PROJECT LOLVO (My S60 2.0T budget track build) with crap massive pictures

[ProjectLolvo]

Hi all, a few mates recommended that I start a build thread somewhere for my project and here seemed like the right place, so here goes.

It will probably end up being forgotten and then re-updated a couple of times, but here's where we're at so far.

The car itself was a gift from my mum after my 1998 V70 was scrapped due to me not having the funds to fix her and it being an auto etc, so decided after I got a decent job with decent pay that I would pile some cash into a free car which only had 86'000 miles on or so, which as we know, for a Volvo, is nothing. The clocks and tacho had packed in, the fuel pump was dead, and there were a few more issues which needed solving before the real work could begin, so we set to doing what had to be done to get the car roadworthy. It has had a set of clocks from a diesel S60 installed (for free, so she now redlines at 4500rpm, must be saving fuel there amirite??) and a fresh OEM fuel pump, which meant I could drive it and not stand the chance of literally running out of fuel.

On day one, she didn't look horrendous, but had pathetic brakes, dirty 16" alloys, and I was unable to hear the car at any revs whatsoever unless literally inside the engine bay. At this point I was in receipt of continual derision off my friends who aren't super into their cars for being a "lunatic with no sense of value for money" because of my plans for her, but spurred on by my own enthusiasm for Volvos, and my car mates saying it would literally be the most hilarious thing that anyone round our end has done in years, I resolved to get the f*** on with it and make some fairly serious changes. It was at this point I fried the clutch, which to be fair had been in the car since 2002 and had my mum riding it like a tired donkey for 45'000 miles. I cooked it whilst parking on a steep hill near Hardcastle Crags at Hebden Bridge, and then limped home and took her off the road. Unaware that a fresh DMF and clutch would skin me AT LEAST £600, I started pricing it up. When I finally realised the catastrophic cost of replacing both parts with brand new OEM, I figured, in for a penny and all that, so bought myself a few other bits.

Had been trawling forums for a while for the best few bits to be getting on with, and found a thread referring to replacing the front brakes with those from an XC90 (336mm, pads and discs of my choice) so thought to myself that had to be worth a go! Bought two tatty but functional looking calipers from eBay, and then some rather fancy EBC discs and yellowstuff pads, which when they arrived were a considerable amount larger than I'd pictured them in my head. Had checked previously and knew that I would have to chuck the 16"s that she came with for some larger alloys, and had bought myself a set of spider alloys from an S40. It came as a surprise to me that the PCD was COMPLETELY DIFFERENT, and after kicking myself for not checking, I put my brothers 2004 V70 up on bricks and nicked his alloys instead (17" T5, gorgeous alloys but f*****g knackered). Annoyed as he was, he eventually relented to a solid swap for my 16"s and half the profit from selling the ones that didn't fit on eBay. Job one was complete, and after a trip to see my pal over at Carwurx in Leeds (props to Crush, he is the ££££ing man and puts up with me and my Volvo-related nonsense well enough) the new clutch and flywheel was installed, as well as OEM discs/pads/calipers at the rear, which she desperately needed, as she had developed an interesting wobble from the previous ones being both stuck on and badly warped.

The brakes had arrived at the same time, but needed to be fitted after I had put the alloys on the car, so after clutch and wheels, I took the car back over to Leeds, and got it up on the ramp to "do the brakes myself" (read: I pestered Crush for 5-6hrs with different and increasingly inane questions) and after a day of skinning my knuckles and a few more little issues, we got them fitted and looking fly AF.
The brake pipes both had to be replaced, after removing the union bolt from their ends both pinged off and sprayed lovely brake fluid all over the place, so we made new ones from scratch with some fancy looking copper piping (basically racing pipes really??) It was just as well I replaced the brakes at the rear, AND the ones at the front, as on removal, we realised that they were completely useless and as stuck on as the rear ones (had wondered why they got hotter than a pizza oven on a quick trip to the shops). In honesty, I knew they needed doing, just wasn't aware of quite how badly. At any rate, they were now done, and she was ready to be dropped onto her rubber for a decent test drive.

