Photo from Import Sauce

Originally Posted On: https://www.importsauce.com/stylish-air-flow-function-product-review-elevate-p1-intake-system/

If you own a newer Volvo, 2000ish and newer, and you’ve researched or done any upgrades to it, then you’ve probably almost certainly heard of, or been on the Elevate Cars website.

Elevate Cars is dedicated to the Volvo owner, by way of bringing some of the highest quality performance parts to market. I could try and express this in my own words, but their website says it all.

ELEVATE UTILIZES THE FINEST MATERIALS, TOP CRAFTSMANSHIP, AND LATEST TECHNOLOGIES TO CREATE PRODUCTS FOR VOLVO ENTHUSIASTS THAT OFFER THE PERFORMANCE, DISTINCTION, AND COMFORT THEY DESIRE IN THEIR VEHICLE.

We’ve used tons of their parts on our cars (performance tune, turbo downpipe, turbo control valve…), and their brand name is legendary across the Volvo forums and in the community. Honestly, I have never heard anyone say anything negative about their parts. If you have a Volvo, check out their website, they have something for almost every Volvo owner…2000ish and newer.

The Elevate Air Intake System for Volvo S40s – An Overview

The parts we are taking about here, are actually two separate SKUs from Elevate. First is the Performance Air Intake. This is the filter, the hard pipe and the ECU relocation bracket. This is what you need to rip out that old factory air box, relocate the ECU, and gain a cool and quick 7hps and 12ftlbs torque, TO THE WHEELS. This is everything from your mass air flow sensor out.

The second is the Performance Turbo Intake Pipe. This is the pipe from your mass air flow sensor down to your turbo. While there are no HP gains listed on the page, it is documented at an increased interval volume of 41%.

These two parts combined, is what allows your air intake system as a whole to open up, and deliver more air to your turbo.

Installing the Air Intake System

As claimed, both parts came with step by step instructions for installation. If you are doing this in two phases (perfectly okay), we would recommend getting the air intake first. Most of the install time is getting that huge and wedged factory intake box out of the engine bay. Once that guy is out, the air intake goes in no problem. The air intake ECU relocate bracket is clean and bolts right up. Actually it looks pretty cool too. All in, less than 30 minutes.

For the Turbo Intake Pipe, the advertised 30 minutes seems to be about right. The real trick is getting the hose clamp off the lower connection at thee turbo. You can either go in from the top with some extensions, or, while it takes a few more, remove passenger tire and wheel well for direct access.

Overall, it’s not a bolt on CAI like a Honda B or H series, but it goes on without any issues. The instructions are on point, step by step, and with pictures.

Are The Gains Real?

When we ran data logs, starting with base factory HP ratings, calculated for loss crank to wheel, and then saw the numbers these two parts put out, they were exactly what was promised, maybe even a bit more.

Our Review of The Elevate Volvo S40 Intake

These two parts are a must have if you have a P1 T5. The price point ($450ish combined) is easy enough to get you in the performance game. The benefits are far more than Elevate claims on their website (don’t be bashful guys) as follows:

-Oil change times are cut down by 80% since you no longer have to remove your factory air box to access the oil filter.
-It makes your engine bay look a zillion times better.
-Increased horsepower.
–Bonus: I didn’t even know I had a factory BOV. Actually it is a re-circulation valve, but after putting this system on, you can hear an super aggressive whooooosh, as it echoes through the wide open intake piping, check out the sound clip below.

The Import Sauce Podcast

Long story long, would I buy it again? I already did. I went through a “back to stock” sale a few years back when I thought about selling the Vol. As soon as all my parts sold and I was bone stock, I realized I made a mistake. Even though the price had gone up since I purchased these parts years prior, I had no problem checking them off my build list….again.