What have you done to your car and are you happy?

[siamblue]

Well i don't want to ruin other peoples thread about modifications so thought i would start one up on its own.

I am sort of happy where my car is now, but for some reason there is something nagging at the back of my mind is it time to move on or just continue flogging this horse until destruction.

Since i bought the car all i have done it to continue to add this and add that, so i am wondering are you guys happy with your cars with the mods it has had done to it?

I should've stopped a longtime ago but i keep on going for this extra tenth here and there lol.

My fastest car i had was a 16T T5 S70 all it had was a cat back, rica map, mbc and a panel filter, it would do 14.9.s all day long with me driving it.

Now i have the R which has had silly amounts of money spent on it now, i am looking at a car that is 1 tenth quicker for all of this extra work, i know on paper is should be miles ahead but it is just getting everything to gel together,

So what mods are you running..

Custom Rica map, was 268whp when i bought the car.
3" downpipe, 2.5" twin exhaust.
panel filter.

Now i have added, or replaced.

Still on custom map,
KAD 6 pots AP discs,
3" dp 3" cat back,
CDA,
rip kit with larger throttle body,
Blue injectors refurbed,
WI,
Larger IC,
HKS EVC 6,
SMF with 850r clutch plate.

So for the sake of a few tenths most of the things i have added since ownership in the last years are expensive items for the extra gains..

Gary,

PS Hope the missus doesn't read this lol.

[mitchyboy01]

I know it's a lot of fun going to the strip but surely the mods to your car are for more than just getting a faster quarter? Maybe do some trackdays as well?

Shaun 850 who I bought my first T5 from did a 14.0 quarter on a stock T5 other than Map, Filter and exhaust. Still on a 15g. I'm sure your car has plenty more to come by the sounds of it. And modding Volvos is just too much fun to give up. You'll definately be back lol

[Dangerous Dave]

I've never done a quarter so have not got the urge to get the extra tenth as you say (yet), but I'm still trying to mod to achieve the level I'm looking for (whilst trying not to spend mega amounts of money).

And because I've got an AWD with the LPT 2.5 engine I've started at a lower point than most, and am never going to reach any serious level, but the standard LPT engine is so limited I needed something more.

So far, mods wise (if you can call them that) I have fitted a 16T and a panel filter. Thats it for the engine, suspension is standard (although al the shocks have been replaced) I'm looking to get an ARB kit eventually, and I've fitted a front strut brace. Brakes are standard 280s but with drilled/grooved discs and yellowstuff pads. And I have, on loan from my cousin, fitted 18" pegs. The ecu is DIY mapped (badly) and I have got some white injectors to fit (now that I have found the injector constant, I think).

But I've never been happy with any of the mods, nothing seems to make a difference or sometimes seems to have a negative effect.

[dicky b t5]

Gaz, as you know ive had my V70R for 5 1/2 yrs now (you found it at 75k remember!) and ive never had any major problems with it at all.
138k now, it still pulls like a train, runs spot on and the autobox is as smooth as smooth thing from smoothsville. Its a joy to drive and plenty fast enough for me for every day use.

And you know why ! (as ive said to you before)...because its still "Standard". I think theres alot to be said for that.

Dicky.

[Vikingxl]

I sold my modded V70 and havent touched a thing on the current xc90

[siamblue]

No problems at all this end, the car hasn't missed a beat since i owned it mechanically, it is just me, i cannot stop tinkering with the bloody thing, not sure what i am trying to get out of it, but midrange it pulls so strong, i suppose it is just a hobby that i have more time for than money lol..

Gary.

I am going to book it in with Tim Williams the Saturday before the Pod so he can tune it for me..

[claymore]

I can't leave mine alone either, but if I sold it and got something else, it would just mean starting all over again with a different car :)

[Dangerous Dave]

No problems at all this end, the car hasn't missed a beat since i owned it mechanically, it is just me, i cannot stop tinkering with the bloody thing, not sure what i am trying to get out of it, but midrange it pulls so strong, i suppose it is just a hobby that i have more time for than money lol..

