Volvo VED5 Tuning

"All you need to know about tuning the Volvo VED5 engine!"

The Volvo VED5 are awesome to work on and with the best uprated modifications like remaps, turbo kits and camshafts you will definitely enhance your driving enjoyment.

This pages aim is detail the best approach to VED5 tuning and point out the optimum mods that work.

History, Power & Specs of the Engine

The VED5 is Volvos five-cylinder engine with 20 valves and double overhead camshafts and came as 3 generations badged as the D5.

1st Gen 2001 an Aluminium block was released with a VGT turbo.

2nd Gen 2005 saw lower compression ratios and better boost control through VNT turbo units and larger compressor, plus revisions across the intake and exhaust to aid flow, power and economy.

3rd Gen 2009 lower compression ratio and two stage turbo D5244T10

First generation VED5

• 140 kW (190 PS; 188 hp), 420 Nm (310 lbft), 2.4 liter: AWD V60/XC60.
• 162 kW (220 PS; 217 hp), 440 Nm (325 lbft), 2.4 l: AWD XC60.

Second generation D5 (VED5 engines)

• D5244T
  163 PS (120 kW)@ 4,000 rpm 340 Nm (251 lbft) @ 1,750-2,750 rpm
• D5244T2
  130 PS (96 kW)@ 4,000 rpm 280 Nm (207 lbft) @ 1,750-3,000 rpm
• D5244T3
  116 PS (85 kW)@ 4,000 rpm 280 Nm (207 lbft) @ 1,750-3,000 rpm
• D5244T4
  185 PS (136 kW)@ 4,000 rpm 400 Nm (295 lbft) @ 2,000-2,750 rpm
• D5244T5
  163 PS (120 kW)@ 4,000 rpm 340 Nm (251 lbft) @ 1,750-2,250 rpm
• D5244T7
  126 PS (93 kW)@ 4,000 rpm 300 Nm (221 lbft) @ 1,750-2,750 rpm
• D5244T8
  180 PS (132 kW)@ 4,000 rpm 350 Nm (258 lbft) @ 1,750-3,250 rpm
• D5244T13
  400 Nm (295 lbft) @ 2,000-2,750 rpm
• D5244T18
  200 PS (147 kW)@ 3,900 rpm 420 Nm (310 lbft) @ 1,900-2,800 rpm

Third generation D5 (VED5 engines)

• D5244T10
  205 PS (151 kW)@ 4,000 rpm 420 Nm (310 lbft) @ 1,500-3,250 rpm
• D5244T11
  215 PS (158 kW)@ 4,000 rpm
• D5244T14
  175 PS (129 kW)@ 3,000-4,000 rpm 420 Nm (310 lbft) @ 1,500-2,750 rpm
• D5244T15
  215 PS (158 kW)@ 4,000 rpm 440 Nm (325 lbft) @ 1,500-3,000 rpm
• D5244T16/T17
  163 PS (120 kW)@ 4,000 rpm 420 Nm (310 lbft) @ 1,500-2,500 rpm
• D5244T21
  190 PS (140 kW)@ 4,000 rpm
• D5244T22
  220 PS (162 kW)@ 4,000 rpm 420 Nm (310 lbft) @ 1,500-3,000 rpm

Tuning the Volvo VED5 and best VED5 performance parts.

Best VED5 parts

Just because particular tuning mods are are common on VED5 it doesn't mean you should fit it, so we'll concentrate on the top tuning mods that will give your VED5 the best power gain for you spend. Instead of us falling into the common "if it's shiny and makes more noise it must be good" mentality of many car sites and mags.

Significant gains on the VED5 can be made from camshaft upgrades. Altering the camshaft profile alters the intake and exhaust durations on the engine and can dramatically change the torque and power output.

Fast road camshafts usually push up the bhp and torque throughout the rev band, you could sacrifice a little low end torque but the top end will be lifted.

Competition camshafts, push up the top end band but as a result the car will not idle smoothly and low end power nearly always suffers.

A Competition camshaft will just annoy you whilst driving in heavy traffic.

You should ideally optimize your power band to your usage of the car so for a typical daily driver stick with a shorter duration VED5 camshaft

Each engine responds better to extreme cam durations so view each engine as unique.

The ECU mapping and fuelling also have a large bearing on the torque gains you'll achieve.

Extending exhaust or intake durations can alter the torque band and on most engines the exhaust and intake durations do not need to match, although most cams and tuners use matched pairs there are some advantages to extending the intake or exhaust durations.

Please watch our video which covers the 5 principles of tuning your car. Be sure to keep up with our latest YouTube content and subscribe.

Best Engine Mods for your car

1. Engine Tunes - engine tuning/remapping provides the most advantage in terms of cost savings,  aftermarket ECUs, and piggyback ECUs are all alternatives.
2. Fast road cams are one of the most significant mechanical changes, but they must be installed by someone who knows what they're doing and they are not always easy to source but you might find a local firm to regrind a stock camshaft.
3. Intake and Exhaust - Note that on their own these mods will NOT ADD POWER in most cases, but they can help enhance power after other mods by removing the restriction.
4. Upgrades to turbochargers and superchargers - forced induction is the most efficient approach to increase air supply, allowing you to burn more fuel and make more power. It is one of the most costly upgrades but provides the best gains.
5. Head work - The goals of porting and flowing the head are to get air flowing into the engine while removing flow restrictions and turbulence.

Typical stage 1 mods often include: Remaps/piggy back ECU, Sports exhaust header/manifold, Fast road camshaft, Intake manifolds, Panel air filters, drilled & smoothed airbox.

