Should I get my car Rica'd?

As you know I was unable to provide the boost data etc because the figs were obtained on a dyno day. As you do not have a AWD dyno in the UK we were in a dilema which only mean't me spending monies to have more dyno days at an independent or going to Holland at my own expense.

Also since it was a standard map, not a custom map, it should not need altering.

I am surprised that no one has taken the bull by the horns and proved all the sceptics wrong - there is a great opportunity on the 25 September and each person can take their own large fan. If the claimed figs were confirmed on an independent dyno then all these converstion would never take place.

I hope the last comment was not directed at me because the printout is probably available from Power Engineering to back up any comments I have made.

But let me make one thing very clear. The RICA product is VERY good. It transformed my car substantially and the acceleration was astounding. The torque fig was increase by 100Nm above standard at 426Nm. Due to the AWD it would give many a car a run for its money, and a few people on this forum saw it go around Silverstone.

The only grumble I have is the claimed figs that I have just not seen substantiated.

Would I buy RICA again - yes without question.

Would I recommend it - YES because it is good.

Karl

[foggyjames]

I think that's the point - no-one would have any grounds for objection if RICA simply said "it'll kick you in the pants", rather than it'll achieve X bhp increase, which appears to be the downfall, as very few cars (if any so far?) meet the claimed spec. I mean surely its better to under-estimate, and be in for a pleasent surprise than the other way around!

That is the reason there is such bad feeling about the new R - its not that it isn't excellent, but Volvo over-estimated its abilities (both in terms of published figures and the comparison to the M3 and S4).

cheers

James

[sholtby]

The thing is though a Rica chip is about £600 and a TME chip from Don is about half the price and which ever one you choose to have on a standard car the improvement is going to seem substantial.
We need some dyno figures from an independant dyno to prove that Rica is worth the extra.

Simon

[Traduk]

Simon,

It was good of you to report back on your initial feelings after the Rica upgrade, much appreciated. From your lead up posts it looked as though if anyone was going to give Adam a hard time it was going to be you :)

When I saw that TME was going to be available in the UK, I went to their site and had a good look at their product. When looking at the UK distributors in the "drop down list" there is a rather unpleasant reference to the UK and "mis-appropriated goods". Perhaps Don would like to ask them to change that as he is likely in a good position to remove that highly undesirable content.

In the absence of anything referring to the UK other than an angry slur, the best place to look is IPD in America. There is plenty of info there including the logic of why the TME upgrade is so low in performance. The reason given is that the "Volvo" is likely to be the main or primary family vehicle and TME engineered their upgrade to reflect Volvo's desire for longetivity. They did not go into the logic as to why their upgrade needs a sports exhaust to give 25% of the max power for the upgrade but the half price upgrade gets you 75% of their power claims unless you spring for the sports exhaust which defeats the price and gives a mediocre power upgrade compared to the claims of others. TME claims that it is a moderate power increase and it follows that by design it will under-perform.

There is no point in putting Rica and TME in a head to head because TME engineered the upgrade for a shopping car whereas Rica releases the power that TME wimped out on releasing.

Until such time as TME remove this from their site I wouldn't touch their products with a ten foot pole. It makes me angry. This is absolutely no reflection on Don but I hope he gets that reference removed quickly.

http://www.tme.com/e_main.htm

Traduk

I have probably been one of Volvotunings biggest critic over the months but that is only because of the claimed figs - nothing else, and I can assure you I am not an advocate of Don Norchi - my thougts and comments are independent.
If the bhp figs were substantiated on an independent dyno I would be more than content.

Owen Developments have one of the most up to date dyno in the country and they do research work for Garrett turbos and many race teams. I am sure that any adverse comments would be quashed immediately if this company produced the numbers - and that goes for any chip product.

I have been a critic but I would also like to make you all aware of the positive side of Volvotuning.

When I had my car remapped in Birmingham and then drove on to Liverpool, the car developed a fault. On telephoning Adam he IMMEDIATELY left Birmingham and drove the 120 miles to fix my car. I have never seen that service anywhere else.

Karl

Thanks Karl, your comments are greatly appreciated. In fairness, regarding your power figures, my suspicion was mainly the intake temps which would have easily contributed to the low peak peak power. That's why accurate data from Power Engineering would have been very useful in determinging the problem.

Adam.

ps. The claimed figures are not our claimed figures, but RICA claimed figures.

[foggyjames]

>ps. The claimed figures are not our claimed figures, but RICA
>claimed figures.

Well absolutely, and I think you don't come across as selling the upgrade as X bhp gain...but then RICA do...maybe someone needs to have a word...

cheers

James

No need. The power is there, because I've seen it on independent dynos myself. If you don't believe it, go to RICA in Holland and see it for yourself.

Adam.

[v6en]

I'm now the frightened owner of a Manual Boost Controller as of today :) and yes i was driving along the road with wires sticking out of my bonnet and exhaust while Marc set it up using the wideband lamba sensor to check my air/fuel mixture, which was spot on at 1.15 BAR :)
I'm taking the T4 to get rolling roaded on Tuesday so we'll see then what difference it has made and i'll let you all know out of interest. If the intake temp etc is ok then i might test it out at 1.2 BAR for the 1/4 mile...

jacqueline

[foggyjames]

Interesting...did you notice any of the 'reeling in' effects that Adam warned us about? (Where the detected MAF(?) reading is greater than it ought to be, causing the ECU to try to calm things down...a daft situation if you ask me!)

cheers

James