Volvo V40 Tuning

"Thank you for reading my Volvo V40 tuning tips."

The V40 is a good project car to execute. If you do your homework then you can create an awesome V40 but don't be fooled there are lots of tuning parts out there that will simply not suit it read our unbiased guides first.

Our aim in engine tuning should be to increase peak bhp at the top end.

The best power gains come from larger engine sizes. The more you start with the bigger the return on investment so engine swaps are good value mods for small engined cars.

Tuning modifications.

These mods uprated parts are usually installed by our members, decide how far you wish to go in your tuning project before you begin.

Petrol engines

• B4164T3 2012–2015 150 PS (148 hp) 240 Nm (177 lbft) @1600–4000
• B4164T4 2012–2015 180 PS (178 hp) 240Nm(177 lbft) @1600–5000
• B4154T5 2016–2019 122 PS (120 hp) 220 Nm (162 lbft) @1600-3500
• B4154T6 2015–2019 152 PS ( 150 hp) 250 Nm (184 lbft) @1700–4000
• B4204T38 2015–2019 122 PS (120 hp) 220 Nm (162 lbft) @1100-3500
• B4204T37 2015–2019 152 PS (150 hp) 250 Nm (184 lbft) @1300–4000
• B4204T19 2015–2019 190 PS (187 hp) 300 Nm (221 lbft) @1300–4000
• B4204T41 2015–2019 248 PS (245 hp) 350 Nm (258 lbft) @1500–4800
• B4204T11 2015–2019 248 PS (245 hp) 350 Nm (258 lbft) @1500–4800

Diesel engines.

• D4162T 2012–2015 115 PS (113 hp) 270 Nm (199 lbft) @1750–2500
• D5204T6 2012–2015 150 PS (148 hp) 350 Nm (258 lbft) @1500–2750
• D5204T4 2012–2015 177 PS (175 hp) 400 Nm (295 lbft) @1750–2750
• D4204T8 2015–2019 121 PS (119 hp) 280 Nm (207 lbft) @1500–2250
• D4204T9 2015–2019 152 PS (150 hp) 320 Nm (236 lbft) @1750–3000
• D4204T14 2015–2019 192 PS (189 hp) 400 Nm (295 lbft) @1750–2500

Getting the best uprated modifications for your planned usage of the car is essential. Stage 3 motor sport parts just won't work well on the road making the car difficult to drive.

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Stages of Tune

Stage 1 mods: Lighter flywheel, Remap, Panel air filter, Alloy wheels, Sports exhaust, Suspension upgrade (drop 30-40mm).

Stage 2 mods: Ported and polished head, fuel pump upgrades, Power/Sport clutch, high flow fuel injector, Fast road cam.

Stage 3 mods: Sports gearbox, Competition cam, Adding or upgrading forced induction (turbo/supercharger), Internal engine upgrades (pistons/head/valves), Engine balancing.

You need to keep as much low end power as you can and aim to get a wide power band across the rev range rather than a narrow top end power spike.

In this article we shall give your a good starting base to the best upgrades for your car, but we'd encourage you to spend some time on the site looking into the details of each type of performance upgrade.One of the biggest mechanical sports upgrades you can do to your NASP engine is to fit a fast road cam .

It maximises the intake and exhaust flow and increases the power if done right. Ideally you'd add other mods and finish up with a performance chip. TorqueCars would caution you not to go with a competition cam as this upsets the engines idling and general town driving characteristics.

Don't forget to pay attention to the fuelling when you are increasing the power - it makes the car more thirsty.

If you find you experience flat spots and surges after your tuning mods you should check the fuelling and try a higher octane fuel as well. To get sufficient fuel you may need to increase the injectors on your engine.

Uprate the fuel pump to cope with the extra fuel requirements of your tuned V40s uprated injectors.

Intake and Exhaust Tuning.

Breathing mods are usually next up. Air induction kits will only help to add performance if your air intake is struggling! Adding an induction kit to most standard engines will see ZERO LOW END POWER GAIN AT ALL. If you have heavily modified your engine and it's need for air INCREASES DRAMATICALLY then an induction kit is the answer and will help remove this restriction.

Derestricting the flow of air into the engine is a primary goal of performance tuning so get a better flowing air filter if you find that the car is running lean only if you find the car is running lean. Induction kits can sound fun but due to the warm air in the engine bay they will not add noticeable power and usually rob you of power on most cars.

Do not go with the widest exhaust you can buy this will reduce the exhaust flow rate - the best for power gains are usually between 1.5 to 2.5 inches. It is the shape and material more than the bore size.

Getting the head flowed (ported and polished) will allow you to get more air into each cylinder. This is definitely a job for a pro with a flow bench. When you start tuning your V40 you will discover that the standard clutch starts to complain so get an uprated clutch. The best mods in our experience for your V40 are a remap especially on a turbo, a fast road camshaft and sports exhaust, with a good air intake.

Turbo engines are just asking to be Upgraded. You will see significant power gains on most modern turbo charged cars including diesels making a remap one of the most cost effective and significant modifications for your money.

We've also come across some owners toying with twin charging conversions and making some impressively high power gains.

The most phenomenal power gains for NASP engines usually involve the addition of forced induction. Turbos are generally harder to add than a supercharger. With a turbo the power curve is related exponentially to the engine speed making it more challenging to map.

It is simpler to map a supercharger because the boost is correlating to engine speed on a linear curve. Decreasing the engines compression ratio will allow you to add forced induction, water injection may also help prevent detonation.

Handling/Suspension upgrades

Many V40 owners uprate the handling of their cars with modified suspension modifications as a priority, this will certainly increase your enjoyment of the car.

Adding some negative camber at the front and a degree or two of toe out, will often improve your V40 in handling and cornering.

We would go to a maximum drop of 24mm - 35 mm on most models. You risk handling compromises if you go lower than this.

Alloy wheel upgrades.

Alloy wheels can help the brake cooling and are generally lighter than the steel ones. Further improvements can be made to your cars handling with the addition of soft compound tire. We should point out that although they can look cool on the V40 big alloy wheels will actually decrease your performance. The larger you go the lower your acceleration will be - this to the change in your effective final drive ratio.

Due to this aim to keep the overall rolling diameter of the wheel the same as supplied from the factory. In all cases we do not recommend going larger than 18 inches but we would suggest you stick with 16's for the ultimate ride/comfort and handling compromises. 18's are prone to tramlining and don't carry well over road bumps and undulations.

There is a more updated version of this Volvo V40 Tuning article on TorqueCars.com.

For more information on Tuning your car please join us in our friendly forum where you can discuss V40 options in more detail with our V40 owners. It would also be worth reading our unbiased Volvo 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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