2000 Volvo 5.7 GS performance upgrades

[63A]

I'm looking for information on performance upgrades for a 2000 Volvo 5.7GS with SX outdrive. Engine is in a 24' deckboat (approximate weight 4700 with fuel and people). Stock GS engine uses a two barrel Holley carb- not sure on CFM.

1. Will stock cam allow for much improvement with change to four barrel carb/intake? Anybody know where I can find Volvo 5.7 camshaft specs? If cam change would be required, any suggestions?

2. Are there any ignition upgrades that will increase performance?

3. Is conversion to Volvo 5.7GSi fuel injection provide worthwhile performance increase? Do all Volvo 5.7s use the same cam or do carb and EFI versions have different cam specs?

4. Will stock SX outdrive support increased performance (assuming max 300 HP)?

Thanks

 

[Bondo]

Re: 2000 Volvo 5.7 GS performance upgrades

Ayuh,....

#5,... Bolt on a 4bbl. Carb,+ matching Intake,+ Enjoy it...

Anymore than that is pretty much a Waste of Money,+ Time...

 

[redjmp]

Re: 2000 Volvo 5.7 GS performance upgrades

Even better if you bolted that carb and manifold up to a set of Vortec heads!
Electonic igniton will also help a little as is going to roller cam and rockers.
Merc gets 325 hp out of their 5.7 by using Vortec heads , hi output electronic ignition, vortec manifold with fuel injection,
and rollerized valve train.

Assuming a stock 350 at 250 hp, heads and manifold are good for about 30- 40 more hp with a 4 bbl carb and more like 50 with injection, roller valve train is good for about 20 - 30hp.
The hei ignition is good for 5 to 10 more hp as well.
All with a stock marine cam.
If you want even more, then you can start looking at air gap manifolds, running 305 vortec heads to bump up the compression, and a more aggressive camshaft. But now you need premium fuel.
Thru hull exhaust can add a few more ponies as well.

 

[Bondo]

Re: 2000 Volvo 5.7 GS performance upgrades

Even better if you bolted that carb and manifold up to a set of Vortec heads!

2000 Volvo 5.7GS with SX outdrive.

Ayuh,.... a 2000 Is a Vortec motor.....

 

[63A]

Re: 2000 Volvo 5.7 GS performance upgrades

Thanks for the input.

I'm assuming a dual plane type intake (Edelbrock Performer or similar) with a 600 CFM marine 4 bbl would be well suited to a marine application but please correct me if that is a bad assumption.

 

[180shabah]

Re: 2000 Volvo 5.7 GS performance upgrades

Check your setup first, frequently VP just used an adapter plate and installed a 2bbl carb on a 4bbl intake, so you may not need to buy a manifold.

Yes an edelbrock 1409 would be a good carb choice.

 

[63A]

Re: 2000 Volvo 5.7 GS performance upgrades

Thanks for the intake manifold idea. I'll check the manifold to see if it uses a 4 to 2 adapter. That would save a few bucks.

Has anyone tried 1.6 rockers on a stock 5.7 to see if there is much improvement? I realize it would only create an improvement in lift but not duration but I really don't know that much about marine cam profiles. Are performance marine cams higher lift or longer duration or both?

I'm curious about the carb recommendations I've seen in several posts. Most recommend the Edelbrock while haven't seen many recommendations for Holley. I just replaced the Edelbrock 600 on my Bronco with a Holley because I couldn't get the Edelbrock tuned. I bought and used the Edelbrock tuning kit but never could get it right. I fully understand that it was most likely an installer versus hardware issue but I have had much better luck with the Holley. The Holley was almost spot on out of the box.

I really appreciate the info.

 

[MikDee]

Re: 2000 Volvo 5.7 GS performance upgrades

Those 1.6 rockers won't do carp for you!, I read on another forum that you can't go more the .460 lift on Vortec heads, with out machine work, or beehive springs, & special thin retainers, and the recommended performance camshaft upgrade for a 350 Vortec was this 400" small block hydraulic roller, it's saving grace, is it's a mild upgrade, & you can still use your original roller lifter, & springs:

https://store.gmperformanceparts.co...lock Hydraulic Roller &model=<!--14097395-->"


Pre Vortec, there is alot of factory choices, Not much available afterward, most have more then .460 lift, so with out extra machining, or a whole new valvetrain they won't work.

 

[180shabah]

Re: 2000 Volvo 5.7 GS performance upgrades

Looking at that cam, I assume thet the 109 listed in the specs is the LSA. And remember with wet exhaust, if you have too much overlap you start getting reversion.

