280 or 304 RICA? HELP!?!

[Tosh]

I'm looking for some good feeback here on what experiences others on the forum have had with the 280 and 304/310 RICA updates. I'm due at VT Scotland tomorrow (taking advantage of their super special 850 deal) and am still not sure what upgrade I should be going for?!?! :wallbash:

My own car is an 850R with 114000 miles on the clock. It has been well maintained throughout its life and I carried out a stage 0 at the weekend.

I'd really appreciate your help with experience, advice and recommendations. Bit late I know to be asking, but better late than never!

Tosh

[Mrsmopp]

Auto or manual?

x

[volvotuning]

I'm looking for some good feeback here on what experiences others on the forum have had with the 280 and 304/310 RICA updates. I'm due at VT Scotland tomorrow (taking advantage of their super special 850 deal) and am still not sure what upgrade I should be going for?!?! :wallbash:

My own car is an 850R with 114000 miles on the clock. It has been well maintained throughout its life and I carried out a stage 0 at the weekend.

I'd really appreciate your help with experience, advice and recommendations. Bit late I know to be asking, but better late than never!

Tosh

Hi Tosh,

Form a tuning point of view, both upgrades are good and will give you big gains. The easiest way to make your mind up is to decide what fuel grade you want to use. If you don't want to run 98 RON, go for the 280 map as it's designed to cope with 95 much better than the 304 map.

Adam.

[MIKESC70T5]

I had the 304 upgrade done in August on my manual t5r.Adam said the car was in excellent mechanical condition.The difference was very noticeable when you wanted extra grunt but it's still lovely and docile when just driving around normally. I just said i wanted the 304 because it meant getting more power for the same financial outlay.You do have to use 98 ron fuel or above though. I think with the 280 upgrade its not as vital.

Are you getting the miltek cat back at the same time? No extra power gain but boy,it sounds lovely when idling,not intrusive when cruising and fantastic under hard acceleration.:wow:

[MIKESC70T5]

Hi Tosh,

Form a tuning point of view, both upgrades are good and will give you big gains. The easiest way to make your mind up is to decide what fuel grade you want to use. If you don't want to run 98 RON, go for the 280 map as it's designed to cope with 95 much better than the 304 map.

Adam.

Why is it when you are in the middle of writing a response someone gets in before you and answers with the same reply (98 ron fuel)

Whoever this Adam guy is obviuosly learnt from me.:hilarious

[thunderace]

Hi Tosh, I went for the 304 only because I'm greedy and 98ron is readily available. if this will be a prob for you go for the 280 as it is happy with 95.
Either way it's a great improvement. :)

[irf]

i'm tempted(when funds allow) by running the 280 on 98 ron. wonder how much difference there would be?

[MIKESC70T5]

Hi Tosh, I went for the 304 only because I'm greedy and 98ron is readily available. if this will be a prob for you go for the 280 as it is happy with 95.
Either way it's a great improvement. :)

Hi thunder ace, any update on the samco hoses piccys/prices etc.

[Tosh]

Forgot to mention it's an auto. I also run 98 RON or above (mainly Shell V-power) so the fuel arguement is not that critical.

I guess my main area of concern is the cars mileage and whther the 304 upgrade will over stress things.

Obviously all you fortunate people that have the upgrade already can help me hugely with your own experience.

Cheers.

[MIKESC70T5]

i'm tempted(when funds allow) by running the 280 on 98 ron. wonder how much difference there would be?

If your happy to pay for 98 ron fuel you might aswell have the 304 upgrade as its the same money as the 280 upgrade.

[volvotuning]

Whoever this Adam guy is obviuosly learnt from me.:hilarious

:ready2go: :troutslap

Adam.

[MIKESC70T5]

Forgot to mention it's an auto. I also run 98 RON or above (mainly Shell V-power) so the fuel arguement is not that critical.

I guess my main area of concern is the cars mileage and whther the 304 upgrade will over stress things.

Obviously all you fortunate people that have the upgrade already can help me hugely with your own experience.

Cheers.

