Volvo C30 T5 with go-faster bits
Discussion
Hi all,
I'm not sure if anyone will be interested in this, but you clicked the thread so you're here now! This is my 2008 Volvo C30 T5. I've had the car since July 2016, and I'm still loving it.
As purchased - July 2016 on 68k miles. It already had some modifications including the Volvo-provided Polestar remap that the original owner paid extra for. This takes the car from 230bhp to 250bhp and 272 ft/lb of torque, without any hardware modifications. It also had the originally diamond-cut Midir wheels powdercoated in gunmetal grey. This is now starting to bubble so I'll be looking at getting them redone next year most likely. Finally, the rear 3 windows were tinted.
The first photo once it was home, next to my old MX5 that it was meant to replace - I ended up keeping it, only got rid last year after a minor crash in it!
I also run a car club, mostly based in the Oxford area but we have members all over the UK and some international ones - Limitless (Facebook page here). This is the first show I took the Volvo to, Trax at Silverstone in October 2016:
Not too much happened over the winter, apart from 30mm Eibach lowering springs and a Milltek catback exhaust - which was so quiet I thought something was wrong with it! Please excuse the filthy car:
I also fitted 20mm rear wheel spacers to fill out the rear arches a bit more, as can be seen in that last photo.
Sometime after Trax, I think it was late October 2016, I took the car on track for the first time at Silverstone on the National circuit. It behaved... about as well as you'd expect a standard Volvo to - it was good in a straight line, not so much in the corners! I need to get around to sorting the handling, and I've got a few ideas to help.
I also had a few nice photos taken of it by local photographers:
In January 2017, a do88 intake pipe from the airbox to the turbo inlet was fitted. This is a 3" diameter pipe as opposed to the standard 2.25" pipe with resonator that the car came with, and it gave a decent increase in torque and turbo whooshy noises, so smiles all round!
I also fitted some LED sidelight bulbs around the same time - comparison below:
And of course another fancy photo:
Show season 2017 with Limitless began with Fast Show at Santa Pod - my entrance shot:
Waiting in line for the strip - never do this at a show! Wait until a RWYB day:
Various photos from the strip:
Best on that day was I think a 15.3 at around 95/96mph - my first time on a drag strip!
We did the Katsi Brighton run:
And the big one and my personal favourite show of the year, Modified Nationals. Entrance photo and camp set up:
Yes, my tenting skills have thankfully improved since then!
Mod Nats is always a great show, unfortunately I can't find many photos of my car from then. However I did put it on the dyno - which was a mistake in hindsight, as the fan was far too small and the expansion tank cracked from the heat. This has since been replaced.
Headline figures were 243.9bhp and 310 ft/lb - I told you that intake pipe made a difference!
Shortly after Mod Nats, a carbon grille was sourced and fitted. Yes, you really do need a butter knife to remove the standard grille:
And fitted - the horns didn't stay yellow for long, and the Volvo badging was taken off shortly after:
I did a silly thing with the rear badging too - I like it, but it is childish:
I took the car on track at Trax 2017 on the Silverstone National circuit again, with a bunch of other Volvos - a brilliant time, and really made me fall in love with wet track days!
A RWYB day at Pod - best time was a 14.4 at 99mph:
Followed shortly after by helping a friend out - his supercharged, 340bhp EP3 Civic Type R snapped a driveshaft on the line, so I towed him out of the Pod to wait for recovery:
Then some boxes started to arrive:
Another artsy fartsy photo because I can:
The Maxton Design box was a splitter - which looks mean, but I'm now on my third one after smashing the first two on bumps!
Found an old Volvo 244 in Tesco, so of course I took some photos:
I replaced my LED sidelights with some angel eyes - they're bright white in real life, the camera doesn't pick them up very well!
Photo from the ad when I bought the car to remind me of how far it's come since then:
This brings us up to... March 2018 I think. I did a track day at Thruxton with a friend of mine (his Megane):
On my last run, which I took a video of, an S2000 that I'd been having a nice play with decided to spin out in front of me (around 7 mins in on the video) and do this to the front of the car:
Luckily this all washed off and didn't seem to do any paint damage. Around the same time, I had the block mod done by Tim Williams to try and stop the liners cracking when the boost gets turned up, which is a relatively common issue for Focus ST225s and Volvos with this engine.
We then went to Silverstone yet again, and again in the wet:
This and the Thruxton day highlighted a weakness in the car - the brakes weren't up to the task of stopping a Volvo tank repeatedly from high speed. So, some research and some bidding later, these turned up:
They're BMW 7-series E39 4-pot Brembo calipers. I had these professionally painted and fitted with some 336mm MTEC grooved discs from a mk2 Focus RS - photos of this further below.
Engine bay shot, with panel filter and ECU spacer installed:
I gave the car a full machine polish, which has taken most of the swirl marks out but not all of them. It'll be going for a professional detail for show season next year.
And we got onto show season 2018, starting again with Fast Show at a soggy Santa Pod:
Nothing really to report - a wet day so the strip wasn't open for much of it. Some very nice cars around though!
Mod Nats 2018:
Turns out Volvos can make good lawnmowers:
Some photos from the stand:
Shortly before Mod Nats, I bought a daily driver to save some money on my commuting. the Volvo only does 23-25mpg, so a diesel Civic was purchased to try and save some money (and my splitters!)