But thats why we do it, its something that we enjoy doing (or is it just me?) and thats what life is about (at least a part of it is).

I love to mess with my car, although it has it trying moments.

[smithy]

im the same cannot leave my car alone the was nothing wrong with it last year but i had to improve it more but i have to admitt i do like the turbo whisle i get now before holly hell breaks loose lol

[M-R-P]

I can't afford to fuel my T5 let alone get it mapped or do the exhaust or anything else (although the plod did a minor map giving it a few seconds overboost and I added a cold air feed to the standard airbox and tinkered with the wastegate a bit so it has a bit more poke and roars more on boost) if I had the money to do some propper tuning, I'm not sure if I would. The car has done 179k, 113k with leicestershire traffic and. She's tired. I think the ability to humiliate a golf r32 will have to do for me ;)

[claymore]

mines on 220k and still going strong

[M-R-P]

mines on 220k and still going strong


Fair play, but how many times has yours been rebuilt/re-enforced/ had uprated conrods etc?
Mine did 113k in les than 3 years. I know these things are really tough but Like I said, she's tired

[claymore]

Fair play, but how many times has yours been rebuilt/re-enforced/ had uprated conrods etc?

Never, to my knowledge

[M-R-P]

Really? Nothing? U nozzed it and didn't uprate pistons or conrods? Brave! Cudos to ur sweed. Are they really that tuff? :o

[claymore]

Really? Nothing? U nozzed it and didn't uprate pistons or conrods? Brave! Cudos to ur sweed. Are they really that tuff? :o
bigger turbo, supercharger and nos, I'm sure the conrods will bend soon, but so far all ok

[Jamest5r]

bigger turbo, supercharger and nos, I'm sure the conrods will bend soon, but so far all ok


That's why he's got a spare block, but the original is not going to give up without a fight :)

[LiamT4]

I'v done very, very little to my car.
I'm far from happy with it when it comes to performance, but i just don't have the motivation to do anything myself, unfortunatly.

I much prefer to take it to someone and have them do it for me.

[smithy]

I'v done very, very little to my car.
I'm far from happy with it when it comes to performance, but i just don't have the motivation to do anything myself, unfortunatly.

I much prefer to take it to someone and have them do it for me.

the is nothing wrong with your car just needs setting up properly

[LiamT4]

the is nothing wrong with your car just needs setting up properly

Lots of lag and boost that keeps dropping and rising when at wot, is enough for me. lol

[Jamest5r]

I'v done very, very little to my car.
I'm far from happy with it when it comes to performance, but i just don't have the motivation to do anything myself, unfortunatly.

I much prefer to take it to someone and have them do it for me.


I was going to say buy a T4 but after seeing you droooool over Andy's car i think that's the way to go, 850's are the best after all :)

[LiamT4]

I was going to say buy a T4 but after seeing you droooool over Andy's car i think that's the way to go, 850's are the best after all :)

Unfortunatly it won't be either, it will be a saloon with a 3 litre dies*cough*cough* - i can't say it, the stuff that tractors run on! lol

[the young mechanic]

my dad just really really wants to be the fastest of you all and beat his pb on the strip every year.

[LiamT4]

my dad just really really wants to be the fastest of you all and beat his pb on the strip every year.

He's going the wrong way at the minute! lol

[siamblue]

my dad just really really wants to be the fastest of you all and beat his pb on the strip every year.

I want to break into the 13s and it is never going to happen lol..

Gary

[Jamest5r]

my dad just really really wants to be the fastest of you all and beat his pb on the strip every year.

We will see :)

[the young mechanic]

my dad wants to go past 13s and then past 12s

[smithy]

He's going the wrong way at the minute! lolmy car was having a blond day that day but its all sorted now so we will see the times drop alot mate

[woz]

i was happy with mine but got poned by a 325i shed estate today, two up as well. Now I NOT happy.

Admittedly he needed to use all three lanes on the roundabout and the slip road, and I still managed to pull up alongside him up the hill on the sliproad and I did chicken out before the double figures came up, i was a bit ticked as I think I should have had him earlier.

