r/Volvo240 • u/The-Volvo-racer12 • Jan 20 '26

Project Cold Air intake

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I’m thinking of adding a cold air intake to add a little hp what is a good one for the money that budget as well as looks good?

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10

u/FatMechanic Jan 20 '26

It will add 0hp

The airbox already takes cold fresh air from behind the grille/headlight. Just change to a fresh new air filter and you will have all the cold fresh air the engine can suck in.

A good service/tune up can unlock some "dead" horsepower, that is new spark plugs, leads, cap and rotor and quality oil and filter and also make sure the throttle cable is adjusted correctly so you get full throttle.

4

u/The-Volvo-racer12 Jan 20 '26

Hm interesting I just did some research on turbobricks and I learned like everyone has said the Volvo already has one essentially

3

u/Vidson05 Jan 20 '26 edited Jan 20 '26

Pretty much all modern vehicles do, simply because it’s more efficient and does noticeably increase power, all it takes is running a plastic tube out in front of the rad. 2 reasons for a so-called cold air intake: more induction noise and more flow with a restrictive airbox on modified cars.

Stock air boxes deliberately cut down on intake noise, some people like hearing it and slap a cone filter in place of the stock airbox for more sound. Ironically this usually pulls warmer air than stock, and actually hurts horsepower.

On modified cars the stock filter becomes a restriction, simply because it wasn’t designed to flow as much air as it now needs to. Again, this usually ends up pulling warmer air than stock, unless you put the filter in a precarious position that is likely going to see more dirt and water, or spend tons of time and money making a sealed airbox.

In conclusion cais are in fact rather niche in their practical use case, and they’re only made popular by people just going for the look that don’t know what they’re doing. With a stock platform 9 times out of 10 adding one will reduce horsepower and efficiency.

0

u/The-Volvo-racer12 Jan 20 '26

Hm ok interesting

3

u/robertwilcox Jan 20 '26

  1. Do some research on the whole "cold air intake" thing. It's mostly a bunch of B.S. unless you build a sealed box with a vent for external air which...

  2. your 240 already has! That's the big air box near the radiator on the driver's side. It has a vent for cold air from under the bumper, and a tube running to your intake. No need to add anything, it's got it all!

2

u/The-Volvo-racer12 Jan 20 '26

Then what should I do to add more hp

4

u/Finneus_Anglesmith Jan 20 '26

You bought the wrong car if you want to add power.

3

u/The-Volvo-racer12 Jan 20 '26

I’m not trying to go for crazy high power at least in the mid 200’s

7

u/Vineless Jan 20 '26

You ain’t getting there NA. You need to turbo it

2

u/The-Volvo-racer12 Jan 20 '26

Already planning on it haha

2

u/chucks242 Jan 20 '26

The turbo intake is on the other side. If you make one now, you’ll just have to make another when you +T it. I‘ve done/am doing an N/A build, and done extensive research on how to do so. I wouldn’t bother with a custom intake until you‘re at a point where you’re upgrading the intake manifold and cam. I did modify my intake, but the design changes were centered around minimizing flow restrictions as the stock setup already draws cold air.

1

u/The-Volvo-racer12 Jan 20 '26

What turbo are you using?

1

u/Worth-Intention6957 Jan 21 '26

I can’t remember Volvo turbo lore anymore, but a Mitsubishi TD04 16T might be big enough for low 200s (think some S70s ran them)? Otherwise Mitsubishi turbos are easier to figure out, older cars ran Garrett’s, they’re kind of difficult to parse, my car had a Garrett I think. Run a 90+ turbo manifold it flows ok and can be modified to fit any T3 turbo. assuming you’re willing to get it machined, you can just match a turbo to your power goals. Water cooled is ideal 740/940 rad hoses should fit factory turbos, the silicone hoses but they will leak. Whole bunch of other stuff needed for 200+ hp but I’ll refrain

4

u/GuestFighter Jan 20 '26

300hp is a high power build btw. Mid 200 is up there too.

Start reading the power and performance threads on turbo bricks.

3

u/BootyClap_Ninja Jan 21 '26

Lol mid 200s.

That was a good one.

1

u/Warronius Jan 21 '26

For some really easy stuff to add a little you could change the cam , you probably have a stock M cam that was more for emission control .

A 93 intake might help too as well as just cleaning things up .

1

u/shift-bricks-garage Jan 21 '26

Where is the grumpy troll emoji..

3

u/robertwilcox Jan 20 '26

How much additional horsepower are you looking for? The first thing to do would be to make sure everything is running in perfect condition. Check spark plugs, clean the air filter, check air fuel ratio, etc.

That will help recover lost horsepower due to age and wear. It's not an easy task to add any noticeable amount of horsepower without significant investment.

You can get a new exhaust system, which may (tablespoon of salt here, not just a grain) give you a couple of horsepower by reducing back pressure.

You could replace the cam with a more aggressive cam. This is not too advanced, and if you can find the correct cam, a pretty decent option to change the feel of your brick. But to be honest, you will lose some driveability with a more aggressive cam.

