What type of maintenance is needed?

Only normal maintenance is required for your vehicle. It is recommended that you perform maintenance at or in advance of the regular service intervals. Doing regular maintenance before a tune is sometimes referred to as "stage 0". This is recommended to help ensure that you don't have any hardware issues when tuning.

PLEASE NOTE: Any turbocharged/forced induction vehicle should be using the highest octane fuel you have available when fueling at the gas station. This applies to both tuned and stock vehicles. While Volvo sometimes says minimum 89 octane on turbo vehicles, it really really should be minimum 91 octane. The 91 octane fuel is the absolute minimum grade of fuel that you should ever use in a forced induction car. If your area has 93 octane fuel available, you should use that, as it is actually significantly better than 91 octane fuel for engine performance and longevity. We understand that the cost of gas is expensive, however, we can guarantee you that the cost of repairs is more.

Recommended Maintenance:

• Ensure spark plugs are in good condition and gapped properly. Depending on what stage tune you get, you may want to get one step colder plugs. Typically, we recommend NGK Iridium plugs for most vehicles.
• Ensure your coil packs are in good condition. This means, make sure there are no cracks or discoloration on the plastic housing, etc. If you see cracks or discoloration, it's likely time to replace the coil packs. We recommend replacing them in a complete set when needed, but it is not required.
• Check your air filter and replace, if necessary.
• Check your fuel filter and replace, if necessary.
• Change your oil and oil filter. Ensure that you use a good quality oil and an OEM filter. We recommend using a full synthetic oil such as Valvoline Full Synthetic. Please remember, not all oils and not all oil filters are created equal. We only recommend using the Genuine Volvo brand oil filter for your vehicle to ensure the longest engine life possible.
• Check to make sure your PCV (positive crankcase ventilation)/engine breather system is not clogged. Often times, a clogged breather will result in oil pooling on top of the engine and poor performance. In extreme cases, this can even cause misfires to occur.
• Make sure your vehicle does not have the check engine light on. Sometimes, you have a check engine light because you need a tune, but most of the time, tuning will be unable to resolve your check engine light. The check engine light indicates an actual problem with your vehicle that should not be ignored. This could be as minor as the rear o2 sensor heater failing or it can be as major as having the front o2 sensor not function at all, leaving the vehicle to not have any sense of fueling control (these are just some examples). In the major instance here, the vehicle should absolutely not be driven, as driving it in this broken state can damage the engine.
• Check to ensure your brakes are in good condition and have replaced, if necessary. With great power, comes great responsibility. If you're tuning your vehicle to get more power, you need to make sure that you can stop it when needed.
• We've identified some of the most important tasks here, but there are certainly more normal maintenance items that need to be performed. Refer to the manufacturer's specifications and perform all regular maintenance.

If you are unsure about any of these items, make sure to contact your mechanic so that they can advise you on what to do.