So back in the workshop for me!! I need an uprated rear ARb to dial out he under steer get more traction and get that 16T fitted ASAP.

Otherwise its all good.
WAF

[Wobbly Dave]

Hugely so - loving my new pipework.

[JelT5]

I've done quite a bit to my car, although I've not touched it for at least six months due to being seriously ill (a nasty cancerous tumour) and off work, with very little cash to spare.

I have to admit that it has been a big disappointment pretty much from the beginning Gary. Although it was a low mileage example and appeared to have been well cared for, it had been somewhat neglected and cost me a substantial amount of money :(
It was a case of act in haste, repent at your leisure!

If it hadn't been for this forum and the efforts of alot of the members I would have scrapped it by now! So thanks fellas :)

Mods:
Ported 18T (DannyR)
Blues
RIP (Rouse hoses from Smithness)
Walbro 255
JT catback (3" d/p going on next week :D)
302 Brembos, OMP pads and braided lines
Uprated rear ARB from AlanM
Strutbrace
Custom map (jamest5r's old one)
Billies (B6) front
Some sort of generic cone filter ;)

Anyway, it'll be in the capable hands of t5lover from next Friday and I'm sure all the problems will be sorted as he's doing a fair bit of work to it.
I think then I'll finally be happy with the biatch lol. More is planned for the future...
Ran a 14.7 with slippy clutch, buggered gearbox and boost problem last year, so with all that sorted I reckon a low 14 should be possible when I next get on the strip.

Just want to say thanks to Jamest5r, Smithy, AlanM, ChrisS70T5, Gaz, Pedro and FlatoutPhil for all the advice, parts and helping me keep the faith!

[p fandango]

If it hadn't been for this forum and the efforts of alot of the members I would have scrapped it by now! So thanks fellas :)

so your saying, if we'd of just kept our mouth shut & ignored you then you'd probably over pestering the Merc forums by now. Hindsight is a wonderful thing lol

[JelT5]

so your saying, if we'd of just kept our mouth shut & ignored you then you'd probably over pestering the Merc forums by now. Hindsight is a wonderful thing lol


Anything not be around you mate pmsl :)

[t5 stealth]

i think maybe you started with the wrong car then,
its always gona be a ton and quarter volvo,
its always gona be fwd or awd so never good and not designed for huge power,
if you mod it then yes it will improve it but it will never be the fastest thing on the road,
like most of us on here we have spent a small fortune on a family saloon/estate that was built with safety in mind....me included,
iv changed loads on mine but at the end of the day its still a few year old volvo and they aint worth much even if its an (R),there is many much faster/quicker cars on the road,even smaller less powered that will make you look silly lol,
but if you love the car then spending on it is what you do,
its like a girlfriend/wife....
you wake up in the morning,you know its gona cost you lol.
lets face it,it dont matter what you drive these days,they all cost money.
you but a volvo,you get a reasonable bit of quality....that costs.
you but a punto.........you get no quality........that cost more,i bet the punto ends up in a garage more times than a volvo and costing more to keep it.

not having a go or anything mate,just my opinion :)

[JelT5]

i think maybe you started with the wrong car then,
its always gona be a ton and quarter volvo,
its always gona be fwd or awd so never good and not designed for huge power,
if you mod it then yes it will improve it but it will never be the fastest thing on the road,
like most of us on here we have spent a small fortune on a family saloon/estate that was built with safety in mind....me included,
iv changed loads on mine but at the end of the day its still a few year old volvo and they aint worth much even if its an (R),there is many much faster/quicker cars on the road,even smaller less powered that will make you look silly lol,
but if you love the car then spending on it is what you do,
its like a girlfriend/wife....
you wake up in the morning,you know its gona cost you lol.
lets face it,it dont matter what you drive these days,they all cost money.
you but a volvo,you get a reasonable bit of quality....that costs.
you but a punto.........you get no quality........that cost more,i bet the punto ends up in a garage more times than a volvo and costing more to keep it.

not having a go or anything mate,just my opinion :)

Maybe I did buy the wrong car, but I like Volvos and know their capabilities; I didn't buy it thinking it would be the fastest thing on the road and as for the 1/4 mile...well, we all know they're not 12 second cars without huge amounts of cash being pumped into them. First and foremost they are a comfortable, safe, family car with half decent performance.

