Volvo C30 T5 with go-faster bits

[Kitchski]

My missus wants a C30; An earlier model with the R-Design kit. She's not fussed which engine, but we have the same 2.5 as this in our S-Max (some might say one thirsty 5-pot per household is enough!) I believe they're available with a 1.6 petrol, which is likely what she'd get.

Nice cars though.

[Parisien]

Collecting a 2012 C30 2.0L for the missus in 2 weeks, this thread has given me lots of ideas! But I suspect she'll not want it changed one bit! So tell me, what difference has it made to your insurance? Whats the 0-60 time like now, how does it handle, ride, feel in comparison to the standard T5?

And how easy was it to remap/chip, approximate costs, any changes I'd need to make to keep the car from giving me grief in the medium term?


P

Edited by Parisien on Tuesday 30th October 18:44

[TheVole]

Kitchski said:

My missus wants a C30; An earlier model with the R-Design kit. She's not fussed which engine, but we have the same 2.5 as this in our S-Max (some might say one thirsty 5-pot per household is enough!) I believe they're available with a 1.6 petrol, which is likely what she'd get.

Nice cars though.

Sounds good! One bit of advice I would give is to look for a 2.0 petrol rather than the 1.6 - I've never driven one but I've been told by other owners that the 1.6 is thirstier than the 2.0 purely because it's underpowered for the weight of the car, and it has to be worked hard a lot of the time.

Parisien said:

Collecting a 2012 C30 2.0L for the missus in 2 weeks, this thread has given me lots of ideas! But I suspect she'll not want it changed one bit! So tell me, what difference has it made to your insurance? Whats the 0-60 time like now, how does it handle, ride, feel in comparison to the standard T5?

And how easy was it to remap/chip, approximate costs, any changes I'd need to make to keep the car from giving me grief in the medium term?


P

That's good! To answer your questions:

• My insurance has gotten cheaper! I bought the car when I was 22 with 4 years no claims bonus and it cost me around £600 fully comp. The last time I renewed the insurance, I was 23 and went through Adrian Flux, as Limitless members get a club discount with them. I've declared everything I've done as well as the remap that was on the car beforehand, and I paid just under £500 fully comp, with the ability to drive any car. I'm expecting this to drop further when I need to renew in December.
• 0-60 with the Polestar map is reported as 5.9 seconds, I'm hoping mine can do it just a tiny bit quicker with the mods I've done so far, but with the torque it has, it can be a real pig to get off the line.
• Handling is... adequate. I've got plans to help it with thicker ARBs and possibly stiffer shocks, but it's perfectly fine to chuck down a B-road or around a track as it is. It's a little soft so all I have to worry about is smashing the splitter on the ground over bumps. They're £115 a go, so I'd rather not smash another one!
• The ride is fine for a lowered car, it's not a back-breaking mess like some lowered cars I've owned. It's not as good as it was standard, but I'm willing to accept that for the better looks and marginally improved handling.
• I've never driven a standard T5, only this one which already had the Polestar map on it. My guess is it would feel roughly the same, just without quite as much of a forward surge under acceleration?
• The remap was done through a Volvo dealer when the car was new, not by me! The T5 has the same engine as the Focus ST225 so anyone who can map one of those should be able to map a Volvo I think.

As for the 2.0, it's the same engine as found in the mk6 Fiesta ST150. There are plenty of tuning parts available, up to and including supercharger and turbo kits for them. I've owned 2 ST150s, and they never let me down mechanically so I would say you're pretty safe there.

General C30 problems are water ingress from the top of the windscreen which Volvo should cover (it has affected several C30 Crew UK members, but thankfully not me yet!), air con parts are made of cheese and like to fail so make sure it works, the same goes for driveshafts (especially if the car is lowered, I'm on my second set), and if it's an R-Design the fake-suede black material on the seats can crack. That's what I can think of off the top of my head, great cars though!

