Hi Folks

Not been on here for a long time. Just wanted to share my last 48 hours with you all and to give an honest review of my experience in having my D5 remapped yesterday.

Just to set the scene, I own a Volvo S60 D5 Sport (185bhp) on a 2007 plate with manual gearbox. I've owned it for a little over two years and it presently has 103k miles on the clock. In my ownership it's had a new clutch fitted by Murray Volvo of Edinburgh, new timing belt, new water pump, hand brake cables, it's been Terra Cleaned, has regular oil/filter changes, top mounts replaced, drop links, brake pads and uprated discs, new battery, etc and of course; been treated to Nebula BBS alloys and Goodyear Eagle F1's. So she's in pretty good shape and has been well looked after. Prime candidate for a remap!

After spending many hours recently reading through different experiences of remapping companies from other D5 owners, I decided to go with a Shark Performance remap. My closest Authorised Company turned out to be BroTek in Lanark (20 minutes from Glasgow). These chaps have the proper key codes from Volvo meaning the ECU doesn't have to be removed - the remap is carried out via the OBDII port.

So, once booked in at BroTek, I travelled to Lanark and met Mark Brodie who hooked my D5 up to the system and shortly afterwards, Shark HQ had sent a Stage 1 map to my car and less than 30 minutes later, the job was done and we were off for a test drive.

Alas, it wasn't good... Something was definitely wrong. The car definitely felt more powerful in 1st and 2nd gear, but when I selected 3rd gear and went about 35-40mph, the car seemed to loose the power and reverted back to normal acceleration. So no difference from the remap after 35-40mph. We knew this wasn't right and something was amiss. Mark telephoned Shark HQ and was advised that the symptoms described specifically with the Volvo D5 all point to a problem with the Swirl Flaps or the Swirl Actuator Arm.

5 minutes later, we were back at BroTek with the bonnet up. Mark had identified the Actuator Arm and it was clearly not connected to anything. I now recall that when I first bought the car, just over two years ago, Volvomax (indy garage, Glasgow) had told me that the Actuator Arm was not connected and that it was a design fault on the D5s whereby they were prone to failing. Volvomax had carried out a repair, but told me that they could not advise how long that it would hold for - and that was two years ago. So at some point, probably that same day, it's obviously failed and I've not noticed that I've been down on power and loosing MPG.

I thanked Mark at BroTek for his time and drove my D5 to Voltech in Glasgow (Independant Volvo Specialist). There, Ross and his team diagnosed that the issue was the part that the Swirl Actuator Arm connects to at the point it goes into the rocker cover was gone. Comply shredded to pieces and that the rocker would have to be removed to replace the damaged parts. The flaps would also be pretty solid and this would need addressing too. So I agreed and the work was completed very quickly (less than 4 hours). I left Voltech at 4:40pm and sat with my handbrake on for the majority of the ride home thanks to the Glasgow rush hour traffic. Everything was grid locked. However, 40 minutes later and I was in the country. Time to see what Shark Stage 1 Remap and a new set of swirl flaps could do. As I passed the national speed limit sign, I pressed the D5's 11 year old accelerator pedal...

MARY, JOSEPH & THE BABY JESUS!

The Volvo accelerated like a modified petrol T5. In the 2+ years I've owned this car, I never thought it could have ever performed like this. It's as if the power has doubled. I mean holy cow, Batman! Don't get me wrong, there are many faster cars out there of course, but for a 11 year old diesel Volvo, it is RAPID!!! . Select any gear 2,3,4,5 or 6 and it doesn't matter, the power just keeps on coming! Going up a HILL? Doesn't matter, the power just keeps on coming. In the last few hours, I've driven approximately 50 miles and this Volvo just doesn't stop accelerating. Unbelievably, my average fuel consumption is now 4 MPG better. No doubt this is due to the swirl flaps now working, but even then, the fact that I've been driving briskly and I'm still getting better MPG, is just amazing.

So, just to recap and end this off - between the Shark Remap and the Swirl Flaps being sorted, my D5 is now smoother, quieter when ticking over, accelerates waaaay faster, is no longer limited to 155mph, has the most amazingly, deep warble noise I've ever heard when flooring the third pedal and is giving me better fuel economy. The Smile on my face cannot be measured!!! Drive like a sane person and the car is quiet and very refined. You'd never know it was modified at all. Like night and day. Absolutely love it!

So thanks to Mark at BroTek for the very smooth, yet very powerful Shark Performance Remap (£315 for 40bhp/70Nm increase) and for his time, patience and motoring skills - Top bloke. And to Ross, Paul and the team at Voltech for resolving the Swirl Flaps problem (£477).

Now stop reading this, check your flaps and telephone BroTek!

👍