I ended up taking the car to a festival in Derbyshire after bedding the clutch in by driving like a grandma for 500 miles, and ruminated on the next bits to sort. I knew it was going to need coilovers at some point soon, but figured that because I now had no issues stopping, I would make it a little more spritely. So, after pencilling in for a remap, I decided to rip the backbox off and get it replaced with a bit of straight pipe by my local silencer and exhaust experts. In between I had also fitted a new cold air filter and pulled the top off the airbox, because race-car, obviously. She now sounded like I thought a 5-pot was supposed to sound, I just needed to get the remap done and next few pieces sorted so that she wasn't writing cheques with noise that she couldn't possibly cash.

SEE NEXT POST, RUN OUT OF PHOTOS I CAN ADD

PHOTOS ALL GIANT AND IN RANDOM ORDER, SORRY I HAVE NOT FIGURED OUT HOW TO USE THIS FORUM YET *thumbs up*

[ProjectLolvo]

So, where was I up to-

ah, yes, banging on about Volvos, as usual.

As you can see from the photos, the clearance on the brakes is literally 1-2mm in places near the front of the alloys, this will probably become a problem at some stage with heat on track, but I will certainly be crossing that bridge when I come to it. As it goes, was scheduled for the remap this weekend, but gear linkage has given up so I lost 2nd, 4th and reverse gears while parked on my mate's quiet heavily-residential street. It was interesting getting him to come out and give me a push backwards, what with now having Manchester's loudest Volvo, but I managed to get her home, and have once again put the keys away until the new linkage I have ordered is in my hands. They should be here monday with any luck, so it's going back over to Leeds onto the ramp, and will await my arrival Saturday to sort the cables themselves, and get the remap sorted. Trying to upload a before and after photo now to show progress so far, but the before photo wont load for some reason. Will see if it needs to be on a separate post.

I'll try and update the thread as and when with progress, and if anyone has any questions on how stuff went to get it done if they're thinking of having a go themselves (although unless you're clinically insane or have Volvo body dysmorphia like me I don't know why the hell you would) then feel free to ask and I'll do my best to get back to you. Hopefully she's gonna be 220bhp and with a set of nice BC racing coilovers by the end of June, but I do not doubt there will be further issues.

Cheers for reading, and for F***s sake say a prayer for my wallet.

The Rochdale Viking (PROJECT LOLVO)

[ProjectLolvo]

Here is your before and after (and a random one of engine bay shortly after air filter), with any luck, if this photo tool pulls its sodding finger out-


My pal Jack there modelling her beforehand handsomely. And yes, before you ask, my boot facia is taped on. Had a couple of small electrical issues, which are now solved, but not before I pulled the facia off with some enthusiastic tugging. Oh, and there's one on there of the new section of pipe that the backbox has been replaced with. There will be videos soon, so that you can hear it isn't just for show or whatever. Not that a car as f****d looking as mine has anything done for show. Also, before anyone says anything about it, no I will not be changing the outer appearance at all. There are plans to alter the interior to get some weight out, but the outside is staying exactly as it is, complete with the "T" missing off the 2.0T badge on the back. It'll be funnier that way IMO and much more amusing when I get her to the standard I want.

Many big plans for the future, not limited to swapping everything over to a T5 if she isn't quick enough, or engine swapping this, whatever is easier, maybe an LSD, and a bunch of other interesting plans we're bouncing about. Get at me for any details, and see you crazy Sweedespeeders on track *salute*


(SORRY AGAIN FOR PHOTOS BEING ALL OVER THE PLACE, I WILL GET TO GRIPS WITH THE TOOL I PROMISE)

[kmb]

Keep the progress reports coming, hope the remap brings her to life (post linkage) :)

[don kalmar union]

I would really like to slow you up a bit on considering this car to be in any way suitable as a track car.

If I can put it gently this 2 litre engine has very low outputs indeed and would be unlikely to yield much more unless you spend an inordinately huge sum on it.

You can most certainly improve the braking and handling by spending sensibly on good quality suspension and braking components and when push comes to shove a limited slip diff will transform it.

My very best advice would be to sell this particular car and buy a T5, you will get an inordinately greater engine output even in standard form..... if you could stretch to a later, post '05 2.4 litre T5 then you get 330 bhp just with a simple stage 1 software upgrade.

Don.

PS I would take that cone filter off.... they are well known to allow a lot of very fine particles through into the engine, wearing the turbo on the way, draw warm air from inside the engine compartment and add nothing to outputs 'til you get well over 300bhp.... Volvo's standard inlet tract was very efficient.