Even if I am thinking of replacing it... 8 cylinders and rear-drive is a mighty tempting combination, now that I've got the Civic as a daily driver. Suggestions welcome, but nothing German!

Edited by TheVole on Wednesday 31st October 16:48

[ZX10R NIN]

Depending on you budget I'd say a Monaro or VXR8 are where you should be looking or get a E46 BMW with a dead engine & drop a Lexus V8 in it.

[John_S4x4]

Hi Maty,

That Volvo looks great. Well done on turning it into.something special to suit you.
I ended up choosing a MG V8, as I needed a decent 4-door saloon. Sounds just like the below car.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=BwVUO7wMx2k&t=32...

[Parisien]

TheVole said:

That's good! To answer your questions:

• My insurance has gotten cheaper! I bought the car when I was 22 with 4 years no claims bonus and it cost me around £600 fully comp. The last time I renewed the insurance, I was 23 and went through Adrian Flux, as Limitless members get a club discount with them. I've declared everything I've done as well as the remap that was on the car beforehand, and I paid just under £500 fully comp, with the ability to drive any car. I'm expecting this to drop further when I need to renew in December.
• 0-60 with the Polestar map is reported as 5.9 seconds, I'm hoping mine can do it just a tiny bit quicker with the mods I've done so far, but with the torque it has, it can be a real pig to get off the line.
• Handling is... adequate. I've got plans to help it with thicker ARBs and possibly stiffer shocks, but it's perfectly fine to chuck down a B-road or around a track as it is. It's a little soft so all I have to worry about is smashing the splitter on the ground over bumps. They're £115 a go, so I'd rather not smash another one!
• The ride is fine for a lowered car, it's not a back-breaking mess like some lowered cars I've owned. It's not as good as it was standard, but I'm willing to accept that for the better looks and marginally improved handling.
• I've never driven a standard T5, only this one which already had the Polestar map on it. My guess is it would feel roughly the same, just without quite as much of a forward surge under acceleration?
• The remap was done through a Volvo dealer when the car was new, not by me! The T5 has the same engine as the Focus ST225 so anyone who can map one of those should be able to map a Volvo I think.

As for the 2.0, it's the same engine as found in the mk6 Fiesta ST150. There are plenty of tuning parts available, up to and including supercharger and turbo kits for them. I've owned 2 ST150s, and they never let me down mechanically so I would say you're pretty safe there.

General C30 problems are water ingress from the top of the windscreen which Volvo should cover (it has affected several C30 Crew UK members, but thankfully not me yet!), air con parts are made of cheese and like to fail so make sure it works, the same goes for driveshafts (especially if the car is lowered, I'm on my second set), and if it's an R-Design the fake-suede black material on the seats can crack. That's what I can think of off the top of my head, great cars though!

Even if I am thinking of replacing it... 8 cylinders and rear-drive is a mighty tempting combination, now that I've got the Civic as a daily driver. Suggestions welcome, but nothing German!

Edited by TheVole on Wednesday 31st October 16:48

Great reply, thank you.

V8? I owned a Maserati 4200 for 4 yrs , most enjoyable and special car I ever owned, if you want guidance, let me know.


P

[TheVole]

Thought I'd update this, although there hasn't been much news!

I've put off thoughts of replacing it just yet as I'm trying to save as much as I can to put together a house deposit - easier said than done in Oxfordshire at current prices!

So rather than get rid and start again with another car, I've started slowly acquiring parts as and when they come up second hand, ready for more power. At the moment, I've managed to get hold of an Anembo Engineering inlet plenum (around £1k new!), a good used set of Focus RS 440cc injectors, and a Turbosmart recirc valve. This, along with an as-yet-unsourced uprated wastegate actuator, should be all I need before it gets mapped. I'll have to bribe a spanner-spinning friend to fit it all, as I'm awful with that sort of thing.