 

[MikDee]

Re: 2000 Volvo 5.7 GS performance upgrades

This is the specs, recommendation, & part number for the inexpensive factory cam I suggested, Quote from LS1.com:

Q. I am going to put a '90 Corvette L98 engine in my '87 Chevy pickup. I read in your Jan. '07 column about a marine roller camshaft. Being a marine technician, I have a couple of these cams. Will this cam work well with a TPI engine? Also, would a Fel-Pro head gasket (PN 1003) at 0.041 inch compressed thickness work well on this engine? Thanks.
Charlie Anderson</br>Via e-mail</br>

A. The Mercury Marine hydraulic roller is a very mild performance camshaft. This cam will produce tons of midrange torque and run out of air at about 5,000 rpm. GM uses this camshaft in its Ram Jet 350 and HT383 crate engines. The torque curves of these engines are just about flat from 2,200 to 4,700 rpm. This is right where the Tuned Port Injection (TPI) inlet track is tuned to run on the 350. If you wish to step up the runners or inlet base, it will only boost the upper-rpm power potential. This, in conjunction with 1.6 roller rockers, will give you a very nice, mild 350. The camshaft you're looking for is sold under PN 14097395. It specs out at 196/206 duration at 0.050-inch tappet lift, 0.431-/0.451-inch max lift, and is ground on a tight 109-degree LSA. The tight centers work out because of the small duration lobes and low overlap area. Cross-reference the camshaft to make sure you have the small Mercury Marine camshaft. GM builds several power levels of the marine engines for Mercury. The camshaft listed above is the mildest engine package offered.

When replacing head gaskets in the L98 aluminum-headed engines and the ZZ small-block family of crate engines, you must be very careful. The Fel-Pro head gasket has a diameter of 4.166 inches. This large diameter gets very close to the water jacket feed on the spark plug side of the cylinder head deck. With this gasket, you have less than 0.050 inch of sealing surface! It's very easy to knock the gasket out in this area. This is why we recommend sticking to factory head gaskets that have a diameter of 4.100 inches. The production gaskets are 0.052 inch thick for the aluminum heads, and 0.026 inch thick for the iron heads. I use the 0.026-inch-thick gasket exclusively for my performance street buildups. Most of the GM short-blocks have the pistons somewhere around 0.020 down in the hole. The iron gasket at least gets you in the ballpark for a decent quench. Pick up a set of the iron gaskets under PN 10105117.
The L98 TPI engines have been pushed to the side by both the LT and LS engine families. The long-runner TPI system will pull your truck around quite nicely. Good luck with your swap and enjoy the great gas mileage.

 

[mikeneal]

Re: 2000 Volvo 5.7 GS performance upgrades

The Volvo drive is plenty strong to take any HP upgrades. I did the factory 2 barrel to 4barrel swap on my 5.0GL and had a noticeable improvement. You can use factory manifold, just remove adpater palte. (need a spread bore type carb. I did a a Holley 4175.

One thing I don't recall is you do have a quality stainless steel prop right? That is about best bang for the buck you can do.

 

[63A]

Re: 2000 Volvo 5.7 GS performance upgrades

Thanks for all the responses. I haven't looked at my manifold yet but I assume the 5.0 and 5.7 use the same manifold so that is good news about the adapter.

I'm currently running a stainles 17P prop. Max rpm is 4600 with this prop so I think it is probably about right for the current setup.

Mikeneal,
With the Holley spreadbore, did you see a change throughout the rpm range or just on top end? Just curious if the bigger carb let the engine rev a little higher or if the cam limits the useable rpm?

 

[MikDee]

Re: 2000 Volvo 5.7 GS performance upgrades

Of course you're going to see more power, & rpm with a 4bbl carb, No, the cam don't limit the rpm. The load on the motor, & prop pitch limits the rpm, but once you develop more horsepower, the prop will spin faster. If you need to, just get another prop to match your power, and put the old one on E-bay, but don't change props, till you're fully done tweakng.

 

[63A]

Re: 2000 Volvo 5.7 GS performance upgrades

Actually, an engine may not necessarily make more horsepower by adding a larger carburator (4 barrel or multiples). If a 2 barrel carb is supplying as much fuel/air as the engine can efficiently burn due to camshaft specs/valves/ports/etc, adding a 4 barrel carb could actually hurt performance, especially at low rpm.

The camshaft can have a significant impact on rpm. Looking at the cam specs for a truck/offroad cam designed for low rpm compared to a cam designed for an 1/8 mile car with light weight and low gears will show a significant difference. A engine cammed for low rpm torque will rev to a point where the engine cannot take in any more fuel/air due to the cam profile and thus will not rev any higher even though the carb has not reached its maximum flow. The other extreme is a radical cam (with appropriate heads/valves/porting/compression) that will take as much air/fuel as the carb(s) can deliver and rev beyond mechanical limitations (valve float or other, perhaps more harmful, mechanical irregularities within the engine) unless limited by a rev limiter or prudent operator.