We had a small stand at a local transport festival supporting a club sponsor:
And on the second Sunday of each month, our main meets that we run:
Video of the meet - ignore my dodgy camerawork!
The calipers came back from being painted, and were fitted:
Random shot of my Insta tag on the car, feel free to follow me there as I'll be updating that more often than this thread:
Show season 2018 continued, with Trax Donington:
The car went out on track again, my first time at Donington and it won't be my last! The new brakes really helped slow the car down with great initial bite and they just seemed to get better the more I used them. The DS2500 pads I'm using really helped.
That's just about up to date now - so well done for making it through my ramblings! Have some arty photos I took the other night:
So, future plans. At the moment there's a big box sat at home with a new do88 intercooler and 3" pipework waiting to be fitted, and the list of things to buy looks like this:
-550cc injectors
-Uprated wastegate actuator
-Uprated recirc valve
-Uprated plenum/inlet manifold
-Thicker rear anti-roll bar
Hopefully I haven't bored you all to death with this!
I'm not sure if anyone will be interested in this, but you clicked the thread so you're here now! This is my 2008 Volvo C30 T5. I've had the car since July 2016, and I'm still loving it.
As purchased - July 2016 on 68k miles. It already had some modifications including the Volvo-provided Polestar remap that the original owner paid extra for. This takes the car from 230bhp to 250bhp and 272 ft/lb of torque, without any hardware modifications. It also had the originally diamond-cut Midir wheels powdercoated in gunmetal grey. This is now starting to bubble so I'll be looking at getting them redone next year most likely. Finally, the rear 3 windows were tinted.
The first photo once it was home, next to my old MX5 that it was meant to replace - I ended up keeping it, only got rid last year after a minor crash in it!
I also run a car club, mostly based in the Oxford area but we have members all over the UK and some international ones - Limitless (Facebook page here). This is the first show I took the Volvo to, Trax at Silverstone in October 2016:
Not too much happened over the winter, apart from 30mm Eibach lowering springs and a Milltek catback exhaust - which was so quiet I thought something was wrong with it! Please excuse the filthy car:
I also fitted 20mm rear wheel spacers to fill out the rear arches a bit more, as can be seen in that last photo.
Sometime after Trax, I think it was late October 2016, I took the car on track for the first time at Silverstone on the National circuit. It behaved... about as well as you'd expect a standard Volvo to - it was good in a straight line, not so much in the corners! I need to get around to sorting the handling, and I've got a few ideas to help.
I also had a few nice photos taken of it by local photographers:
In January 2017, a do88 intake pipe from the airbox to the turbo inlet was fitted. This is a 3" diameter pipe as opposed to the standard 2.25" pipe with resonator that the car came with, and it gave a decent increase in torque and turbo whooshy noises, so smiles all round!
I also fitted some LED sidelight bulbs around the same time - comparison below:
And of course another fancy photo:
Show season 2017 with Limitless began with Fast Show at Santa Pod - my entrance shot:
Waiting in line for the strip - never do this at a show! Wait until a RWYB day:
Various photos from the strip:
Best on that day was I think a 15.3 at around 95/96mph - my first time on a drag strip!
We did the Katsi Brighton run:
And the big one and my personal favourite show of the year, Modified Nationals. Entrance photo and camp set up:
Yes, my tenting skills have thankfully improved since then!
Mod Nats is always a great show, unfortunately I can't find many photos of my car from then. However I did put it on the dyno - which was a mistake in hindsight, as the fan was far too small and the expansion tank cracked from the heat. This has since been replaced.
Headline figures were 243.9bhp and 310 ft/lb - I told you that intake pipe made a difference!
Shortly after Mod Nats, a carbon grille was sourced and fitted. Yes, you really do need a butter knife to remove the standard grille:
And fitted - the horns didn't stay yellow for long, and the Volvo badging was taken off shortly after:
I did a silly thing with the rear badging too - I like it, but it is childish:
I took the car on track at Trax 2017 on the Silverstone National circuit again, with a bunch of other Volvos - a brilliant time, and really made me fall in love with wet track days!
A RWYB day at Pod - best time was a 14.4 at 99mph:
Followed shortly after by helping a friend out - his supercharged, 340bhp EP3 Civic Type R snapped a driveshaft on the line, so I towed him out of the Pod to wait for recovery:
Then some boxes started to arrive:
Another artsy fartsy photo because I can:
The Maxton Design box was a splitter - which looks mean, but I'm now on my third one after smashing the first two on bumps!
Found an old Volvo 244 in Tesco, so of course I took some photos:
I replaced my LED sidelights with some angel eyes - they're bright white in real life, the camera doesn't pick them up very well!
Photo from the ad when I bought the car to remind me of how far it's come since then:
This brings us up to... March 2018 I think. I did a track day at Thruxton with a friend of mine (his Megane):
On my last run, which I took a video of, an S2000 that I'd been having a nice play with decided to spin out in front of me (around 7 mins in on the video) and do this to the front of the car:
Luckily this all washed off and didn't seem to do any paint damage. Around the same time, I had the block mod done by Tim Williams to try and stop the liners cracking when the boost gets turned up, which is a relatively common issue for Focus ST225s and Volvos with this engine.