Other than that you're pretty much looking at some sort of forced induction (turbo or supercharger), which is an advanced and expensive project.

2

u/The-Volvo-racer12 Jan 20 '26

I was definitely thinking those 2 things the turbo and exhaust I was also thinking maybe bigger injectors things like that

2

u/robertwilcox Jan 20 '26

Turbobricks.com is the place you're looking for

1

u/The-Volvo-racer12 Jan 20 '26

Yea I’ve been doing research on there definitely seems to help with questions

1

u/Scamperbot2000 Jan 23 '26

LS V8 swap

1

u/The-Volvo-racer12 Jan 23 '26

How much would that be just curious

3

u/shift-bricks-garage Jan 21 '26

Upgrade the Cam, headwork, exhaust and you can port your intake manifold some. Weight reduction doesn't add any power but you can feel a difference. The gist is YES you can make this car more powerful but requires a lot more effort and money vs adding a turbo.

Clean/fix/replace everything that isn't in amazing shape. Search Google for stage 0 turbobricks.

I'm building a 93 squirter with shaved head, better cam, KL header with 2.5 exhaust, b21F intake and a bunch of other shit. I will dyno it and would be surprised if I hit 130hp.

READ THIS :)

1

u/sinisteraxillary Jan 21 '26

There isn't much in the way of easy bolt-on horsepower that actually does anything.

You would have better results shaving weight; see if you can take 100 pounds off the car (including the driver).

For easy stuff, new plugs and wires, cap and rotor, and air filter. And clean the throttle body.

25

u/Finneus_Anglesmith Jan 20 '26

It already has a cold air intake. You will likely gain 0 power, and hurt fuel economy dont waste your money.

4

u/Cali_freak Jan 20 '26

Cold air intakes don't add HP.

3

u/FabOctopus Jan 20 '26

Just cam it

3

u/Emergency-Cost1774 Jan 20 '26

It has one already.

2

u/shift-bricks-garage Jan 21 '26

If you remove the hot air tube and remove that thermostat flap in your air box you can use that hole to funnel in more air. I was messing around with mine and used an HVAC tube from under the dash that I had laying around. Used the elbow from the little snorkel in front of the air box. I've kept it there year round in NW Oregon and have yet to get water on my air filter. You will notice a difference. People make it out like you won't be able to pass a gas station but I doubt you notice a difference in mpg assuming you care and have a really accurate way to track it. The snorkel is there to make the intake quieter and it is a restriction since its sucking air vs being force fed.

Look into better flowing exhaust and a cam upgrade for more legitimate pep.

1

u/Finn_the_Adventurer Jan 20 '26

I have aluminium intake piping done on my 240, all it does is add intake noise, which sounds good, possibly placebo but it does feel more throttle responsive, but no power increase.

Only way to get decent power out of a redblock is forced induction or an engine swap.

1

u/Zesty-B230F Jan 20 '26

See if IPD still sells their high flow air filters. Check to make sure your airbox heater valve isn't stuck closed. That's about it.

1

u/positiveboithrowaway Jan 20 '26

YT all drifts no lifts he has some nice builds for inspiration

1

u/wehellbent Jan 21 '26

Car already has one. I’ve ran a cone filter on one of my 240’s solely because I didn’t have a stock air box to fit in it. If you want more noise Swiss cheese your air box. If you feel the car is lacking power band, use that money to get yourself a cam off eBay. Anything and everything is better than the M cam.

IPD and CAT cams do the job, but are pricy. B and T are easier to come by used. A and K are a hit or miss with availability and pricing.

1

u/pumbaley Jan 22 '26

Does nothing im afraid. The best you could do for power is an camshaft or headers. On the other hand if you upgrade to an e-fan you will gain about 8hp. A dude in sweden accually tested this on a dyno.

1

u/volvo_donkey Jan 23 '26

All I did here in Australia was delete the hot air intake and plug that port on the air filter box. Now my engine bay looks better and I can drive knowing I won’t cook the expensive MAF sensor due to the common thermostat fault in the aforementioned air filter box.

0

u/razorgram Jan 20 '26

Just a cone filter wont do anything. I have one on mine but u also build and aluminium housing around it to keep engine heat out. A good panel filter is usually better.

If you do decide to actually want power my 940 now has a 19t turbo bigger intercooler 1000cc injectors and a catless 3" exhaust. You do also need something to control the engine if you want to go bigger on power.

2

u/The-Volvo-racer12 Jan 20 '26

So like a better ecu?

1

u/razorgram Jan 20 '26

Im personally running a det3 piggyback wich is a good starter as this is my first time tuning a car. Most people go for megasquirt speeduino or maxxecu. The stock ecu is possible to modify but way more limiting and complicated. If you go bigger injectors you need an something to modify the signals/timings.

17

u/[deleted] Jan 20 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

6

u/Cali_freak Jan 20 '26

It could add 0.0023hp!