Before I spend my money on a 4 barrel carb, I want to make sure the engine is actually limited by the carburator flow potential versus the camshaft. Based on Mikeneals post, it sounds like the carb will provide some benefit-just looking for more info from someone who has already been down the same path.

The prop is an external factor on the engine that does limit rpm due to load but my goal is maximize engine performance (excluding external factors, then tailor load (prop size/pitch) to engine performance and load requirements (boat size/weight/intended use).

As a teenager, I (and my other stupid friends) would find the biggest CFM carb we could get and bolt it on our otherwise stock mid-70s anemic American V8 thinking we would get huge performance gains in a 4000lb car with 2.50 rear gears. Who wouldn't want a 980 cfm Holley double pumper on a stock Ford 302? Unfortunately, the only gain was in potential for a big fire (external combustion engine).

 

[180shabah]

Re: 2000 Volvo 5.7 GS performance upgrades

We already know that a "stock" vortec 350 with a 4bbl carb will make 290-300hp, at the prop, depending on manfold selection. That is a significant increase over the 260'ish hp rating with a 2bbl.

 

[mkast]

Re: 2000 Volvo 5.7 GS performance upgrades

Who wouldn't want a 980 cfm Holley double pumper on a stock Ford 302?

It was a 950 cfm three barrel, it did wash the cylinder walls down with gas, lost the piston ring seat/seal.
On numerous 5.7 engines GM built for marine use, both the two and four barrel versions used the same camshaft, cost savings.
A four barrel will actually give you some seat of the pants feel without over carburetion.

 

[63A]

Re: 2000 Volvo 5.7 GS performance upgrades

Now that I think about it, it was a Holley 3 barrel but didn't remember the exact CFM. It was a swapmeet good deal-or so I thought.

I'm now looking for a 4 barrel carb. Summit has the Holley spreadbore marine 650 cfm for $410 - best price I've seen so far and my past experience with Summit has always been good.

 

[Khris Kraft]

Re: 2000 Volvo 5.7 GS performance upgrades

First off Hello everyone. I have been reading the treads for a few days and decided that this seems like the place for me.

So... I registered.

A little history; I've been boating all my life, just sold a 34' Sea Ray with twin 454's and bought a smaller boat to tow kids on tubes and just have fun with.

Boat is a 1998 Chris Craft 210 bow rider with a brand new 5.7 Volvo Penta 5.7 GS. A roller 350 Vortex I'm told.

To my surprise when I removed the air cleaner to check out the 4bbl I found a 2bbl. I believe its the 600cfm Holly bolted to an 4bbl adapter plate.

I'm not trying to save any gas here as I just stepped down from 2 454's with 4bbls that drank 35 gph...... so this engine will never drink to much gas for me to ever catch an attitude about.

With that in mind, I started doing searches for 4bbl carbs on 5.7 Volvo Penta's and landed here.

My goal is to increase the torque and hp enough to handle a better pitched prop for a little more top end speed.

I was reading this thread and my question is... what is the difference between a 2bbl 600cfm and the 4bbl 600cfm BESIDES the ability to run on the primary's only while under normal cruising conditions. Again I'm not trying to save a drop of fuel, but I have read conflicting responses to whether a Stock engine can handle more cfms that say a 650 or 700cfm carb would deliver.

I have read here and a few other places the point that its only possible for an engine to process a certain amount of air/fuel and then that is it.

I have also heard that a stock 5.7 VP roller vortex can only process about 600cfms and that's it.

BUT! I have also read that people with stock engines see a big difference by going up to a 4bbl.

How is this possible if the engine can only process 600cfms and it already has a 2bbl 600cfm carb on it?

I want to put a 650 or 700 on my engine but I also don't want to stress it out or go much past 4800rpms.

I know I can control my RPMs with props, but I don't want to waste $500.00 on a carb if its going to give me the same results as I have now.

Please help me get off the fence.
Whats the real deal?

Thanks
JLC

 

[45Auto]

Re: 2000 Volvo 5.7 GS performance upgrades

Welcome to the forums. It's usually a good idea to start your own thread rather than posting to one over a year old.

You may find this thread interesting on changing a 2bbl 5.0 Volvo to a 4bbl. Crazecars did it and documented his results. 4 bbl by itself made ZERO difference (post #55). Adding a 1" spacer gained him 130 RPM and 2 MPH (post #70). You'll have to decide how much a couple of MPH is worth to you:

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=396275&highlight=volvo+4bbl

 

[Khris Kraft]

Re: 2000 Volvo 5.7 GS performance upgrades

Yes... Thank you. I took a chance on posting to an older thread so I wouldn't get scolded for starting a new one on a old topic without searching extensively first.

Thanks for the link and thanks for the welcome!

JLC