RICA 304bhp test drive

[BlackBeast]

As some of you may know, i bought siamblue's rica ecu off him yesterday (thanks gary), fitted it this morning, filled with some Optiflaps in the afternoon and just got back from a 30mins spin on some quite quick A-roads.

It has totally transformed the car, i dont know what the difference is in boost between standard and the 304bhp rica but bloody hell, the pull in 2nd and 3rd is just astonishing, really kicks you back into the seat, which in standard form there is a slight nudge lol. I think 1st gear was about the same, tbh i dont really know about 1st gear cause i dont do kamikase starts. Didnt get a chance to push it in 4th and 5th, will get the chance when i take it for a spin down to Bristol on the M4 on Sunday.

To sum up, i dont really care if it went on the rollers tomorrow and only produced an extra 20bhp, on the road performance where it actually counts is just :jaw:

[Mrsmopp]

A very happy bunny then!! I agree with you, sod dyno results the drive says all you need to know ;)

x

[volvotuning]

1st gear will be about the same because the torque limiter is retained, otherwise you just get a big pile of wheelspin!!!

Adam.

[Colin 850 T5]

225-304bhp.....


If you keep dangling this carrot in front of me, sooner or later I will have to bite....

[siamblue]

Hi Steve I am glad you are happy mate, But I ain't happy, my car is so slow, didn't realise how quick the Rica was untill it was gone,
It does shift though doesn't it,

Gary.

[Al115]

You want an MTE ECU to tide you over? LOL

Oh no you can't because it's for ME7 :)

[siamblue]

You want an MTE ECU to tide you over? LOL

Oh no you can't because it's for ME7 :)


Thanks for the offer Al,
But in this cold spell i really won't miss the power,
come January i will be puting out 280 at the wheels :) so the wait will be worth it ;)

[BlackBeast]

Having the RICA now and the car or more importantly the spark plugs being completely standard, im a little concerned that they wont be safe due to the hotter combustion chamber. I know that VT recommend a set of NGK Iridiums, with the help of viking and sparkplugs.co.uk they are BKR7EIX (performance) at a cost of £47.82. Now i remember wobbly dave recommending the BKR7EVX (enhanced), these are platinums at a cost of £34.90.

So, as the heat rating is the same for both plugs, is it worth spending £12 more on iridiums?

[SaffronC70]

As far as I know, Volvo plugs are platinum/iridium tipped.

Volvo plugs are fine.

Chris

[volvotuning]

The Volvo plugs are platinum tipped, and are generally fine. However, if you drive the car very hard a lot, especially when the weather is hot, you will get more consistent sustained performance with the colder grade plugs you mentioned.

Adam.

[BlackBeast]

Thanks Adam/Chris, you've put my mind at ease, i was a little concerned. My general 110k serive is due in 1.5k miles so i might just upgrade then.

Other than cost, what is the difference between the NGK platinum and iridium? Do the iridiums last longer?

[siamblue]

Blackbeast save your money, I ahve been using Bosch coppers in mine for months after using the Volvo plugs and then the Iridiums, I hardly noticed any difference at all,
Except the coppers were £8.50 from Euro car parts.

Gary.

PS So how is the car now Steve? have you taken her out in 3rd 4th and 5th lol.

[BlackBeast]

Blackbeast save your money, I ahve been using Bosch coppers in mine for months after using the Volvo plugs and then the Iridiums, I hardly noticed any difference at all,
Except the coppers were £8.50 from Euro car parts.

Gary.

PS So how is the car now Steve? have you taken her out in 3rd 4th and 5th lol.

LOL havent taken it out today, will get on the motorway tomorrow and see what its like.

[T5Rdragon]

Having the RICA now and the car or more importantly the spark plugs being completely standard, im a little concerned that they wont be safe due to the hotter combustion chamber. I know that VT recommend a set of NGK Iridiums, with the help of viking and sparkplugs.co.uk they are BKR7EIX (performance) at a cost of £47.82. Now i remember wobbly dave recommending the BKR7EVX (enhanced), these are platinums at a cost of £34.90.

So, as the heat rating is the same for both plugs, is it worth spending £12 more on iridiums? Well I asked this question of sparkplugs.co.uk and they were on the fence as to whether a colder plug would be useful or not:



You may benefit from a colder plug at higher speeds, perhaps NGK Iridium
BKR8EIX or Denso IK24. Please be aware that there is a greater likelihood of
'cold fouling' before the engine is warmed up properly when using a colder
plug grade. With the power you are putting out, it's marginal whether it
would be *necessary* to use a colder plug and there are pros and cons as
mentioned. As a rough guide, 50 - 100BHP extra usually requires 1 grade
colder. There are a variety of T5-R models putting out between 215 and 247
BHP as standard, I'm not sure which you have.
Now, the question is, how are they measuring the power? At the wheels, or at the flywheel? My RICA304 ECU allows the car to kick out just under 260BHP at the wheels (remember: I'm with an autobox); does that roughly equate to 300 at the fly? Which do we take when considering plugs?

[BlackBeast]

Well I asked this question of sparkplugs.co.uk and they were on the fence as to whether a colder plug would be useful or not:

Now, the question is, how are they measuring the power? At the wheels, or at the flywheel? My RICA304 ECU allows the car to kick out just under 260BHP at the wheels (remember: I'm with an autobox); does that roughly equate to 300 at the fly? Which do we take when considering plugs?

LOL ive no idea Gaz, i think i shall ask a similar question to sparkplugs.co.uk and see what answers i get from them.