The last real outing for the Volvo this year was Hot Hatch Sunday for the Goodwood Breakfast Club. I'd never been before, but I was pleasantly surprised with how many cars turned up and how friendly everyone was! I was a little nervous and anxious about going to such an event on my own, but it was fine - the Volvo even got some attention, which I'm not used to!

A clean before heading down - I still packed the boot with detailing gear, and cleaned it again once parked up!



The journey there was fairly eventful, had a nice play with a very, very loud Clio 197 on the dual carriageway. A stop at a very dark service station for a coffee:



Parked up, detailed and show plates on:





It even drew a small crowd at one point - I'm not used to my car getting any attention because it hasn't got air ride, and it hasn't got a set of Rotiforms!



The sun came out...





I was impressed - I'll definitely be heading down to more of these meets next year!

The car is now sat on the driveway to keep the worst of the winter salt and grit off of it. The Civic is still running like a charm, it's a great daily runner. The Volvo's getting a wash every few weekends, and another coat of Fusso wax will be put on this weekend if the weather holds out. Maybe I'll be able to get to a few more driving events like track days and RWYB days next year, rather than just shows.

Oh, and the car got featured in AdamC's video from Goodwood - he caught it as I was leaving! Had I known anyone was filming my car (let's face it, it's not the most exciting car out there) I probably would've given it more beans...

It's in this video at 12:15, for about 5 seconds

Edited by TheVole on Friday 7th December 15:23

[Labradorofperception]

I love what you've done. They're a really underrated car and that engine even in stock is a cracker.

I think they channel the old 480 feel really well (I'd love a mint 480).

Personally i'd have kept the original grille, but I'm not a black grille type. The Brembos looks great.

[TheVole]

I've just realised I'd missed a show off of
this! These are all from TRAX 2018 at Silverstone. It was a typical early start for a car show, but the convoy of cars heading to a show somehow makes it just that little bit more bearable to wake up that early!

In no particular order:









Our stand, in all it's glory:











Those last few were taken by the official Trax photographers, because...



We won a thing! Limitless won the Best Club Stand award. I'm very proud of the club and all of our members for making this happen













Shortly before the show, the new custom catback exhaust was fitted:







Sadly, while this sounded amazing from outside the car, inside it was far too loud to be driven - I couldn't hear myself think! So the custom system was sold to someone who could live with it, and the Milltek catback went back on.

I also videoed my track time at Silverstone, if anyone fancies watching. Continuing my theme of Hondas spinning out in front of me, around 7 minutes in a DC5 did a nice pirouette!

I think that's up to date now!

Edited by TheVole on Friday 7th December 16:27

[FakeConcern]

Very nice write up! I've just bought one of these myself and this gives me some ideas.

[TheVole]

FakeConcern said:

Very nice write up! I've just bought one of these myself and this gives me some ideas.

Thank you! Give me a shout if you need any advice, Focus ST225 owners are also (sometimes) a good source of information as the Ford scene is much bigger than the Volvo one for modifying - they tend to know how far you can push various standard parts before you need to upgrade.

[boombap]

Nice work and good to see a car getting used properly.

I have a two car garage like you too consisting of a BMW 130i and civic 2.2cdti

What spec is your civic? Mine is the ES but would have preferred the EX!

Edited by boombap on Monday 24th December 16:56

[Paul S4]

Did your C30 have tints before you got it or were they done afterwards ?

[TheVole]

boombap said:

Nice work and good to see a car getting used properly.

I have a two car garage like you too consisting of a BMW 130i and civic 2.2cdti

What spec is your civic? Mine is the ES but would have preferred the EX!

Edited by boombap on Monday 24th December 16:56

Mine's only a Sport - I would've looked for a higher-spec one, but it was cheap and local so I jumped at it! The only thing it could really do with that it doesn't have is cruise control.

Paul S4 said:

Did your C30 have tints before you got it or were they done afterwards ?

They were already on the car when I got it, but they are aftermarket - done by Oxford Performance Autos according to the receipt I have, if that helps.