My mileage was 116,000 when the upgrade was done.Now on 121,000 and it still purrs like a kitten.Adam checked over everything before carrying out the upgrade.

[volvolised]

Whoever this Adam guy is obviuosly learnt from me.:hilarious[/QUOTE]

He must have customer problems too then !!!:hilarious

[Mrsmopp]

Always had the 304/310's on mine mainly as I have a shell garage less than 3 miles away. I've not had any problems with my cars that have been in any way related to the map.

x

[MIKESC70T5]

Whoever this Adam guy is obviuosly learnt from me.:hilarious

He must have customer problems too then !!!:hilarious[/QUOTE]


I love your sense of humour. Must be because we be twin brothers:lol:

[thunderace]

Hi thunder ace, any update on the samco hoses piccys/prices etc.
er no lol

i'm back this w/end

oh and mileage was 160+ when i had mine done :)

[Tosh]

I'm thinking along the lines of the 304 but there is still a niggle at the back of my mind telling me the 280 is more sensible.

What will be the result of running 95RON with the 304 upgrade? Has anyone mistakingly filled up with 95 and had problems? Also a good point earlier what would be the result of running 98/99 RON with the 280?

[volvotuning]

The 280 upgrade may well run slightly better on 98, but it's normally a lot more tolerant of 95 than the 304 upgrade which normally runs very crap on 95. The 280 was designed as a milder tune for those who wanted precisely that.

At the end of the day, trust your gut instinct. If you think the 280 is gonna be better for you, go for the 280.

Adam.

[MIKESC70T5]

I'm thinking along the lines of the 304 but there is still a niggle at the back of my mind telling me the 280 is more sensible.

What will be the result of running 95RON with the 304 upgrade? Has anyone mistakingly filled up with 95 and had problems? Also a good point earlier what would be the result of running 98/99 RON with the 280?


In what way do you think the 280 is more sensible?

[thunderace]

i've run my 304 in uk france belgium holland germany poland and ukraine

fuel varies enormously, not sure what they have in ukraine (lol) but it ran ok

obviously better in the west but ok in the east

[Tosh]

more sensible because it's 24hp less ;)

[volvotuning]

more sensible because it's 24hp less ;)

From another perspective, you don't have to use all the horses all the time. :)

Adam.

[thunderace]

more sensible because it's 24hp less ;)

that's what your right foot is for... :)

[MIKESC70T5]

more sensible because it's 24hp less ;)


Youv'e lost me there mate:worried:The only benefit i see with the 280 is that you can run it on cheaper fuel,so a saving of 6 p a litre.For that small saving it's a simple answer, the 304.

[Tosh]

What about the Miltek system, what are the thoughts on that?

I'd like it to sound deep and menacing without being intrusive or droning on the motorway. Does it have a nice burble at idle?

[MIKESC70T5]

It's lovely, go for it, you wont regret it.

[Tosh]

It's lovely, go for it, you wont regret it.

Loving all this positive feedback! At this rate I'm not going to get any sleep tonight because I'm too excited!

Is the first time you floor the throttle one of those jaw dropping, can't wipe the smile off your face moments? :jaw:

[petrolhead]

I thought i would add my opinion....
I have the 304 on my auto T5. I love it. Economy is better than standard (during normal driving) but it now has instant throttle resonse and loads of torque. Mileage is 174K FVSH. Bad bits....On wet roads it will wheel spin upto 70mph when accelerating. On the way to the last meeting, my mate came with me in his TypeR Accord....While he has driven my T5 and admits he would'nt be able to keep up...in the wet with so much torque low down...you just can't get the power to the road...seriously...accelerating hard and i was having trouble staying in the same lane...just had to back off.....bearing in mind the Accord is a rev-machine....it makes its peak torque really high up (prob 6500 rpm)...by then the road speed is already higher..hence less spin plus LSD....yes I was struggling, but it was FUN....BTW...why run 98RON on a standard T5.....The RON rating relates to the fuels ability to resist pre-ignition. (knocking or pinking). This is relevent only to vehicles running high compression ratios (not us @ 8-8.5:1) or high levels of boost and/or with advanced ignition timing. Standard T5 does not produce enough boost and ignition is sufficiently retarded not to pink on 95 RON. The calorific values of 95 and 98 RON are the same so theres no more energy in one or the other. Once you get to RICA304 its different. It will pink on 95Ron.....you will get a fault code...and a sudden performance drop....
Regards
Roger