We then went to Silverstone yet again, and again in the wet:
This and the Thruxton day highlighted a weakness in the car - the brakes weren't up to the task of stopping a Volvo tank repeatedly from high speed. So, some research and some bidding later, these turned up:
They're BMW 7-series E39 4-pot Brembo calipers. I had these professionally painted and fitted with some 336mm MTEC grooved discs from a mk2 Focus RS - photos of this further below.
Engine bay shot, with panel filter and ECU spacer installed:
I gave the car a full machine polish, which has taken most of the swirl marks out but not all of them. It'll be going for a professional detail for show season next year.
And we got onto show season 2018, starting again with Fast Show at a soggy Santa Pod:
Nothing really to report - a wet day so the strip wasn't open for much of it. Some very nice cars around though!
Mod Nats 2018:
Turns out Volvos can make good lawnmowers:
Some photos from the stand:
Shortly before Mod Nats, I bought a daily driver to save some money on my commuting. the Volvo only does 23-25mpg, so a diesel Civic was purchased to try and save some money (and my splitters!)
We had a small stand at a local transport festival supporting a club sponsor:
And on the second Sunday of each month, our main meets that we run:
Video of the meet - ignore my dodgy camerawork!
The calipers came back from being painted, and were fitted:
Random shot of my Insta tag on the car, feel free to follow me there as I'll be updating that more often than this thread:
Show season 2018 continued, with Trax Donington:
The car went out on track again, my first time at Donington and it won't be my last! The new brakes really helped slow the car down with great initial bite and they just seemed to get better the more I used them. The DS2500 pads I'm using really helped.
That's just about up to date now - so well done for making it through my ramblings! Have some arty photos I took the other night:
So, future plans. At the moment there's a big box sat at home with a new do88 intercooler and 3" pipework waiting to be fitted, and the list of things to buy looks like this:
-550cc injectors
-Uprated wastegate actuator
-Uprated recirc valve
-Uprated plenum/inlet manifold
-Thicker rear anti-roll bar
Hopefully I haven't bored you all to death with this!
Edited by TheVole on Friday 20th July 14:53
Edited by TheVole on Friday 7th December 15:54
Hammy98 said:
Love these, much prefer them over the ST they share an engine with. What sort of power are you aiming for with the bits you're sourcing?
Am I right in thinking they're open diff? Swapping in an ST/RS lsd might help with the traction if the swap is easy enough.
The noise off that 5-pot is right up there
Precisely why I looked for one of these rather than just buying an ST! Much nice body, the interior is a better place to be (possibly seats aside) and it's just a bit different. I'm aiming for around 320bhp with those bits on and the car mapped, which should be around 400 ft/lbs as well.Am I right in thinking they're open diff? Swapping in an ST/RS lsd might help with the traction if the swap is easy enough.
The noise off that 5-pot is right up there
That's right, they're open diff. If it needs it, I'm tempted for a Quaife diff. Not sure if the ST has a LSD, the RS does but again I'm not sure if it would fit easily.
The noise is awesome
I'm also waiting on a quote for a new catback system. the Airtec box in the OP is a 3" downpipe and decat pipe, but even with that, and no other boxes other than the Milltek backbox, it's incredibly quiet. I'm hoping some more of the 5-pot rumble can be found 
Shadow R1 said:
That car needs suspension (dampers) before throwing yet more power at it.
For the track stuff, a more focused tyre will help.
Good write up.
Thank you For the track stuff, a more focused tyre will help.
Good write up.
I've not long put another set of Rainsport 3s on, but once they wear out the plan is a set of NS2Rs or AD08Rs in 225/40/18 flavour. OEM is 215/45/18, but those are much more expensive as it's a less common size - The RS3s are 225 anyway so I know it all fits.As for the suspension, I'm toying with the idea of BC coilovers - although I'm worried about the possible loss of ride comfort. It only goes on track 3-4 times a year, so I'm keen to keep it as usable on the road as I can.
Grahamdub said:
Gotta love a C30 ! I had a face lift 2.0 petrol R Design until 6 months ago. Much under rated cars and not too common.
They're great cars! Much nicer than the equivalent Focus in my opinion andy118run said:
Great stuff. Enjoyed looking through those pics. Nice S60 caught my eye in those pics towards the end too.
Here's mine, exactly as I purchased it a few weeks back
Thanks! Here's mine, exactly as I purchased it a few weeks back
there are hundreds if not thousands more pictures, but I didn't want to bore everyone to death! I tried to pick the main events. The S60 is an S60R that's been lowered, uprated injectors fitted, aftermarket exhaust custom-made, bigger intercooler, etc etc - it's a weapon and is owned by one of our club members; she's very proud of it Podie said:
Who painted the Calipers? Looks a tidy job.
It was a company called BCS Automotive - it's a lovely colour and a decent enough job, but after one track session (they went on just before Donington), the paint is starting to bubble. If it gets any worse or it starts flaking off, they'll be going back to be redone as it wasn't a cheap job.Another quick little update that will most likely be a bit Marmite around here - in the week I removed the rear wiper arm and motor (what a pain it was to remove the arm!) and fitted in their place a dewiper bung from Kill All Wipers after taping up the wiring that went to the motor. I think it tidies up the back end nicely:
Edited by TheVole on Sunday 22 July 23:14
Update time. I've had a large box sat in the garage for a while, and finally decided to get the contents fitted to the car.