[ProjectLolvo]

Cheers for the input, but I'm already well aware of the limitations of the vehicle (especially the B5204T5, no comp. ratio change, tiny turbo etc) as stated beforehand, and also as stated before well aware of what it would cost to get anything more than 215-220hp from the car, and what my alternatives are in terms of a more suitable build. This is for fun and for my amusement, as well as for a send-off for a vehicle that I'm pretty sure will explode before I get anything approaching a reasonable time out of it at Oulton Park. The plan has and will always be to have what enjoyment I can and then move on to something more appropriate when I'm familiar with wrenching on an S60, and considering the car was free and I'm not exactly hard up for means or cash, I doubt highly if I will be discouraged from going in the direction I am.

Also, I know about the problems with a "performance" air filter as opposed to the stock one on the vehicle, and genuinely am not bothered in any way shape or form. It makes the PCV louder and tbh that is all I'm bothered about. I'm here to annoy people with my silly Volvo, not compete at an autocross event. There will inevitably be a T5 or an S60R build happening *when*, not if, this particular build decides she's had enough, and I'd like a consequence-free environment to play around in before that. Advice is genuinely appreciated however, not trying to be a d**k or anything, I just know how I'm doing this and am conscious of the foibles of doing so. It's gonna be chucked around for as long as it survives, experimented on like an alien in a CIA blacksite, and will most likely end up on fire.

Trust me, I've had enough sane people tell me everything I'm doing wrong haha. Thanks for the input though *thumbs up*

[kmb]

On the basis of that recognition, keep the story coming - It'll make for interesting reading and you can look at it as building a mobile store of spares when you get to the T5 upgrade stage.

Good luck!

[ProjectLolvo]

Cheers buddy, that is most definitely a sound plan. Just need to sort myself a unit out so that I'm not filling me mams house with yet more Volvo parts. She's already tired of it as it is, and as I have noooooo plans to relocate I think storage for my stuff is definitely on the table.

Just not the dining room table. Or the living room one.

had my linkage cables shipped today as well, so will be doing virtually infinite shouting while I get them fitted later I should imagine [emoji108]

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[kmb]

Good luck with the fitting, hope that sorts the gear selection issue and there aren't too many sheared bolts and bruised knuckles to contend with.

[ProjectLolvo]

Nice one, I hope it isn't too much of a pain in the arse, but given that everything else we've replaced has been absolutely catastrophically ££££££££ed I'm not holding my breath.

Woooooo funtimes!

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[ProjectLolvo]

After half an hour of work we established that they have sent the wrong linkage from eBay, even though it's been labelled as 2002 S60 2.0t cable linkage, it clearly isn't. Should have given the pictures a proper full look through before ordering, but in fairness they should have bloody well labelled it correctly. Have ordered more and they should be here Thursday, doubt if I'll get the remap in this week now though, which is ever so slightly irritating. Oh well, such is carstuff.

Onward, and to better Volvos [emoji108]

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[kmb]

Minor set back, quite typical of eBay though, everything needs double checking on there :(

[ProjectLolvo]

Its just annoying, we figured out apparently it's from a Volvo with a spaceball shifter, but thought they only came on s60r/much later models? Either way they're talking nonsense about which car it's off. They've offered full refund though which I guess is ok, would've just liked the correct part tbh. Ah well.

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[Dangerous Dave]

Bloody car makers having several different ways of doing exactly the same job....

[ProjectLolvo]

Finally got the right ones on order for tomorrow. Still had a faff with delivery company getting them, but hopefully by Saturday afternoon she should be sorted and the remap applied.

All luck to me gentlemen, will post videos if success [emoji108]

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[ProjectLolvo]

@kmb think I saw on your forum profile you're affiliated with Kalmar Union is that correct mate? Just wondering if you can recommend the correct wheel spacers (assuming H&R?) for a 20mm per side track widening, or better yet, is that even the correct width to go for? Apparently with a remap it might want to take a wider front tyre, and will definitely want a spacer to go with the coilovers next month if so, any clue which is best? Thought 40mm overall should be the ticket.

