Rica 280 Question

[ripper]

I have been toying with the idea of trying to save money and have my T5 Rica'd.(280)

The question is though she has now got 134,000 miles on the clock, so i am a little concerned that by upgrading to Rica that i might be asking a little too much from her.

Has anyone else who has this mileage had the Rica done at this stage in the car's life? If so have you experienced any problems with it; or have you found a new sense of love for extra power and possible extra mpg on steady driving.

Thoughts and answers appreciated.

Thanks

Stuart

[GATHY]

in my experience is if its not cream crackered already tuning it shouldnt hurt it as they do it within the limits of the components
plus 134k just run in for a volvo lump

[Aiken]

My T5 was done at 160k I think thereabouts (310 not 280). Superb. Obviously, with new turbo, etm and the rest probably faster, but it dont do no harm if you look after it. After all the thrashing I did nothing new broke, just needed a new budget for tyres.

[arbee]

Loads of people have big milaeges with the 280 conversion with no probs. iirc the 280 is more designed for bigger mileages than the 310 all things being equal :)

[gtiteen]

I got an upsoloute 280 on mine and its just about to hit 170k. No problems yet, touch wood! I think the RICA is meant to be slightly safer aswell.
Dave

[Wobbly Dave]

Two things to think about - What you want from a car (whether it is this T5 or another) - and how much you want to spend.

Law of diminishing returns - in general as cars approach 150K you will not get the same performance for the same upgrade, as a younger/lower mileage car. Things do eventually wear out. The engine is probably the least of your worries. Pumps, pipes and turbos and a whole range of ancillary systems may be showing degradation by 134K.

I am sure that the 280 RICA will be absolutely fine - I doubt the car will degrade any quicker with the remap than it already does.

But it really boils down to what you want/need the car to do and whether you want the full monty (everything the upgrade can be) and maybe more later on - then maybe it would be worth looking to a younger car to deliver that for you
OR
decide to renovate parts as they come to the end of their serviceable life (eg. Turbo) and keep her going for a long as you can - 200K is not unfeasible.

Just a thought. And I am not condeming anything over the 150K mark. I sold my 855R at 160K because I was spending too much time and effort trying to keep her in the condition I would wish (and not coz she was broken/knackered)

[T-5ones]

Just reading the thread. Such good info for the RICA novice. I will be after a remap in the future, timing will be subject to funds, but this is exactly the sort of info I was after. Thanks folks.

[Wobbly Dave]

My comments above are applicable, I feel, to any upgrade/tune.

The 280 upgrade was specifically designed to meet 2 criteria AFAIK - namely
1. Be kinder to older cars due to the lower demands made on older parts
2. Allow remap to run without the need for high grade UL petrol

[Al115]

I have been toying with the idea of trying to save money and have my T5 Rica'd.(280)

Tuning your car will not save you money!!! :)

You can get mpg improvements, but you will more than offset them with the new-found need to put your foot down at every opportunity...

I admire your approach, though! :rice:

[ripper]

Thanks to all who have so far voiced their opinions on having the Rica done.

I think from the comments made it has put my mind at ease to seriously consider having it done, as Wobbly said though, i know i will probably end up replacing some ancillary parts maybe a little earlier than i would if i didn't Rica. Yet that is a personal choice for anyone considering it i suppose.

My choice in having the T5 Rica'd would be to have the extra power but to still be kind to the engine,which is why i would only think about the 280 option, plus unfortunately i'm in no position to be thinking about replacing her with a younger model at this stage. though that would be very nice..

Well i suppose i'd better start saving the pennies i guess, either that or get another paper round....!!:confused:

Without me calling VT at this stage, does anyone know what sort of cost the 280 is at present?? Plus i suppose it would be adviseable to have a stage one tune done, and maybe replace the timing belt and tensioner first.

[craig]

mines now done 170 000 with the 280 rica and it still flies with no problems to date . touch wood.