Forgetting the mods, it's just not lived up to my expectations....so far....that's just one of those things, perhaps my expectations were too high and I should have managed them better!

Anyway, my point was, that despite the thousands (lots of) that have gone into it so far and my love/hate relationship with it, without the friends I've made on this forum, and their help, it would be in parts and on other Volvos by now!
I don't mind spending ££££loads of money on a car (done it so often now it's part of my mindset) so long as there is some sort of positive result at the end, which there hasn't been...
This will change very soon though and the hate bit of the relationship and disappointment will be quickly forgotten I'm sure :)

Satisfactory answer I hope :)

[smithy]

the is nothing wrong with 850/v70s fwd when they are moving then not alot will keep up with them i had a v70 p1 modded and my bros v8 m5 could not shake me when moving so its not all about off the mark but not saying they are a problem there aslong as you have the right gearbox and clutch etc then they are dam fast off the mark.but it can be down to driver error and the car having as bad day on the day like mine was .my 940 was flooding like a bitch at the last avon meet.this is bad luck for you listen to this.a week to go before avon 24th july im running my new forged engine with big valve head cossie profile cam etc all ready running in with chipped ecus for 26 psi boost all good.then on the tuesday i started to get a knocking in the bottom end so the engine had to come out and i had to look for another engine.could i find a b230fk/ft anywhere NO.in the end after half a day of phone calls i managed to get a full engine with a different cam from cp motors tamworth that was sitting in a 760 turbo in its prevous life .i got hold of a unit and took out the forged engine and fitted the other engine for friday and then everything was good .then i wanted to get the car on the rollers sat morning ready for sunday i managed to find 1 for sat afternoon and the hire company come and got there engine host .so i went to a company in tamworth strapped the car down on the rollers at 1530 and hey presto the lamber nackered up on the rollers so i could not check afrs .and too late to get to another roller so give up by then and went home ready to race on sunday with no idea how rich the car was running.NOW THATS BADLUCK LOL.but ive sorted flooding problem now and with the spec of my car in usa they are pulling low 12 high 11s on the quater

[Dangerous Dave]

Lots of lag and boost that keeps dropping and rising when at wot, is enough for me. lol
I had that problem with mine, I just needed to adjust the boost limit levels in the ecu as it was detecting too much boost and backing it off to be safe (no fuel cut or anything just lowering it). I'd be overtaking pulling 12psi then all of a sudden it would beack off to 6psi and left me stranded on the overtake :(

Are you running an MBC Liam?

[si850r]

after reading this 'little problems with boost etc..... I am now thinking I must be mad to sell mine...

It boosts well off the start and pulls like a train till you step off the motion lotion peddle.

Like said prior .....you caould spend as much as you like trying to improve it for a tenth here or there , but if your not really fussed about the times then ( for me ) a remap, panel filter and mbc is enough ( i know cause i ve done nearly double the speed limit on an airfield)...and thats with only spending minimal on upgrades...

I think like with most other makes of cars, you can end up with a good one or a money pit... its a bit of a gamble really.....

but, it is enjoyable and satisfying knowing that what work you have done has improved your motor.....

[p fandango]

I did chicken out before the double figures came up
would of been interesting to see how they compared above 10mph lol

[p fandango]

Anything not be around you mate pmsl :)
roll on next weekend lol

[saffronman]

i think ive done all my tinkering now, remap, panel filter, ferrita cat back and bigger tyres, as soon as i get rid of the yellow poly bush i fitted to the upper bulk head mount, thats it.
my r now drives and pulls like i wanted it to when i got it. i cant keep out of the thing at the moment and i get very competitive on the motorways , only thing that's got past me was a testtarossa today coming back from faversham, he must of been doing 150 coz i was in three figures :-)
but it's easy to get carried away, my pontiac has high lift cam,roller rockers, ally intake, headers and free flow exhausts, poly bushes, rachet shifter, blah blah blah it's taken me ten years to do it all and now im bored and will probaly sell it,lol. once you start its VERY difficult to stop,lol

[LiamT4]

I had that problem with mine, I just needed to adjust the boost limit levels in the ecu as it was detecting too much boost and backing it off to be safe (no fuel cut or anything just lowering it). I'd be overtaking pulling 12psi then all of a sudden it would beack off to 6psi and left me stranded on the overtake :(

Are you running an MBC Liam?

