airbox as the N/A cars, but that's just a guess. The difference between turbo and N/A exhaust is also size. You may be able to fit a turbo exhaust system to your car, but you would need an adapter (I believe 2" to 2.25") -- you'd have to check it to be sure.

Hope this is of some help to you.

Good luck.

Jeff Pierce
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'93 945 Turbo ( one kickass family car ! ) 197K miles, '92 Mercedes 190E (my daily driver) 170K miles, '85 Jeep CJ-7 w/ Fisher plow 225K miles, ’95 Lawn Chief

Can I use this head on an '88 244GL? I know I might need to modify parts.

Hmmm, that's interesting about the K&N Filter, a friend of mine put it on his car and said he noticed a bit better acceleration and got 2 more MPGs on average. I've also measured my exhaust system width and it is already 2.5", so I guess that would mean I should go for a turbo exhaust system if I ever needed to replace it...
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Manual tran 16v Wagon... Booyah!

On a bone stock NA engine, the only thing you'll gain with a special air filter are louder intake sounds. Modified & turbocharged engines are a whole other animal then. If you are concerned about fuel mileage, it'll be cheaper & more effective to just put a hockey puck under the gas pedal ;-)

The whole idea behind engine upgrades in a nutshell is to be able to burn more fuel and therefore create more power. This is very easy to accomplish on a turbo engine (increased boost pressure shoves more air/fuel mixture in the engine) or older, large displacement engines that were hampered by restrictive carburetors & cylinder heads, e.g. Mopar 225 slant six with single barrel Holley vs. the same thing with HyperPak intake & 4bbl carb.

As Jeff pointed out, you're the lucky owner of a NA "factory hot-rod". In plain english, better get your checkbook out as there are no cheap solutions like there are for turbos ( such as Saab APC computer from a junkyard or manual boost controller valve).

So no one knows any of this?
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Manual tran 16v Wagon... Booyah!

I also own a 740 GLE wagon with the B234F, but with an autoatic tranny. The 16 valve head is the affore mentioned 'hot rod' factory option....however, the hot build with this head is to bolt it on to a B230 red turbo block - and it's not all that simple as just bolting it on... and it's not a cheap build either.

As it's been already said, outside of replacing your current set up with a different motor (SBC 350?!) there a few performance gains to be had by piecemeal upgrades.

I have not seen any info on swapping out the fuel injectors for higher flow versions, that night be another place to look, but I don't see anything that's going to get you a substantial increase in HP without goijg to a different powerplant.

Yeah, I wanna do the thing with putting the 16v head on a turbo engine, but I have neither the time nor money atm...
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Manual tran 16v Wagon... Booyah!