It's an uprated do88 intercooler, with all the associated piping. A friend fitted it for me as I'm useless with the spanners, here are the results:
I also had him fit a lower grille to try and protect it, using a spare bit of mesh I had laying around from the carbon grille:
And the finished result:
I've also had the car up on the ramp at a local exhaust fabricator's place for a quote on a louder catback system as a replacement for the Milltek. More news on this when it's been done.
It's an uprated do88 intercooler, with all the associated piping. A friend fitted it for me as I'm useless with the spanners, here are the results:
I also had him fit a lower grille to try and protect it, using a spare bit of mesh I had laying around from the carbon grille:
And the finished result:
I've also had the car up on the ramp at a local exhaust fabricator's place for a quote on a louder catback system as a replacement for the Milltek. More news on this when it's been done.
Greendubber said:
I do like a C30 and love everything you've done to yours, looks great.
Thank you! I'm taking my time as I want to make it tasteful rather than chucking half of Halfords at it.ZX10R NIN said:
Nice work OP, don't lose to many boxes otherwise you'll lose that 5 cylinder wail.
Thank you! At the moment there are no boxes or resonators at all apart from the Milltek backbox. The plan is to replace that with two small backboxes, one just before each tip. If it's too loud or not quite the right noise, it can be looked at again as the fabricator is only 10 minutes from home.Maty said:
Don’t see many C30’s around and I can never work out why... nice looking cars!
On a more important note... how the hell do you actually put that tent up correctly! It’s a nightmare ??
Thanks! I never used to see any, then I bought one and it seems every other car around here is a C30 now. On a more important note... how the hell do you actually put that tent up correctly! It’s a nightmare ??
As for the tent, it really helps if you have someone to help! It worked this year, it's nice having a full bedroom in a tent rather than mucking about with sleeping bags - I'm one of those who will take everything they can think of to make it as comfortable as possible!
chrismarr said:
Niice Can't say i've see many in that colour !
I've got a gunmetal C30 D3 remapped to a tad over 200bhp, always looking out for a nice local T5 to go have a mooch at
Think I'll go have a look more closely at the rear wiper mod .
Thanks! It's Orinoco Blue, I haven't seen too many in this colour either. The T5s are great engines, I highly recommend looking at one! Can't say i've see many in that colour !I've got a gunmetal C30 D3 remapped to a tad over 200bhp, always looking out for a nice local T5 to go have a mooch at
Think I'll go have a look more closely at the rear wiper mod .The de-wiper is easy, the most difficult part of it is getting the wiper arm off of the spindle attached to the motor. WD40, a screwdriver, a hammer and finally a wiper arm puller got it free in my case. After that, it's a couple of bolts to remove the motor and the bung is attached with some silicone sealant.
Edited by TheVole on Thursday 30th August 10:22
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.Nice cars though.
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: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
- 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.
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
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
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
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!
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 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 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!
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.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 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!
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:
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.
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
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
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:
Just a few photos, I took absolutely loads but I'll just include a few:
ZX10R NIN said:
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
That's the plan - the actuator and recirc valve need to go on, then it'll be time for a map. Unfortunately I have to wait until my mechanic friend has some free time! I'm aiming for around 320-330bhp, which I'm told is the limit of the standard turbo.rayyan171 said:
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.
Thank you!Paul S4 said:
Great photos of that last meeting...
I have recently bought a C30: I am considering fitting a set of Heko wind deflectors, as I like to have the windows open slightly for fresh air in the summer.
Do they actually work ?
and did you fit them or were they on the car before you got it ?
Thanks
Thanks! I didn't take them all, I kept an eye on Instagram and Facebook for the next few days after I went to see if the car cropped up anywhere.I have recently bought a C30: I am considering fitting a set of Heko wind deflectors, as I like to have the windows open slightly for fresh air in the summer.
Do they actually work ?
and did you fit them or were they on the car before you got it ?
Thanks
The Team Heko wind deflectors do actually work, you get marginally more wind noise than normal when the windows are up, but when the window is slightly open there is a big reduction in noise compared to having the window open the same amount without the deflectors. I fitted them in about 20 minutes, they're fairly straightforward. It's important to leave the windows up for a few days after to let the tape stick.
Right, it’s been too long since I updated this. I apologise in advance for the photo spam!
So, I left off just before the Volvo600 world record attempt. Below are some photos of my prep for it and the day itself - it was great to meet so many other people who are into these left-field alternatives to the Germans and others! Unfortunately for technicality reasons we didn’t break the record; something about the gaps between the cars being too large, but there’s another attempt scheduled for 2021 at Elvington airfield which I’m already signed up to attend.
After this, there was a small C30-only meet at Stoney Cove to round the day off nicely, a couple of photos:
After this, it was back to business as usual - show season 2019 looked like this; Fast Show at Santa Pod:
Modified Nationals at Stoneleigh Park:
The generic 100,000 mile shot on the way back from that show:
Various meets - I won’t post all the photos here, but there are plenty of my Instagram @mattyvole - mods, please let me know if posting that is allowed!
