Tuning the Volvo D4204

"Comprehensive guide to tuning and performance parts on the Volvo D4204 engine!"

We are always getting posts asking about the things we recommend when it comes to D4204 modifications. So let us look into Volvo D4204 parts and outline the best modifications on this great engine and point out some common pitfalls along the way.

Our aim here is to examine D4204 tuning and report on the best modifications. Volvo D4204 make awesome project engines and with carefully picked performance parts like remaps, turbo improvements and camshafts you will really maximize your driving opportunities.

The greatest D4204 tuning parts on an engine are typically the ones that give the biggest return for your cash.

We won't be swayed by popular D4204 tuning parts, they need to be cost effective.

Significant gains on the D4204 can be made from camshaft upgrades. Altering the camshaft profile alters the intake and exhaust durations on the engine and can dramatically change the engines power and power output.

NB: Fast road cams usually raise the bhp across the rev band, you could drop a little bottom end power but your high end rpm power will improve.

Motorsport and race cams, 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 and race camshaft is not great driving in heavy traffic.

You should ideally optimize your power band to your typical driving style so for a daily driver stick with a fast road D4204 camshaft

Some D4204 engines respond better to more or less aggressive cam durations check your engine on a rolling road.

The engine timing and fuel pump and injectors also have a large bearing on the bhp gains you'll hit.

Altering valve durations can alter the bhp 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.

D4204 Best Tuning Mods & Upgrades

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Guide to the best tuning mods & Upgrades

  1. ECU Map Tuning & Remaps

    Some cars may require a piggyback ECU's or aftermarket ECU's to change the OEM map, but remapping is the most vital step of your tuning project to fully maximise your mods. Expect 10-20% on NASP engines and 30-40% on turbocharged units.

  2. Strengthen Your Engine

    Tuned cars will show up weaknesses, typically in the turbochargers, clutch and internal engine components. Whilst most engines can cope with mild tuning mods, TorqueCars recommend that you upgrade the internal components before these weak spots manifest themselves.

  3. Mods that Remove a Restriction

    A restricted intake or exhaust will have an impact on your performance, so use a better flowing air filter/induction kit and better flowing exhaust (sports cats where legal are a good option) whenever your tuning creates a flow restriction. Turbo engines also benefit from intercooler upgrades as these resist heat soak for longer periods of time.

  4. Mods that Improve Fuelling

    Every tuning project will aim to increase the air supply, but fuel supply is just as vital and will need to match the air the engine can utilise,  a fuel pump and injector upgrade are usual mods, but also in many cases the fuel regulator will need improvement.

  5. Mods to Provide better Airflow

    Increasing the air supply is just as essential as improving fuelling, we suggest you look at head mods (flowing and porting, 5 angle valve jobs), fit bigger valves, fast road cams and forced induction upgrades (adding a better flowing turbo) to improve air intake.

Tuning Stages

Stage 1 D4204 modifications: Drilled & smoothed airbox, Fast road camshaft, Panel air filters, Sports exhaust manifold, Remaps/piggy back ECU, Intake headers.

Stage 2 D4204 modifications: induction kit, Sports catalyst & performance exhaust, high flow fuel injectors, fuel pump upgrades, Fast road cam, Ported and polished head.

Stage 3 D4204 modifications: Crank and Piston upgrades to alter compression, Internal engine upgrades (head flowing porting/bigger valves), Competition cam, Adding or Upgrading forced induction (turbo/supercharger), Engine balancing & blueprinting, Twin charging conversions.

The D4204 power trains respond well to mods and we note that there is a growing number of parts and performance parts about.

A remap allows a tuner to fully realize the full potential of all the parts you've done to your D4204.

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

Feeding more air into the D4204 engine is the main goal to any engine performance tuning task.

Headers transmit the air from the air cleaner and allow it to be pulled into the engine and mixed with fuel.

Shape and rate of flow of the Plenum can make a large change to fuel atomisation on the D4204.

I usually find intake headers are crying out for an upgrade, although a few car makers provide fairly well optimized intake headers.

Larger D4204 valves, doing a bit of port matching and head flowing will also boost power, & importantly will give you raising the power increase on other mods.

Turbo upgrades for the D4204

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 D4204

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.

If your motor has forced induction modifications are going to net you a larger power gain and turbocharged engines are built with better components.

However engines have weakspots

Discover these limitations and upgrade to more solid crank and pistons to utilize the power.

There are many mechanics spending a fortune on turbo upgrades on the D4204 only to see the engine go up in smoke just after it's first rolling road session.

Bigger upgraded turbo units tend to experience a bottom end lag, and smaller turbo units spool up quickly but do not have the peak end torque gains.

Thanks to progress the market of turbochargers is always improving and we now see variable vane turbochargers, permitting the vane profile is altered according to speed to lower lag and increase top end bhp and torque.

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

It is not unusual that there is a limit in the air flow sensor (AFM/MAF/MAP) on the D4204 when a lot more air is being pulled into the engine.

You'll see that 4 bar air sensors coping with quite large power gains, whereas the OEM air sensor sapped bhp at a much lower level.

Adding a supercharger or additional turbo will make large bhp gains, although more complex to install. We have this guide to twinchargers if you want to read more.

Uprating D4204 fuel injectors

Don't omit to pay attention to the fuel system when you are increasing the bhp - it makes the car more thirsty. Most tuners we speak with say to be generous with your injector capacity.

As a rule of thumb add 20% to the flow rate when buying an injector, this accounts for injector deterioration and gives you some spare capacity should the engine need 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 D4204 performance exhausts

You should look to improve your exhaust if the existing exhaust is creating a flow problem.

On most factory exhausts you'll find the flow rate is good 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 equal out the flow of air through the engine.

But if your exhaust pipe is too big, ie: over 2.5 inches bore, you will lose much of the exhaust flow rate and end up lacking power and torque.

Usual exhaust restrictions come around the filters installed, so adding a higher flowing high performance alternative will help avoid this restriction.

D4204T T2 Engine specs and performance

  • 2.0L I4 (136 hp) D4204T
  • 2.0D I4 131 hp (France) D4204T2
  • 2.0L I4 (136 hp) D4204T
  • 2.0D I4 131 hp (France) D4204T2
  • D420T2
  • D4204T2
  • D420T8
  • D4204T8
  • D4204T4
  • D4204T5
  • D4204T6
  • D4204T8
  • D4204T9
  • D4204T11
  • D4204T12
  • D4204T13
  • D4204T14
  • D4204T16
  • D4204T20
  • D4204T23

Tuning the Volvo D4204 and best D4204 performance parts.

Problems and issues to look out for on the D4204

The D4204 engines, if regularly serviced and maintained, are generally very reliable and have few issues.

Regular oil changes are vital on the D4204, particularly when the engine has been modified and is putting down more power than the manufacturer intended.

For more information on Tuning your D4204 engine please join us in our friendly forum where you can discuss tuning options in more detail with our D4204 owners. It would also be worth reading our unbiased tuning articles to get a full grasp of the benefits and drawbacks of each modification.

We need your help to complete and improve this page, so do give us your feedback in the comments box below.

We really like hearing from our readers, and hearing about which 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 D4204 guides and tips are kept up to date.

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