Volvo Polestar Upgrade
We have just purchased a five year old Volvo XC70 D4 automatic. The fuel consumption on our maiden voyage towing was around 24mpg (34mpg without the van). Our twelve year old XC70 D5 manual was averaging at around 33mpg (38mpg without the van). We have been advised to get the engine chipped with Volvo's Polestar at a cost of £650. I was just wondering if anyone else has had this done? If so, was there any improvement in the fuel economy?
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I’d stick with it as it is. Those mpg figures sound acceptable to me.
You'd need to tell your insurance company if you had it chipped which might, or might not, affect your premium.
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I had my Honda CRV re-chipped 2 years ago by a local specialist it cost £180.00
Honda CRV it should have a bosh EDC17 ecu which will be tricore protected we quote around 20-25bhp and 70nm on average
What was more important to me was it gives me about 50 mpg per tank than what I got before the new chip.
I informed my insurance company and that modification cost peanuts
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Is the box an intelligent one likely to learn how to optimise itself whilst towing?
Its "normal" state is certain to be optimised for solo with the change points and lock ups placed to best suit that.
Slap the mass and drag of a caravan on the back, which gets 80 or 90% more mass, and greatly increased drag.
Therefore, towing I would expect the torque converter will be working overtime, struggling to overcome the slip and benefit from "locking up", as intended in its target role. If it is intelligent it ought to improve during a long tow.
Have you experimented with using it in "sport" [assuming it has that feature], whilst towing?
I suspect from this, any chipping needs to target the gearbox's towing behaviour more than the engine's.
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Volvos Geartronic is not an automated manual its a true torque converter just with the ability to drive in "manual" mode. The latest and greatest true auto boxes from BMW etc are just as frugal as manuals not least because they are locked out most of the time.
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Courtesy of Wikipedia -
"Geartronic is Volvo Cars' name for its manumatic transmission, similar to Porsche's Tiptronic. It is available in 4, 5, 6, and 8 speed models, and is controlled by a microprocessor. The microprocessor automatically shifts to the next gear if a forgetful user in manual mode red lines the engine. Manual shifting is allowed with the gear stick in the manual mode. The gear stick can also be used just like any other automatic gearbox, where the transmission will shift automatically."
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yes a torque converter box - Volvos automated manual in the DSG sense was the Powershift now dropped in favour of the (much better) 8 speed auto/geartronic.
The OPs car will not be a powershift as the XC70 was never fitted with the D2 engine as far as I can remember.
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Nope - my Volvo has a geartronic gearbox and and I can assure you it's a torque converter as they always have been. Only Powershift were auto "manuals" and derived from when Volvo used Ford engines.
Oh and Posches tip boxes are just TC boxes with paddles. The auto manuals are the PDK boxes.
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The Wiki description of the geartronic box is an automated manual, not a TC, Birder.
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nope - wikis description is manumatic i.e manual auto not auto manual and thats exactly what it is - an auto that can be driven as a manual
https://itstillruns.com/geartronic-transmission-7784643.html
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Who’s going to edit Wiki, then?
Who cares, really?😎
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I have an XC70 D5 and your mileage figures are not too different to mine. I had a letter from Volvo offering me the polestar upgrade and recall it wasn't just an engine remap but also changed the gearbox management. How much that would help mpg I can't say as I chose to leave it standard. I tend to set the cruise control at 57 when towing and get around 26 mpg by doing so. Just a couple of mph more drops mpg to low 20's.
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Thanks for your answer, I think it is supposed to be intelligent.
We have just phoned Volvo about the electrics, as they weren't working correctly. They are going to rewire it for us so that may make a difference.
We haven't tried towing with sports mode. In normal drive, it revs a lot higher than we would have driven the manual. So if it does target the gearbox, it may be worth it.
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What's wrong with the electrics ? ATC ?
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I am on my 3rd XC70 D5 and all have been Polestar’d. The last one I did cost me over £800 in Oct 15. Polestar is a product of a Swedish Racecar Group who re-program a selection of Volvo cars. Not all of the engines are suitable. Polestar is a Volvo option and does not affect your insurance, I checked. Many back-street re-chips are lost at the next service when the engine is plugged into the garage computer, but not Polestar.
it certainly makes a difference to performance, especially mid-range tourque. I towed with Volvo’s for 28 years and had no complaints. Now I have a MH I enjoy driving the XC70 solo. I think the OP’s fuel consumption sounds pretty reasonable. However, I was fanatical about fuel when I was towing in France. I could leave home and head for the tunnel with a full tank of Sainsbury’s fuel and, using the awful A303 and M25 get 27mpg, that was with a very full load, big caravan, awning etc and two big dogs. But after filling up at the services just outside of the tunnel in France my mpg would drop to 19 mpg. And considering the improved road conditions, the A26, I put this down to very poor fuel quality in France. Not all regions are the same, it varies. I once tried the Shell High Power 98 stuff and instead of getting better my mpg it went down. It’s a lottery!
If you can afford it, get it! If you can’t, you wont miss it. You have a great car and a great Geartronic box, enjoy!
BillC
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Hi DD,
I take your point. But in France most services offer a high grade diesel, it probably wasn’t 98!
BillC
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