I had the headlights machine polished and ceramic coated, as the offside one in particular was starting to show its age:
I also had the carbon grille sanded back and re-lacquered, as the lacquer was starting to fail - you can see it here:
Then came Trax Donington, and the only time (so far) that I’ve broken the car on a track. Completely my fault, usually when I do the half-hour show track time sessions I do two or three hard laps, then ease off for a lap or two to give everything a chance to cool a bit, and then get back on it. This time, I went hell for leather for the whole session.
Aaaand I broke the car.
I braked for the final chicane, turned in dnd when I accelerated onto the straight, the car didn’t feel right and it pulled heavily to the right. Suspecting that I’d broken a driveshaft or pulled a tyre off the rim, I pulled off onto the grass. Some onlookers reported hearing a popping sound as I came out of the chicane, which supported this theory. I got towed back to the pits behind the tow truck of shame, and discovered when I pulled back up to our show stand, that the brake pedal went straight to the floor. I’d boiled the fluid - I’m still not sure what the popping sound was, my best guess is the brake fluid reservoir cap crying enough. The fluid has since been replaced with ATE Super200 (formerly SuperBlue) to hopefully stop this happening again, although the car hasn’t yet been back on a track to find out.
It still looked nice in the photos though, so not all was lost.
I tried to be a photographer with a borrowed camera, and came up with this - I’m on the lookout for a second hand camera to hopefully learn a bit more about this and to get some nicer photos of the car:
A rolling shot taken on the way to Donington by a friend:
That was about it for 2019, and so into 2020 the car was serviced again:
This was in preparation for the remap, which was done by Wayside Performance. The day didn’t exactly go to plan, with a CV boot deciding it didn’t want to have grease in it any more on the baseline run:
This was sorted, and the car came away making 302bhp with a 410lb/ft torque figure. Unfortunately it also came back with a boost cut issue, whereby the car would cut all boost at full throttle unless you slowly rolled the power on. A few months later (thanks to lockdown) it finally went back to have this and a few boost leaks sorted out, and it’s now feeling healthier, pulling more strongly and no longer hitting boost cut. Power went up slightly, to 307bhp. It’s now in a state where I wouldn’t want any more power in a front wheel drive car without an LSD, so that’s now on the list for the future along with a few other chassis-related upgrades like uprated Bilstein shocks and a fat rear anti-roll bar.
I had proper photoshoot done by a couple of people who know what they’re doing with a camera, so I’ll leave a few of the photos here - their Instagrams are @project_captures and @_imageb if you like the look of their work.
I’ve been wanting to do a few more subtle cosmetic changes here and there, while maintaining the sleeper look. So far I’ve wrapped the B-pillar trims in carbon vinyl, but I’m open to suggestions on what else to add. The splitter has now been removed as well - I smashed another one, and frankly I’m fed up of the car being too low to enjoy properly so I haven’t put another one on. I may put one on in the future, but it will have to be one that doesn’t hang quite as low as the old ones did.
That brings things up to date for the C30. My daily driver Civic finally gave up the ghost a few weeks ago, so what better to replace it than another Volvo? Even better, what about a high mileage Volvo bought sight unseen from Facebook? Enter, the S80:
A thread will be started shortly for this one - in the meantime, thanks for sticking with this post until the end! I’ll try to update the thread a bit more regularly going forward - but I said that last time, I think…
So, I left off just before the Volvo600 world record attempt. Below are some photos of my prep for it and the day itself - it was great to meet so many other people who are into these left-field alternatives to the Germans and others! Unfortunately for technicality reasons we didn’t break the record; something about the gaps between the cars being too large, but there’s another attempt scheduled for 2021 at Elvington airfield which I’m already signed up to attend.
After this, there was a small C30-only meet at Stoney Cove to round the day off nicely, a couple of photos:
After this, it was back to business as usual - show season 2019 looked like this; Fast Show at Santa Pod:
Modified Nationals at Stoneleigh Park:
The generic 100,000 mile shot on the way back from that show:
Various meets - I won’t post all the photos here, but there are plenty of my Instagram @mattyvole - mods, please let me know if posting that is allowed!
I had the headlights machine polished and ceramic coated, as the offside one in particular was starting to show its age:
I also had the carbon grille sanded back and re-lacquered, as the lacquer was starting to fail - you can see it here:
Then came Trax Donington, and the only time (so far) that I’ve broken the car on a track. Completely my fault, usually when I do the half-hour show track time sessions I do two or three hard laps, then ease off for a lap or two to give everything a chance to cool a bit, and then get back on it. This time, I went hell for leather for the whole session.
Aaaand I broke the car.
I braked for the final chicane, turned in dnd when I accelerated onto the straight, the car didn’t feel right and it pulled heavily to the right. Suspecting that I’d broken a driveshaft or pulled a tyre off the rim, I pulled off onto the grass. Some onlookers reported hearing a popping sound as I came out of the chicane, which supported this theory. I got towed back to the pits behind the tow truck of shame, and discovered when I pulled back up to our show stand, that the brake pedal went straight to the floor. I’d boiled the fluid - I’m still not sure what the popping sound was, my best guess is the brake fluid reservoir cap crying enough. The fluid has since been replaced with ATE Super200 (formerly SuperBlue) to hopefully stop this happening again, although the car hasn’t yet been back on a track to find out.
It still looked nice in the photos though, so not all was lost.
