Tuning the Volvo B6304T2

"Comprehensive guide to tuning the Volvo B6304T2 engine!"

We often are getting posts requesting information on the things we recommend when it comes to B6304T2 power upgrades. So let us look into Volvo B6304T2 parts and outline the best modifications on this great engine and point out some problems along the way.

Let us examine the options for your B6304T2 tuning and provide tips on the greatest modifications. Volvo B6304T2 are popular engines and with the ultimate modifications like remapping, turbo upgrades and camshafts you will really maximise your driving opportunities.

The best B6304T2 parts on an engine are as we have found the ones that give the best power gain for you spend.

We won't be swayed by popular B6304T2 parts, they need to be cost effective.

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

NB: Fast road cams normally raise the torque throughout the rpm range, you may lose a little low down bhp but your higher rpm power will be higher.

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

A Motorsport camshaft makes it harder when on the daily commute.

You should ideally optimize your engines power to your typical driving style so for a car driven daily stick with a fast road B6304T2 camshaft

Some B6304T2 engines respond better to more or less aggressive cam durations so set your engine up on a rolling road.

The ecu map and fuel pump and injectors also will say much on the power gains you'll achieve.

Extending exhaust or intake durations can alter the power 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.

B6304T2 Tuning Stages

Stage 1 B6304T2 modifications: Fast road camshaft, Drilled & smoothed airbox, Panel air filters, Intake headers, Remaps/piggy back ECU, Sports exhaust manifold.

Stage 2 B6304T2 modifications: Ported and polished head, Fast road cam, high flow fuel injectors, induction kit, Sports catalyst & performance exhaust, fuel pump upgrades.

Stage 3 B6304T2 modifications: Internal engine upgrades (head flowing porting/bigger valves), Competition cam, Twin charging conversions, Adding or Upgrading forced induction (turbo/supercharger), Crank and Piston upgrades to alter compression, Engine balancing & blueprinting.

The B6304T2 power trains are great to work on and we're finding that there is a growing number of parts and tuning parts around.

Remaps allows a tuner to fully realize the full potential of all the upgrades you've done to your B6304T2.

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

It is the whole point to any engine performance tuning job to pull more fuel and air into each cylinder

Headers carry the air during the suck phase from the filter and allow it to be drawn into the engine and mixed with fuel.

The bore size, shape and rate of flow of the Intake headers can make a large improvement to fuel engine efficiency on the B6304T2.

On popular production engines intake are in desperate need of aftermarket parts, although a few car makers provide fairly well optimized intake.

Fitting big valve kits, doing some port work and head flowing will also boost bhp, and importantly will raise potential for a greater bhp increase on other parts.

Turbo upgrades for the B6304T2

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 B6304T2

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

When your car has a turbo already fitted modifications are going to net you a larger power gain and you will discover turbo charged engines are built with more solid components.

However every engines will need better parts at higher power limits

We recommend you find these limitations and fit higher quality components to survive the power.

There are many people spending a loads on turbo charger upgrades on the B6304T2 only to have the motor go up in smoke just after it's completed.

Larger capacity turbos commonly experience low end lag, and smaller turbos spool up much more quickly but don't have the peak end bhp gains.

Over the last 20 years the selection of turbo units is always developing and we now see variable vane turbo units, where the vane angle is altered according to speed to lower lag and increase top end bhp.

Twin scroll turbo units divert the exhaust flow into 2 channels and feed these at differently profiled vanes in the turbocharger. They also increase the scavenging effect of the engine.

You'll commonly see there's a limitation in the air flow sensor MAF/MAP on the B6304T2 when a lot more air is being drawn into the engine.

We see 4 bar air sensors coping with quite large power gains, whereas the OEM air sensor limited bhp at a much lower level.

Adding a supercharger or additional turbo will make large power gains, although harder to get working. We have this in depth look at twinchargers if you want to read more.

Uprating B6304T2 fuel injectors

Don't omit to raise the fuelling when you are increasing the performance - it makes the car more thirsty. Don't forget to over specify your flow rate on the injectors.

The accepted safe increase is to add 20% to the flow rate when specifying an injector, this accounts for injector deterioration and gives some 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 B6304T2 performance exhausts

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

On most factory exhausts you'll see your flow rate is still fine even on modest power gains, but when you start pushing up the power levels you will need to get a better flowing exhaust.

Sports exhausts increase the flow of air through the engine.

But if your exhaust is too large, ie: it's over 2.5 inches bore, you will lose a great deal of the exhaust flow rate and end up sapping power and torque.

Usual exhaust restrictions can be traced to the catalyst and filters installed, so adding a freer flowing performance alternative will help avoid this restriction.

Problems and issues to look out for on the B6304T2

The B6304T2 engines, if regularly serviced and maintained, are generally very reliable and have few issues.

Regular oil changes are vital on the B6304T2, particularly when the engine has been modified and is putting down more power than the manufacturer intended.

For more information on Tuning your B6304T2 engine please join us in our friendly forum where you can discuss tuning options in more detail with our B6304T2 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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We really like hearing from our readers, and hearing about which tuning mods were the most effective for them, it helps us improve our recommendations and articles to reflect current trends in modifications and ensures that our B6304T2 guides and tips are kept up to date.

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