[volvotuning]

I thought i would add my opinion....
I have the 304 on my auto T5. I love it. Economy is better than standard (during normal driving) but it now has instant throttle resonse and loads of torque. Mileage is 174K FVSH. Bad bits....On wet roads it will wheel spin upto 70mph when accelerating. On the way to the last meeting, my mate came with me in his TypeR Accord....While he has driven my T5 and admits he would'nt be able to keep up...in the wet with so much torque low down...you just can't get the power to the road...seriously...accelerating hard and i was having trouble staying in the same lane...just had to back off.....bearing in mind the Accord is a rev-machine....it makes its peak torque really high up (prob 6500 rpm)...by then the road speed is already higher..hence less spin plus LSD....yes I was struggling, but it was FUN....BTW...why run 98RON on a standard T5.....The RON rating relates to the fuels ability to resist pre-ignition. (knocking or pinking). This is relevent only to vehicles running high compression ratios (not us @ 8-8.5:1) or high levels of boost and/or with advanced ignition timing. Standard T5 does not produce enough boost and ignition is sufficiently retarded not to pink on 95 RON. The calorific values of 95 and 98 RON are the same so theres no more energy in one or the other. Once you get to RICA304 its different. It will pink on 95Ron.....you will get a fault code...and a sudden performance drop....
Regards
Roger

You shouldn't get a fault code on 95 RON if it pinks. The ignition (and boost) should back off to handle it. You may get a fault code if there is a fault which is causing the knock, or a knock sensor related fault.

Adam.

[thunderace]

Is the first time you floor the throttle one of those jaw dropping, can't wipe the smile off your face moments?

oh yes! just be careful where you do it

[Tosh]

Does the 98 RON v-power fuel not contain additional detergents or something to help remove deposits from the engine? That was my main reason for currently running the fuel. Is this true or are the fuel companies talking pants and the extra detergents (or whatever) are merely a marketing ploy to make us buy their more expensive fuel?

In any case with the 304 I'll have to use the stuff anyway!

Will the fact that Shells V-Power and Tesco's 99 RON fuels are higher than the required 98 for the RICA 304 have any positive effect on performance?

[irf]

The 280 upgrade may well run slightly better on 98, but it's normally a lot more tolerant of 95 than the 304 upgrade which normally runs very crap on 95.

Adam.


well that answered my question, thank you.

[volvotuning]

Will the fact that Shells V-Power and Tesco's 99 RON fuels are higher than the required 98 for the RICA 304 have any positive effect on performance?

Only in that they will have even more resistance to knock, so that the power should be smoother and can be sustained for longer under hard driving.

The Tesco is has ethanol added so will affect the running in a different way. Some people have noticed worse economy on Tesco. Shell V power is showing very good results so far in terms of knock resistance on tuned cars driven hard.

Adam.

[Tosh]

Very interesting Adam thanks for the info.

Going down to see Simon (Volvo Tuning Scotland for those that aren't aware of the new facility) for 11am tomorrow with a full tank of V-Power. I will certainly post my reaction to the RICA and Miltek system 'tweak'!

[volvotuning]

Very interesting Adam thanks for the info.

Going down to see Simon (Volvo Tuning Scotland for those that aren't aware of the new facility) for 11am tomorrow with a full tank of V-Power. I will certainly post my reaction to the RICA and Miltek system 'tweak'!

It's Chip Tuning Scotland!! lol :)

Adam.

[Tosh]

:slap: doh! it's getting late and my mind is on other things! rica, rica, rica....Chip Tuning Scotland, Chip Tuning Scotland, Chip Tuning Scotland....