I tried to be a photographer with a borrowed camera, and came up with this - I’m on the lookout for a second hand camera to hopefully learn a bit more about this and to get some nicer photos of the car:
A rolling shot taken on the way to Donington by a friend:
That was about it for 2019, and so into 2020 the car was serviced again:
This was in preparation for the remap, which was done by Wayside Performance. The day didn’t exactly go to plan, with a CV boot deciding it didn’t want to have grease in it any more on the baseline run:
This was sorted, and the car came away making 302bhp with a 410lb/ft torque figure. Unfortunately it also came back with a boost cut issue, whereby the car would cut all boost at full throttle unless you slowly rolled the power on. A few months later (thanks to lockdown) it finally went back to have this and a few boost leaks sorted out, and it’s now feeling healthier, pulling more strongly and no longer hitting boost cut. Power went up slightly, to 307bhp. It’s now in a state where I wouldn’t want any more power in a front wheel drive car without an LSD, so that’s now on the list for the future along with a few other chassis-related upgrades like uprated Bilstein shocks and a fat rear anti-roll bar.
I had proper photoshoot done by a couple of people who know what they’re doing with a camera, so I’ll leave a few of the photos here - their Instagrams are @project_captures and @_imageb if you like the look of their work.
I’ve been wanting to do a few more subtle cosmetic changes here and there, while maintaining the sleeper look. So far I’ve wrapped the B-pillar trims in carbon vinyl, but I’m open to suggestions on what else to add. The splitter has now been removed as well - I smashed another one, and frankly I’m fed up of the car being too low to enjoy properly so I haven’t put another one on. I may put one on in the future, but it will have to be one that doesn’t hang quite as low as the old ones did.
That brings things up to date for the C30. My daily driver Civic finally gave up the ghost a few weeks ago, so what better to replace it than another Volvo? Even better, what about a high mileage Volvo bought sight unseen from Facebook? Enter, the S80:
A thread will be started shortly for this one - in the meantime, thanks for sticking with this post until the end! I’ll try to update the thread a bit more regularly going forward - but I said that last time, I think…
Right then, update time as it's a rainy Saturday afternoon.
The C30 doesn't do too many miles these days, so it's nice to get it out for a blast every now and again. It's been totally faultless; largely because it doesn't get the chance to break. But that doesn't mean that nothing has happened since the last update.
It continues to drink super unleaded at roughly the same pace as Oliver Reed getting through booze:
Despite the current situation, a few car shows have managed to go ahead. The first one was Summer Action Day at Castle Combe - my first time doing a show at Combe with this car, despite owning it for just over four years now:
A couple of upgrades have been done over the last couple of months. The first one was to try and fix a small boost leak; the existing vacuum piping was complicated and with the new plenum, didn't really fit which created a leak:
This was replaced with a delete pipe - the vacuum pump isn't really needed, in fact the mk2 Focus RS does without it as standard to make room for its inlet setup.
The next show was Fast Show Lite at Santa Pod - not my favourite venue, it must be said, but a show is a show and the C30 can function as a reasonable camper:
I also saw this frankly insane lifted 940 - I loved it:
The main change that has been made to the car over the last couple of months has been fitting an Elevate rear anti-roll bar in place of the rusting 12 year old item. This has transformed the handling, I should have fitted one years ago and to be honest, this is how the car should have come as standard. The ride at the back is slightly firmer, but that is far outweighed by the sharper turn-in, total lack of any understeer unless I'm being especially ham-fisted and increased confidence in the chassis. Pricey, but worth it.
I've also made an attempt to modernise the interior ever so slightly. As standard, the stereo/climate display is black and green, very similar to a 90s Nokia:
There's a green filter inside the screen that gives this effect, so after some minor surgery:
The result is a nice white glow, which I much prefer to the old green lighting. Ideally I'd like to replace all the lights in the dash with white LEDs so that it all matches, but that will require some investigation as I'm not sure my abilities can stretch that far.
Going forward, the list of parts to buy is getting smaller. I'd like some new suspension as the shocks are very tired, but I'm not sure whether to go for some Bilstein B8 shocks and keep my existing springs, change to Bilstein B16 adjustable coilovers, or perhaps go for BC coilovers - I'm not fussed about the car being any lower (although closing up the rear arch gap would be nice), but maintaining a comfortable ride is important to me. I'd also like to change the seats, but again finding the right ones is proving difficult. I'm told that Toyota GT86 seats fit with minimal modification, so that may be something I'll look into.
Hopefully this isn't too boring! I'll finish off the update with a nice photo that was taken by a couple of friends at a recent meet:
And a bold claim from the Screen of Lies™
Until next time!
The C30 doesn't do too many miles these days, so it's nice to get it out for a blast every now and again. It's been totally faultless; largely because it doesn't get the chance to break. But that doesn't mean that nothing has happened since the last update.
It continues to drink super unleaded at roughly the same pace as Oliver Reed getting through booze:
Despite the current situation, a few car shows have managed to go ahead. The first one was Summer Action Day at Castle Combe - my first time doing a show at Combe with this car, despite owning it for just over four years now:
A couple of upgrades have been done over the last couple of months. The first one was to try and fix a small boost leak; the existing vacuum piping was complicated and with the new plenum, didn't really fit which created a leak:
This was replaced with a delete pipe - the vacuum pump isn't really needed, in fact the mk2 Focus RS does without it as standard to make room for its inlet setup.