Typical stage 2 mods often include: Sports catalyst & performance exhaust, high flow fuel injectors, induction kit, fuel pump upgrades, Ported and polished head, Fast road cam.

Typical stage 3 mods often include: Crank and Piston upgrades to alter compression, Internal engine upgrades (head flowing porting/bigger valves), Competition cam, Engine balancing & blueprinting, Adding or Upgrading forced induction (turbo/supercharger), Twin charging conversions.

A remap allows a tuner to establish the full potential of all the mods you've done to your VED5.

(In some cases, as the factory ECU is locked flashing is not an option, so an aftermarket ECU is the route to take, and many of these will outperform factory ECU's but make sure it has knock protection and that you get it setup properly.)

It will usually give you around 30% more power on turbocharged vehicles and you can expect to see around 15% on NA (naturally aspirated) engines, but the end result usually rely on the mods you've carried out and the condition of your engine.

Feeding air and fuel into each cylinder is the main goal to any performance tuning task.

Intake manifolds carry the air from the filter and allow it to be drawn into the engine cylinders.

The bore size, shape and rate of flow of the Intake manifold can make a substantial change to fuel mixing and power on the VED5.

It's not uncommon that manifolds are in dire need of aftermarket tuning parts, although a few makers provide reasonably good headers.

Adding a VED5 larger valve kit, doing some 3 or 5 angle valve jobs and porting and head flowing will also boost bhp, and as an added benefit will make space for a greater bhp increase on other mods.

Turbo upgrades

NA (naturally aspirated) engines need quite a lot of work when you add a turbo, so we have a separate guide to help you take into account the pros and cons of going this route on your VED5

The more air you can get into an engine, the more fuel it can burn and uprating the induction with a turbocharger upgrade makes massive power gains.

When the engine is turbocharged, upgrades are giving better power gains and you'll see that turbo engines are made with more solid components.

However engines have limits

It is important to find these limits and install stronger pistons, crank and engine components to handle the power.

We see many tuners spending a loads on turbo charger upgrades on the VED5 only to experience the whole thing throw a rod on it's first outing after it's been completed.

Large turbos commonly suffer a bottom end lag, and little turbos spool up more quickly but won't have the peak rpm bhp gains.

Over the last 20 years the market of turbos is always increasing and we now see variable vane turbos, allowing the vane angle is altered according to speed to lower lag and increase top end power.

Twin scroll turbos divert the exhaust flow into two channels and push these at differently profiled vanes in the turbo charger. They also help the scavenging effect of the engine.

You'll commonly see there is a limit in the air flow sensor MAF/MAP on the VED5 when considerably more air is being drawn into the engine.

We see 4 bar air sensors coping with quite large power gains, whereas the OEM air sensor was restricting performance at a much lower level.

Adding a supercharger or additional turbo will make large bhp and torque gains, although more complex to configure. We have this article on twincharging if you want to read more.

Fuelling

Don't dismiss the need increase the fuel system when you are increasing the torque - it makes the car more thirsty. It makes sense to over specify your flow rate on the injectors.

As a rule of thumb add 20% when specifying an injector, helps cope with injector deterioration and gives a little spare capacity should the engine require more fuel.

We think this one is common sense, but you'll need to match your fuel injector to the type of fuel your car uses as well.

Exhaust

You may need to uprate your exhaust if the existing exhaust is creating a flow problem.

On most factory exhausts you'll see the exhaust flow rate is still ok even on modest power gains, but when you start pushing up the power levels you will need to get a better flowing exhaust.

Note that with the widest exhaust you can source this will reduce the exhaust flow rate - the best exhausts for power gains are usually between 1.5 to 2.5 inches. It is the shape and material more than the bore size.

Typically exhaust restrictions come around the emissions filters installed, so adding a better flowing race alternative such as a sports catalyst pretty much removes this restriction, thanks to it's larger size and surface area, and will effectively raise the performance to levels you would expect without having a catalyst installed, but keeps the car road legal.

Weak spots, Issues & problem areas on the VED5

The VED5 engines are generally reliable and solid units, as long as you follow the manufacturers service schedules, and use a good quality oil to ensure longevity. Few problems should happen as long as they are regularly serviced and maintained.

Carbon build up in the head, particularly around the valves which will sap power or create flat spots, this is a larger issue on direct injection engines but should be looked out for on all engines. We have tips on removing carbon build up.

Some of our members have had issues with flat spots or glitches after applying mods and upgrades or tuning, this is not usually related to this engines design, so instead see our article on diagnosing flat spots and problems after tuning which should help you get the bottom of this issue.

Regular oil changes are vital on the VED5, especially when tuned and will help extend the life and reliability of the engine.

If you would like to know more, or just get some friendly advice on Tuning your VED5 engine please join us in our friendly forum where you can discuss tuning options in more detail with our VED5 owners. It would also be worth reading our unbiased tuning articles to get a full grasp of the benefits and drawbacks of each modification.

Please help us improve these tips by sending us your feedback in the comments box below.

We love to hear what our visitors have got up to and which tuning mods work best for you on your car. Which helps us keep our guides and tips up to date helping others with their modified car projects. Your feedback and comments are used to keep this page up to date, and help improve the accuracy of these VED5 tuning guides which get regular updates and revisions.

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This article is flagged for an update, so please pass on specific tips below that I can include. All articles, and content was written by me, Waynne Smith TorqueCars founder. Some outlines are just too general so I appreciate your feedback and suggestions. This entry was filed under Volvo. You can leave a response below or join our forum to discuss this article and car modification in detail with our members.

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