RICA Remapping

[straight5]

I've been through the threads and not quite found anything that exactly answers my questions. (I know it WILL be in there somewhere).

So I have a 2001 standard T5 (Manual).
If I purchase the RICA remap with the softloader this means I can do the remap myself for a cost of £550. Is this the cheapest possible way to do it, and is it recommended?

Also what should I get checked or renewed on the car before I do it. I suspect some of my hoses could do with renewal. Whats a set of silicon pipes cost?

Lastly I know they quote 310 bhp and 430nm torque blah blah blah. and I know everyone argues about what figures they really get etc. What I want to know is what difference it makes on the road. Will the acceleration really be strikingly different from standard, and make me go "wooohooo"
Apologies to all those who have been over this ground before.

[ROZER]

save the money and just get remap i just got mine for £430 on stage 2 rica i have 3 inch down pipe and full catback it makes a big difference to how the car drives standard boost alone is say 10 psi when mapped your looking at say 18psi if your vac and boost hoses are in good nick i had to change all mine to silicone plus new tcv new map sensor you can get the boost hoses from www.partsforvolvosonline.com for £50 ish then go to halfords and get 1 2m pack of silicone 5mm for £17 will be enough to do vac pipework then i would get i put code reader on car to see if you have any little problems. last thing i did which was to install boost gauge to keep an eye on hows the car boosting. what ever you get from the map i can assure you its worth it.

[jardon]

Acceleration will feel stronger but I found the Rica stage 1 a bit dull at the top end and after the initial wow of more torque it got a bit annoying. Throttle pedal mapping was aggressive and wheelspin difficult to control. My MTE stage 1 was overall a better tune - stronger performance and significantly more useable. It also uses your individual ecu software as a base rather than a one size fits all approach - therefore including any updates that have been made by Volvo servicing over the years. Check hoses (boost and vac). BCS and actuators are sometimes a bit soggy at this age - I would consider the BCS as a service item on a mapped car. I like the reversibility of remote mapping and it just depends on your priorities/cash. Ignore the claimed figures.

[turbo-tuner]

I've been through the threads and not quite found anything that exactly answers my questions. (I know it WILL be in there somewhere).

So I have a 2001 standard T5 (Manual).
If I purchase the RICA remap with the softloader this means I can do the remap myself for a cost of £550. Is this the cheapest possible way to do it, and is it recommended?

Also what should I get checked or renewed on the car before I do it. I suspect some of my hoses could do with renewal. Whats a set of silicon pipes cost?

Lastly I know they quote 310 bhp and 430nm torque blah blah blah. and I know everyone argues about what figures they really get etc. What I want to know is what difference it makes on the road. Will the acceleration really be strikingly different from standard, and make me go "wooohooo"
Apologies to all those who have been over this ground before.

There is a RICA dealer in Leeds which I guess isn't too far away from where you are. You could go there and I believe they will dyno test it for you before and after so at least you know what you have "on paper". A road test will then give you a feel for what it's like on the road afterwards.

RICA can tweak the throttle map if you want it more / less aggressive since that's really a matter of personal preference. If you want to tweak it then the iSoftloader is worth it. If you just want an upgrade installed and are happy with it, then I'm not sure you need the iSoftloader with a RICA dealer nearby. Either way, the original ECU software for your specific car is what RICA use as the base. It's not a generic map.

You'll need to run 98 RON super unleaded for maximum performance. Also, be prepared to fix some things like air leaks and BCS etc.

[straight5]

ok its help the thicky time. I will need to order the stuff I need, but don't worry I've got a mate who is a mechanic to do the work.
What does TCV and BCS stand for?
Also is this the boost hose kit I need? (just 2 pipes?)-
http://www.partsforvolvosonline.com/product_info.php?products_id=6167
or can this stuff be used?:- (cheaper?)
http://www.partsforvolvosonline.com/product_info.php?products_id=5767

and last is this the stuff I want for the vac hoses:
http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_23 1263_langId_-1_categoryId_165660

Another question if I get it remapped is BP Ultimate no good. I noticed it is only 97 RON, whereas Tesco Momentum is 99 RON, but I've been warned off all supermarket petrol by my mate. What is the preferred petrol of those who have been remapped?

Lastly if I remap, I'm guessing I should tell my insurer. What did remapping do to your insurance cost/group?