The next show was Fast Show Lite at Santa Pod - not my favourite venue, it must be said, but a show is a show and the C30 can function as a reasonable camper:
I also saw this frankly insane lifted 940 - I loved it:
The main change that has been made to the car over the last couple of months has been fitting an Elevate rear anti-roll bar in place of the rusting 12 year old item. This has transformed the handling, I should have fitted one years ago and to be honest, this is how the car should have come as standard. The ride at the back is slightly firmer, but that is far outweighed by the sharper turn-in, total lack of any understeer unless I'm being especially ham-fisted and increased confidence in the chassis. Pricey, but worth it.
I've also made an attempt to modernise the interior ever so slightly. As standard, the stereo/climate display is black and green, very similar to a 90s Nokia:
There's a green filter inside the screen that gives this effect, so after some minor surgery:
The result is a nice white glow, which I much prefer to the old green lighting. Ideally I'd like to replace all the lights in the dash with white LEDs so that it all matches, but that will require some investigation as I'm not sure my abilities can stretch that far.
Going forward, the list of parts to buy is getting smaller. I'd like some new suspension as the shocks are very tired, but I'm not sure whether to go for some Bilstein B8 shocks and keep my existing springs, change to Bilstein B16 adjustable coilovers, or perhaps go for BC coilovers - I'm not fussed about the car being any lower (although closing up the rear arch gap would be nice), but maintaining a comfortable ride is important to me. I'd also like to change the seats, but again finding the right ones is proving difficult. I'm told that Toyota GT86 seats fit with minimal modification, so that may be something I'll look into.
Hopefully this isn't too boring! I'll finish off the update with a nice photo that was taken by a couple of friends at a recent meet:
And a bold claim from the Screen of Lies™
Until next time!
Been a while...
Nothing much to report, so I'll let the photos tell most of the story. More outings:
Bambi decided to see how strong a Volvo is. Turns out, stronger than a deer. One new (to me) bumper and a trip to the bodyshop later...
The old bumper was covered in cracks like this all over the number plate area, and most of the mounting clips were broken. I did consider having it plastic welded, but an eBay bumper was cheaper and easier.
This is how it looked upon collection - my carbon grille was damaged by Bambi, so a new one was purchased.
Over the next couple of weeks, some stuff happened:
New SPR strut brace and the original:
Bilstein B8 shocks:
I should buy shares in Swedish Boost Mafia, I've certainly got enough of their keyrings. This isn't all of them...
All of the above work, along with a Volvo Penta oil cooler, new top mounts and a service, was in preparation for another attempt at the Volvo600 world record:
Just a few Volvos at the hotel car park...
But quite a few more the following day at Elvington airfield:
It was a great weekend, and always nice to meet up with fellow Volvo people. We did get the record this time, with somewhere north of 800 Volvos in the end. Hopefully it won't be the only big Volvo event in the UK.
Mod Nats 2021:
Another Volvo joined the fleet, in the form of my dad's V70:
One of the Action Days at Castle Combe, I can't quite remember which one:
Swedish Takeover at Beaulieu:
TorqueVolvo at Gaydon:
A small meet at Kemble airfield - I'd never seen a 747 that close up before.
Proof that sometimes it does get used for more than going to shows:
More outrageous claims from the Screen of Lies (tm)
That brings things pretty much up to date! It still needs another map to sort the boost cut issues, but that can wait as I'm doing the NC500 with some friends next month and there are more pressing matters to attend to, like a service and new tyres. I'll try not to leave it 2 years before the next update...
Nothing much to report, so I'll let the photos tell most of the story. More outings:
Bambi decided to see how strong a Volvo is. Turns out, stronger than a deer. One new (to me) bumper and a trip to the bodyshop later...
The old bumper was covered in cracks like this all over the number plate area, and most of the mounting clips were broken. I did consider having it plastic welded, but an eBay bumper was cheaper and easier.
This is how it looked upon collection - my carbon grille was damaged by Bambi, so a new one was purchased.
Over the next couple of weeks, some stuff happened:
New SPR strut brace and the original:
Bilstein B8 shocks:
I should buy shares in Swedish Boost Mafia, I've certainly got enough of their keyrings. This isn't all of them...
All of the above work, along with a Volvo Penta oil cooler, new top mounts and a service, was in preparation for another attempt at the Volvo600 world record:
Just a few Volvos at the hotel car park...
But quite a few more the following day at Elvington airfield:
It was a great weekend, and always nice to meet up with fellow Volvo people. We did get the record this time, with somewhere north of 800 Volvos in the end. Hopefully it won't be the only big Volvo event in the UK.
Mod Nats 2021:
Another Volvo joined the fleet, in the form of my dad's V70:
One of the Action Days at Castle Combe, I can't quite remember which one:
Swedish Takeover at Beaulieu:
TorqueVolvo at Gaydon:
A small meet at Kemble airfield - I'd never seen a 747 that close up before.
Proof that sometimes it does get used for more than going to shows:
More outrageous claims from the Screen of Lies (tm)
That brings things pretty much up to date! It still needs another map to sort the boost cut issues, but that can wait as I'm doing the NC500 with some friends next month and there are more pressing matters to attend to, like a service and new tyres. I'll try not to leave it 2 years before the next update...
