I have some questions for everyone. I sure hope ya'll can help. By the way, the car in question is a 1998 S70 T5.

First, is it possible to replace the standard 4-speed automatic transmission with a 5-speed automatic? Where would I get the said transmission? Also, do you think a volvo shop could install this? How much would the transmission and labor cost?

Second, does IPD's strut brace make much difference?

Third, should I lower the car with IPD's "sport springs"? I've been recommended "intrax" springs. Are these better? Are IPD's intrax? Do I have to replace the shocks and struts as well?

Another question, would it be worth my while to purchase IPD's ECU chip and sport exhaust combo? How much performance enhancement should I truly expect (Motronic claims 285 after chip and sport exhaust)?

Has anyone ever seen a gold "R" emblem? My T5 has gold colored logos and I want to remove the T5 and put the "R" in its place. Should I do this? Is it hard to do?

I guess thats all for now, if I think I something else, I'll be sure to consult ya'll.

Which Chip from IPD would suit me better? The #451 for $895 or the #607 for $895? Can anyone suggest any other modifications in general the sixteen year old owner of a 1998 S70 T5 would be interested in?

BMCGUE- I have to agree with some of the other posts:
1) No sense in swapping your tranny for a 5-speed! Your AT T5 is very fast for a FWD sedan anyway.
2) If you can handle the stiff ride that comes with a lowered suspension and Bilstein or Konis, then go ahead and get them. you will improve the handling alot and have less dive and squat too. I recommend if you into spirited driving(I am).the strut brace is a personal thing. It lets people know you are into spirited driving and want your components to work in unison. I have one and like it.
3) forget the "R" badge in gold.(if they are into cars, they know there is no s70R in the USA.) I would suggest you de-badge the s70 and T5, so that unsuspecting motorist you try to test you at the stop light or freeway, will be sorry.
4)I saved the best for last. Definately get the TME ECU from IPD. a bit pricey, but worth it to most people. You will FEEL and LOVE the increase in performance. I personally will not get the exhaust until the oem is rusted or broken, since I don't tow anything or stay in boost for more than 2 mins. If you do, then you SHOULD improve the breathing with a cat-back exhaust. In my case a K&N was enough.

Q. First, is it possible to replace the standard 4-speed automatic transmission with a 5-speed automatic? Where would I get the said transmission? Also, do you think a volvo shop could install this? How much would the transmission and labor cost?

A. Anything is possible, including a trip to the moon, given an outlay of sufficient rectangular pieces of green paper with pictures of dead presidents. The question is: "Why?". If you want to go fast, buy a 5-speed MANUAL T5. I've seen no infomation to indicate that the 5-speed slushbox is any faster than the 4-speed slushbox, although the fuel economy might be slightly better.

Q. Second, does IPD's strut brace make much difference?

A. IMO The strut tower brace mainly reduces the wear on the other suspension components after you do the other suspension mods such as the sway bars (temporarily unavailable from IPD). I have the Volvo tower brace and the IPD front bar with the Volvo rear bar, since my IPD rear bar snapped.

Q. Third, should I lower the car with IPD's "sport springs"? I've been recommended "intrax" springs. Are these better? Are IPD's intrax? Do I have to replace the shocks and struts as well?

A. Your car "may" have the factory "sport suspension" available only for 1998. I'd start with the IPD bars, then HD Bilsteins, and if your butt can still stand the ride, maybe HD springs. Don't overlook tires, either.

Q. Another question, would it be worth my while to purchase IPD's ECU chip and sport exhaust combo? How much performance enhancement should I truly expect (Motronic claims 285 after chip and sport exhaust)?

A. I've not YET found the need to buy them. I can already smoke 98% of he cars on the road. For the other 2%, well, it's a friggin' VOHLVOH STATION WAGON fur crissakes! What do you expect? My plan is to replace my original exhaust with the TME/IPD exhaust and buy the ECU at the same time, when the exhaust rots out. A MANUAL T5 sedan or coupe can go sub-6 seconds 0-60 with the combination. My original exhaust is still going strong at 106k, either fortunately or unfortunately.

Q. Has anyone ever seen a gold "R" emblem? My T5 has gold colored logos and I want to remove the T5 and put the "R" in its place. Should I do this? Is it hard to do?

A. As previously stated, the gold emblems were not manufactured by Volvo. Most of the emblems are glued on, you can, of course, replace them. I saw a "BMW 328iM3" once. I thought it looked silly. Anyone who would care if the car were an M3 would know it's a fake. I've actually considered taking my T5 emblem off, but it's soooo discreet that no one ever notices it.

-bill d cat

Forget the 5 speed trans as it's not an option for your car. Sure, I'm sure that if truely motivated and momey was no object that someone, somewhere could do it but realistically, money will be an object. I highly doubt that anyone's tryed it so it'd be trial and error. Besides just the trans itself, there'd be a few electrical issues to resolve as well.
As for the gold R, Volvo doesn't make any Gold emblems, they're all chrome (looking) so those that are gold are done by a chemical process by aftermarket companies that go from dealer to dealer chemically changing them to a gold color. The problem is that when gold, the gold doesn't last long.
Changing the emblem is easy, use a hairdryer to heat the old emblems and they then peel off. Don't use any scraping type tools to remove the adhesive or you'll scratch the paint, use adhesive remover.
As for IPDs chip/exhaust combo, you'll definately notice an improvement. The strut braces help cornering but the effect is slight, not highly noticeable for most people but I have them on my cars.