[Dangerous Dave]

Try ebay for the silicon vacuum hoses, Halfords is just a rip off, £15 for 2m thats obscene, and PFV is cheap, but not ebay cheap. I got some hose off this seller not long ago, good service, and the hose was great, does lots of colours too...

http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Venair-Silicone-Hose-World/_i.html?_fsub=20047081

[Yorkshiresxi]

Go to Europarts for Silicone hose chaps..got a 3m bit of blue the other day for a £3 plus vat..bargain!
Order online too
http://www.eurocarparts.com/ecp/c/Volvo_800+Series_850_2.3_1995/p/performance-and-styling/car-tuning-parts/tuning1/silicon-hoses/?1&pl5_184

[hamish]

I've been through the threads and not quite found anything that exactly answers my questions. (I know it WILL be in there somewhere).

So I have a 2001 standard T5 (Manual).
If I purchase the RICA remap with the softloader this means I can do the remap myself for a cost of £550. Is this the cheapest possible way to do it, and is it recommended?

Also what should I get checked or renewed on the car before I do it. I suspect some of my hoses could do with renewal. Whats a set of silicon pipes cost?

Lastly I know they quote 310 bhp and 430nm torque blah blah blah. and I know everyone argues about what figures they really get etc. What I want to know is what difference it makes on the road. Will the acceleration really be strikingly different from standard, and make me go "wooohooo"
Apologies to all those who have been over this ground before.

Hi,

Why Rica ?
Does it have to be Rica?
We can remap your T5 with a tune by Autotech Motorsport Sweden for £350 (as a VPCUK member) this will include a Dyno Run and Diagnostic Check before and after !
Autotech Sweden is widely regarded as being one of the best Volvo Tuners in the world and comparing dyno figures and driveability with others they are in a different league.
With an Autotech Remap we will also ensure that the base map is the latest version of Volvo software.
We have our APC unit (Autotech Programme Carrier) so we can send you a map if you don't want to leave home.

Trust this helps,
Regards,
Hamish.
www.hlmtuning.co.uk

[straight5]

Thanks Hamish. I will keep this in mind. I hadn't heard of this one. I only knew that most people seemed to go for RICA. I assume power is also up to the 300 ish bhp mark? I know these things aren't an exact science.

[jardon]

ok its help the thicky time. I will need to order the stuff I need, but don't worry I've got a mate who is a mechanic to do the work.
What does TCV and BCS stand for?
Also is this the boost hose kit I need? (just 2 pipes?)-
http://www.partsforvolvosonline.com/product_info.php?products_id=6167
or can this stuff be used?:- (cheaper?)
http://www.partsforvolvosonline.com/product_info.php?products_id=5767

and last is this the stuff I want for the vac hoses:
http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_23 1263_langId_-1_categoryId_165660

Another question if I get it remapped is BP Ultimate no good. I noticed it is only 97 RON, whereas Tesco Momentum is 99 RON, but I've been warned off all supermarket petrol by my mate. What is the preferred petrol of those who have been remapped?

Lastly if I remap, I'm guessing I should tell my insurer. What did remapping do to your insurance cost/group?

BCS stands for Boost Control Solenoid (same thing as a TCV - Turbo Control Valve). They are about £40 from FRF and do wear out more quickly when you run higher boost - there is a needle valve that operates at an ecu set duty cycle to control boost and it works at a higher duty cycle when boost is raised. I replace mine approximately annually or before any mapping is done - for the sake of £40 you know where you are starting from then.

Insurance - I would declare it and try Clifton Morley Associates, Chris Knott or Adrian Flux. My fully comp policy with all mods declared was £650ish this year with Clifton Morley (3 points, full no claims, 2 drivers age 37 and 33). They will ask what power you are running and none of the stage 1's acheive 300bhp.

270-280 bhp and ~400NM would be a realistic output to expect though dyno results will vary widely. Peak figures are far from the whole picture anyway and some of the tuning companies make the most outlandishly optimistic (fraudulent?) claims - Rica being the least honest. A good stage 1 will give you more torque over a wide rev-range and the throttle mapping to control it well. I have had 3 stage 1's on a car identical to yours - HLM Autologic, Rica and MTE.

[Wobbly Dave]

Super unleaded fuels do vary in quality & price - I always use V-Power, but there again I do live around the corner from a Shell station.

[jardon]

Super unleaded fuels do vary in quality & price - I always use V-Power, but there again I do live around the corner from a Shell station.

+1

You could try a few fuels but a stage 1 tune should be optimised for 99 octane and as such VPower is a good choice. Some people swear by Tesco 99 but I haven't got one near me. Running 95 octane in a car mapped for 99 will result in flatter performance.