Right - after telling myself that I'll be better at keeping this up to date, here we are... another year later. Thought I should update the thread, seeing as the car will be on display at PH25 this weekend.
More C&M trips:
Here alongside a friend's K24 Frankenstein turbo Civic - to say that it's nuts would be putting it mildly.
We left off just before the NC500 - I'd urge everyone to do it at least once, it was great fun and some of the roads are incredible. Others are less so, but we don't talk about those. Gratuitous photos and a video from the trip:
The shores of Loch Ness:
I don't look too impressed here, but in my defence it was a bit cold and windy.
The trip took a bit of a toll on the front tyres in particular, so they were swapped front to rear in a car park in (I think) Inverness:
Now replaced with a set of Michelin PS5s.
Halloween Action Day 2022 at Castle Combe:
Yes, the wonky exhaust tip placement is on the list of things to fix...
Got the car (and myself, but the car is the star here) a new home:
A few trips to Kingsley Refuel cafe:
Not sure on the ride height with the B8s - the handling and ride is great, but it could do with being a little lower. Tempted to look into ST or KW coilovers.
A set of new wheels is next on the list - I'm thinking BBS SRs.
Never one to miss a photo op:
Leaving a local motor show:
To finish, the only real change to the car since the last update.
All this, in order to remove the fogs and spend 10 minutes a side applying some yellow tint film to them:
If you made it to the end of the latest round of photo spam, well done! As previously mentioned, the car will be on display at PH25 this Saturday (in the Reader's Cars section) so feel free to say hi. There'll be a couple of QR codes in the windscreen to link to this thread for those interested, as well as to my Instagram as I'm much more active on there.
Plans for the car now are a set of wheels, having the map tweaked to fix a rather annoying boost cut issue, and possibly lowering the ride height a little bit. It will also be doing the SC500 in September, followed by the TorqueVolvo Volvo600 meet at Elvington airfield.
More C&M trips:
Here alongside a friend's K24 Frankenstein turbo Civic - to say that it's nuts would be putting it mildly.
We left off just before the NC500 - I'd urge everyone to do it at least once, it was great fun and some of the roads are incredible. Others are less so, but we don't talk about those. Gratuitous photos and a video from the trip:
The shores of Loch Ness:
I don't look too impressed here, but in my defence it was a bit cold and windy.
The trip took a bit of a toll on the front tyres in particular, so they were swapped front to rear in a car park in (I think) Inverness:
Now replaced with a set of Michelin PS5s.
Halloween Action Day 2022 at Castle Combe:
Yes, the wonky exhaust tip placement is on the list of things to fix...
Got the car (and myself, but the car is the star here) a new home:
A few trips to Kingsley Refuel cafe:
Not sure on the ride height with the B8s - the handling and ride is great, but it could do with being a little lower. Tempted to look into ST or KW coilovers.
A set of new wheels is next on the list - I'm thinking BBS SRs.
Never one to miss a photo op:
Leaving a local motor show:
To finish, the only real change to the car since the last update.
All this, in order to remove the fogs and spend 10 minutes a side applying some yellow tint film to them:
If you made it to the end of the latest round of photo spam, well done! As previously mentioned, the car will be on display at PH25 this Saturday (in the Reader's Cars section) so feel free to say hi. There'll be a couple of QR codes in the windscreen to link to this thread for those interested, as well as to my Instagram as I'm much more active on there.
Plans for the car now are a set of wheels, having the map tweaked to fix a rather annoying boost cut issue, and possibly lowering the ride height a little bit. It will also be doing the SC500 in September, followed by the TorqueVolvo Volvo600 meet at Elvington airfield.
So, PH25... what an amazing day, and a great opportunity to see the cars that I've followed for years on these hallowed pages. I'd been looking forward to this more than most other shows, to be honest; and I certainly wasn't disappointed. Excellent organisation, good planning, and a far better turnout than I was expecting considering the so-called summer we're having.
As usual, a rushed clean was the limit of the prep I could get done beforehand:
Parked up after a short drive to Bicester; not sure how I managed to get into the hangar amongst the infinitely more interesting legends of PH like the 911T, PPBB's 996 et al, but I'll take it!
Gratuitous photo under a banner:
Another thing this event has done is motivated me to get my backside in gear and carry out some of the plans I've been talking about. Wheels are being ordered Monday, once I've spoken with the supplier to make sure that what I'm thinking will definitely fit (this is after using WillTheyFit.com and I'm 95% sure it'll be fine), and I'm exploring the idea of coilovers to bring the ride height down.
Until next time...
As usual, a rushed clean was the limit of the prep I could get done beforehand:
Parked up after a short drive to Bicester; not sure how I managed to get into the hangar amongst the infinitely more interesting legends of PH like the 911T, PPBB's 996 et al, but I'll take it!
Gratuitous photo under a banner:
Another thing this event has done is motivated me to get my backside in gear and carry out some of the plans I've been talking about. Wheels are being ordered Monday, once I've spoken with the supplier to make sure that what I'm thinking will definitely fit (this is after using WillTheyFit.com and I'm 95% sure it'll be fine), and I'm exploring the idea of coilovers to bring the ride height down.
Until next time...
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