Sorry dude, just seen this.

Not running an mbc now, don't think its the ecu cutting the boost, because when i was running the mbc as well, the car was quicker lower down.

It still wasn't boosting very high 13psi(ish), with the mbc on. It feels like its got more now, higher up the revs, but has a lot less lower down and the boost doesn't feel stable.
Its not jerky, but more like it hesitating.

[Dangerous Dave]

Sorry dude, just seen this.

Not running an mbc now, don't think its the ecu cutting the boost, because when i was running the mbc as well, the car was quicker lower down.

It still wasn't boosting very high 13psi(ish), with the mbc on. It feels like its got more now, higher up the revs, but has a lot less lower down and the boost doesn't feel stable.
Its not jerky, but more like it hesitating.
I took my mbc off and all the low end power went. Thats because the ecu maps are designed to have that effect (limit low end power, until someone remaps it to what they want). With an mbc on the boost comes in regardless of the situation (i.e low revs, low speed, etc, all the factors the ecu takes into account), thats why it feels so different.

Have you adjusted your wastegate? If you have then it might have had an effect on what the ecu sees. The ecu will control the wastegate, via the BCS, to a level set by the map. If all the sensors tell the ecu that the boost doesn't match the map (within set limits) it will back it off, even with a (good) remap these levels will be higher but still there. On my standard ecu they were set at about 9psi (from what I can remember) so once I hit that, everything went all calm and quiet :(

[LiamT4]

The actuator is is quite tight now.
Gonna try and get hold of another actuator and bcs and see if there is any improvement.

[Dangerous Dave]

The actuator is is quite tight now.
Gonna try and get hold of another actuator and bcs and see if there is any improvement.
Was it set up properly with a gauge?

Will have to have a meet sometime :)

[LiamT4]

Was it set up properly with a gauge?

Will have to have a meet sometime :)

No, but it wasn't me that did it, it was an experienced person.

Yeah, will try and get something sorted soon, see if you can help iron out some of its little issues.

[woz]

would of been interesting to see how they compared above 10mph lol

Haha yeh - a bit fast for me at my age. LOL
W:>)

[t5_monkey]

I'm happy with my car... with no major plans for extra mods.

3" downpipe, FMIC, K&N, SS exhaust... the usual stuff.

Nice set of wheels, tints, lowered, Bilstein B8 dampers.

The best mods were the ones to the suspension and wheels, it drives awesomely around the corners as well as the straights.

Met my client on the M-way who has a Cayenne Diesel, up a slip road he was a speck in my rear view mirror, and when he came zooming past me up another slip road, I reeled him in effortlessly (all within the legal limit)

Although other cars are quicker on the 1/4, I maintain a sorted T5 is seriously quick in gear compared to most cars, if you can do 50-70 in 3rd in 3.0s ... what other car can make a monkey out of you this side of a Fezza or uber Evo.

14.77 @ 100mph on the 1/4 mile .... and if I take care of it... it'll last for many years. good enough for me.

As I've matured, I've realized handling is as important as POWER! As is maintaining your car impeccably so it feels tight and factory fresh, anything can go baggy if you don't look after it.

This is my Volvo. There are many others like it, but this one is mine. My Volvo is my best friend. It is my life. I must master it as I must master my life. Without me, my Volvo is useless. Without my Volvo, I am useless. I must drive my Volvo true. I must steer straighter than inferior drivers, who are trying to kill me. I must pass the BMW before he passes me. I will. Before God I swear this creed: my Volvo and myself are defenders of my country, we are the masters of our enemy, we are the saviors of my life. So be it, until there is no enemy, but peace. Amen.