The car is still running well, getting occasional use through the winter to avoid things seizing up. Parts are still being acquired, just a wastegate actuator to go before I can think of getting it all fitted and the car mapped!

[gsl67]

Normally hate debadged front ends, but this looks absolutely cracking. Bet it sounds and goes alright as well. Very nice brief mate.

[TheVole]

Right, time for an update I think!

I've been slowly collecting parts over the winter to give the car a bit more poke. I'd wanted the car done before the Volvo 600 event on the 31st of this month, but that probably isn't going to happen. A lot of it is done though! Just a few fiddly bits to go.

So, the parts that have been acquired are:

• Anembo Engineering inlet plenum
• Elevate C30/V50/S40 T5 air intake
• Ford Focus RS mk2 440cc injectors
• Turbosmart wastegate actuator
• Turbosmart recirculation valve

Saturday was fitting day! We ran out of time to put the actuator or recirc valve on, but the rest is on and working. A few photos to show the process:

Standard airbox and inlet manifold off (taking the airbox out is a royal pain in the rear):





Anembo plenum (and RS injectors) in:



All done and ready to go:





Gratuitous 'on the ramp' shot:



Then on Sunday, Limitless hosted our very own dyno day at Horsham Developments, near Newbury. This was the first time we've hosted one, and going by the turnout and the feedback we've received from our members, it won't be the last. I decided at the last minute to put the car on the rollers - it's not mapped for the extra modifications that have been added, so I was a little nervous. A chat with the mechanic who fitted it all (and who himself has a homebuilt 510bhp, turbo-converted EP3 Civic Type R - the black one as seen in the first post of this thread - he's been a busy boy!) calmed my nerves a bit - the extra fuel provided by the bigger injectors would only make it safer as it definitely won't run lean. My shaky photography (that's how nervous I was) as the car was strapped down:



And some better photographs taken by one of our other admins whilst I was chatting to the dyno guys and wondering how I was going to get home once Uncle Rodney appeared from inside the block:







I'm not sure if posting a video here will work, but here goes nothing:



After 3 runs, the car made 276.5bhp and 310lb/ft at the flywheel:



Note that the other line in that photo is the air-fuel mixture, not torque. I have got the printout with torque on it, but I didn't think to take a photo or scan of it!

I'm happy with that power, especially considering the car isn't mapped to make the most of the benefits that the plenum, intake, bigger injectors, freer flowing exhaust or bigger intercooler offer. Once the actuator and recirc are on, it will be mapped and I'm hoping it'll make around 320-330bhp, which I'm told is the limit of the standard turbo. That should be enough for me, for now!

Hopefully I haven't bored you all to death - here's a photo of the leaderboard at the dyno day yesterday, as I've got it!



Now it's time to start getting ready for Volvo 600 and the upcoming show season... no rest for the wicked.

Edited by TheVole on Monday 11th March 14:13

Edited by TheVole on Monday 11th March 14:22

Edited by TheVole on Monday 11th March 14:22

[TheVole]

Just another thing to add - LTMvideo made a short video of the club dyno day, which you can check out here if you're interested - some interesting cars (and mine).

[TheVole]

Another post, just for me it seems! A few weeks ago a couple of friends and I decided to head about an hour up the M40 to visit Caffeine & Machine. There isn't a lot that I can say that hasn't already been said about C&M, but it definitely won't be my last visit. The laid-back atmosphere is just such a nice place to spend time in, and everyone who turns up seems to be a like-minded enthusiast, which is such a change from what I'm used to in the car scene. To add to that, the standard and variety of the cars there just beggars belief - classics, modern supercars, even a stripped out Jaguar XJ40 track car!

Just a few photos, I took absolutely loads but I'll just include a few:

[ZX10R NIN]

I had a similar amount of work (by GGR who I can't recommend enough) carried out on my ST & it produced 323bhp, so get it mapped

[rayyan171]

Absolutely love these, would like one in the future. They seem the perfect package, and I like the look. The mods you have done are great too.