Tuning the Volvo B5244

"Comprehensive guide to tuning the Volvo B5244 engine!"

We are regularly getting messages asking how to improve the B5244 from people wanting to know what are the best B5244 modifications. So let us look into Volvo B5244 parts and outline the best modifications on this great engine and point out some problems along the way.

Let us review B5244 tuning and point out the optimum upgrades. Volvo B5244 great bases for a tuning project and with a few sensible mods like a remap, turbo upgrades and camshafts you will certainly improve your driving opportunities.

Just because particular parts are appear in lots of B5244 projects it doesn't mean it is good, instead we will focus on the parts that will give your B5244 the best power gain for you spend.

The camshaft profile plays a big part in the engines power output so camshaft upgrades make quite a large difference. The intake and exhaust durations will alter depending on the chosen camshaft profile, so large bhp gains are on offer for camshaft upgrades.

NB: Fast road camshafts usually raise the torque through the rev band, you may sacrifice a little bottom end torque but high end rpm power will be better.

Motorsport and race camshafts, raise the high end rpm power band but as a result the car will not idle smoothly and low end power nearly always suffers.

A Motorsport cam is not great driving in heavy traffic.

You should ideally optimize your torque band to your cars usage so for a road car stick with a shorter duration B5244 cam

Different B5244 engines respond better to mild camshaft durations check your engine on a rolling road.

The engine timing and injectors and fuel pump also will make differences on the torque gains you'll hit.

Altering valve durations can alter the torque band and on most engines the exhaust and intake durations do not need to match, although most cams and tuners use matched pairs there are some advantages to extending the intake or exhaust durations.

B5244 Best Tuning Mods & Upgrades

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Tuning Stages

Stage 1 B5244 modifications: Sports exhaust manifold, Panel air filters, Fast road camshaft, Intake headers, Remaps/piggy back ECU, Drilled & smoothed airbox.

Stage 2 B5244 modifications: Sports catalyst & performance exhaust, high flow fuel injectors, induction kit, Ported and polished head, fuel pump upgrades, Fast road cam.

Stage 3 B5244 modifications: Twin charging conversions, Internal engine upgrades (head flowing porting/bigger valves), Adding or Upgrading forced induction (turbo/supercharger), Crank and Piston upgrades to alter compression, Competition cam, Engine balancing & blueprinting.

ECU mapping should help to unlock the full potential of all the upgrades you've done to your B5244.

It will usually give around 30% more power on turbocharged vehicles and you can expect to see around 15% on NASP engines, but your results usually vary depending on the upgrades you've fitted and the condition of your engine.

Forcing more air and fuel into your B5244 is the aim to any engine tuning job.

Intake manifold transmit the air during the suck phase from the air cleaner and allow it to be drawn into the engine cylinders with fuel for the squish phase.

Design and rate of flow of the Air Intake manifolds can make a substantial change to fuel atomisation on the B5244.

Most headers are crying out for motorsport parts, although a few car makers provide decently flowing headers.

Larger B5244 valves, doing some 3 or 5 angle valve jobs and porting and head flowing will also raise bhp, this will allow you to get a better bhp increase on other upgrades.

Turbo upgrades for the B5244

NASP engines need quite a lot of work when you add a turbo, so we have a separate guide to help you take into account the pros and cons of going this route on your B5244

The more air you can get into an engine, the more fuel it can burn and uprating the induction with a turbocharger upgrade makes excellent power gains.

If a car is turbo charged tuning mods are simpler to install and you will discover turbo charged engines will have many forged and stronger components.

However most engines will need better parts at higher power limits

It is important to find these restrictions and upgrade to stronger pistons, crank and engine components to handle the power.

It's not unheard of drivers spending a a stack of money on turbo charger upgrades on the B5244 only to suffer the humiliation of seeing the B5244 catastrophically fail soon after it's been finished.

Larger turbochargers tend to suffer no power at low rpm, and small turbochargers spool up more quickly but do not have the top end power band gains.

Over the last 20 years the choice of turbochargers is always improving and we commonly find variable vane turbochargers, permitting the vane profile is altered according to speed to lower lag and increase top end power.

Twin scroll turbochargers divert the exhaust gases into two channels and flow these at differently angled vanes in the turbo charger. They also increase the scavenging effect of the engine.

It is common that there is a limit in the air flow sensor (AFM/MAF/MAP) on the B5244 when a lot more air is being drawn into the engine.

We note 4 bar air sensors coping with quite large power gains, whereas the OEM air sensor was restricting performance at a much lower level.

Adding a supercharger or additional turbo will make large bhp gains, although more challenging to configure. We have this article covering twinchargers if you want to read more.

Uprating B5244 fuel injectors

When you boost the power you will need to look at to the fuel system.

More power needs more fuel. It makes sense to over specify your flow rate on the injectors.

The accepted safe increase is to add 20% to the flow rate when fitting an injector, which takes into account injector deterioration and gives a bit of spare capacity should the engine require more fuel.

We think this one is common sense, but you'll need to match your fuel injector to the type of fuel your car uses as well.

Best B5244 performance exhausts

You only need to to increase your exhaust if the current exhaust is actually causing a restriction in flow.

On most factory exhausts you should find that your flow rate is ok even on modest power gains, but when you start pushing up the power levels you will need to get a better flowing exhaust.

Please dont run with the largest exhaust you can source this will reduce the exhaust flow rate - the best exhausts for power gains are usually between 1.5 to 2.5 inches. It is the shape and material more than the bore size.

Typically exhaust restrictions can be traced to the catalyst installed, so adding a freer flowing race alternative will help avoid this restriction.

B5244 Engine specs bhp history

• 2.4 L I5 (140 bhp) B5244S5
• 2.4 L I5 (168 bhp) B5244S4

Problems and issues to look out for on the B5244

The B5244 engines, if regularly serviced and maintained, are generally very reliable and have few issues.

Regular oil changes are vital on the B5244, particularly when the engine has been modified and is putting down more power than the manufacturer intended.

For more information on Tuning your B5244 engine please join us in our friendly forum where you can discuss tuning options in more detail with our B5244 owners. It would also be worth reading our unbiased tuning articles to get a full grasp of the benefits and drawbacks of each modification.

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This article is flagged for an update, so please pass on specific tips below that I can include. All articles, and content was written by me, Waynne Smith TorqueCars founder. Some outlines are just too general so I appreciate your feedback and suggestions. This entry was filed under Volvo. You can leave a response below or join our forum to discuss this article and car modification in detail with our members.

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