[lordtemujin]

I am in a similar situation and unable to decide what to go with, I have a V70 R FWD (98) 66k on the clock. I run her on V-Power. I am planning to book in with VT for exaust and Rica at the end of this month , but really cannot make my mind up on the better option so look to those "wise ones" out there who have taken the plung to share their thoughts on how it went for them.

[lordtemujin]

sorry meant to add , she's Auto!

[mazza]

well i had the 280 done becuase v-power was at £1.09 a litre round here,now i can get for 92p im a bit gutted,,i use v-power all the time now....

[nez]

If you use V-Power anyway get the 304, it's only 24bhp more, I've not had any probs on any of my 3 cars that I've had done.

If you do have to run 95ron it won't make that much difference, unless you are booting it all the time, but it still won't harm the car.

Both upgrades are the same amount of cash, if you go for further mods you will regret not having the full fat remap.

The car will be ok with the extra power, lots of people on the forum are running 330+ bhp with no probs.

[Babybadger]

I would say in hindsight, my 304 upgrade on my auto is lovely, but I think a 280 map would done the job just as well, not much difference in the torque and lets face it, that's where an auto needs it. If I had a manual I would definitely do the 304/310 map, I think the extra power gets lost in the autobox.

So I would say

AUTO - 280 map is adequate if you don't want to mod any more or the304/310 if like thrashing your car, and will mod it up later.
MANUAL - 304/310 to get that extra oooomph at the top end.

I will say that my 304 upgrade is useless without a decent suspension set-up, and anyone in a stock car with upgraded suspension will loose me on the bends.

[GregE102]

Sounds like you have been having a play!

[johnny d 850r]

hi
just got to say i had mine done with petrolhead,hi roger,the boys know there stuff beleive me mine as done 205,000 miles on 850R estate and she flys the torque is out of this world i had the rica 310 worth every penny ive been smiling for weeks now and you can just laugh at most of your so called modern performance cars i love it i want more,by the way roger i hope you were on the motorway when you were wheelspinning up to 70mph..slap,slap,catch you all later johnny d 850R.

[Hoglet]

anyone got any 1/4 mile times done with the 304hp mod?

Or if not comparisons with racing other cars?

cheers,

Hoggy.
:)

[petrolhead]

Hi Johnny....A52 actually, on the way to the last meet....where were you!!! I was being persued by my brother in laws Type R accord....no way to get away in the wet...just snaking across the road!!! alright for you with your fancy LSD LOL....hope to see you at the next one.
Rog

[Dacvolvo]

280 or 300+

Hmmm. Isn't there some lines of thinking that follow the higher the power, the less reliable a car is as a general rule of thumb?

[pzorb]

I went for 280. Mainly I don't want to be forced into running 98; certainly over the period where it was well over a quid I was running on the cheapest gas going. Plus sometimes when I'm out and about I can't get 98, or the furking petrol station isn't selling it that day...

edit: plus I can mostly floor the car in 3rd+ without skidding, which makes it quite fun for thrashing around in.

[Hoglet]

You volvo dudes have it easy because us 200sx peeps HAVE to use super unleaded with our chips at 270hp+ :)

Otherwise its DET DET DET!

I would just go for the 304 and use the super if I was u's lot. :D

By the way, what else do you have to do to a T5 if you want 340hp? Just coz I heard on another site that they had a "stage 2" t5 running approx 340bhp and I was wondering what else you have to do to it?

[Nathlm]

You volvo dudes have it easy because us 200sx peeps HAVE to use super unleaded with our chips at 270hp+ :)

Otherwise its DET DET DET!

I would just go for the 304 and use the super if I was u's lot. :D

By the way, what else do you have to do to a T5 if you want 340hp? Just coz I heard on another site that they had a "stage 2" t5 running approx 340bhp and I was wondering what else you have to do to it?

I believe you need the 19t turbo, sports exhaust and custom software, but speak to Hamish or Adam.

[Hoglet]

What type is the standard turbo on the T5 and what is the maximum bhp it will flow enough air for?

Hoggy

[lance]

15G on the 850s 304 bhp and 310 on the 70s with the 16T,
19T is a great upgrade!