Cheers [emoji106]

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[kmb]

@kmb think I saw on your forum profile you're affiliated with Kalmar Union is that correct mate? Just wondering if you can recommend the correct wheel spacers (assuming H&R?) for a 20mm per side track widening, or better yet, is that even the correct width to go for? Apparently with a remap it might want to take a wider front tyre, and will definitely want a spacer to go with the coilovers next month if so, any clue which is best? Thought 40mm overall should be the ticket.

Cheers [emoji106]

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No affiliations with Kalmar Union, but Don does post some useful stuff and have a very good reputation!

I'd recommend contacting him directly with the questions and I'm sure he'll know the answers.

[ProjectLolvo]

Righto @kmb, cheers, will direct my enquiries his way [emoji106]

Just a little update here, finally got my mitts on the correct linkage, Lolvo is currently in Leeds awaiting a remap, held up a little by my mates gear all needing an update (and gear is all in Italian, so he's had an interesting time sorting that out, mama mia) but it should be next 48hrs or so that I head over to fit the linkage and give her a road test.

Remap comes with a 2yr warranty, and a free dyno session if I'm "not happy" with the results, and something tells me regardless of how it is that I'm probably gonna take the dyno sesh anyway. I will be ecstatic if I can get anything approaching 220bhp, have told them I couldn't care less about economy, just give me everything you can, so we'll see how that goes.

I'm either going to blow the block/turbo to shreds or I'm gonna have my hands on a nippy little* vehicle [emoji108]

*££££ing enormously heavy Volvo

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[kmb]

Let's have a look at the dyno print when it gets there, we like graphs :)

[ProjectLolvo]

Ey up all, quick update here, went over and fitted the linkage I bought from eBay earlier today (which wasn't without issue, who'd have thought??) unfortunately my mates laptop, which has finally accepted being updated, has caused his obd box to s**t a brick, so he's gonna have to speak to BHP over in Burnley to get that sorted, and its gonna be a week til we can experiencccccccccce the powerrrrrrrr :(

Anyroad, thatll be done when it's done, hopefully sooner rather than later, but I managed to pull the centre console and a few pieces of trim, and get the linkage installed.

Predictably, they lied about the state it was in and did a very good job hiding a sleeve being snapped (exactly the same as the one we're taking off) but on the shifter end, they had also managed to snap one of the clips that hold the shifter end in the housing off too. I mean, they're flimsy but they could've told me the truth before I paid for yet another part. We've bodged up what we could using gaffer tape and some cable ties, and it's held together pretty sturdily. Will have to see how it holds up, but at least the bushes were in good nick and it's all gone in nicely. Got all my gears back though, so no more granny shifting into 3rd/5th from a racing start in 1st [emoji108]

Also used the wire wheel to scrape and polish the bracket on the trans housing (and p****d it through with WD), so that it didn't rust the collar on the linkage to f**k again and seize it into the gap, the previous one having taken two knuckles/a full book of swearwords to remove.

Will try my best to keep the thread updated as and when, and will also be speaking to RA Motor Spares on eBay to give the lying bumholes a piece of my mind (and a crap review). Don't understand why people can't just be straight with you sometimes, if they'd said "oh well it's knackered but it might do you, we'll knock a fiver off" that would've been fine! Just annoys me. Probably me being a grumpy sod, but it's reyt pecked my head.

Got the remap scheduled for whenever the hardware gets sorted, so in meantime will be buying braided hoses for the brakes, getting steering limit arms for brakes drilled to m14 (still haven't done that, oops), and pricing up the coilovers. Have been thinking BC Racing RA series, as they should swap straight over to the T5 whenever I end up blowing this up.

Any suggestions?

Hope all is well with you guys, peace [emoji108]

PL

(wasn't a very quick update that was it-? I need to stop spending so long on the bog my legs have gone f*****g numb)https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190610/4ec4d824dc62e1ae334a85d71549cd21.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190610/1f7101d36ad0dccc55b111cbf70282cb.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190610/dc11816e906814bca735749731bd4db1.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190610/23ec182b1587ba50010a445fe1b3c00a.jpg

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[ProjectLolvo]

Oh, also, check out how lucky I am! The bush on the cable bracket was IN ONE PIECE! THE FIRST ONE WEVE ENCOUNTERED THAT DIDNT LOOK LIKE ITD BEEN FINGERED BY THE HULK!

Get in, back of the net!!https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190610/a2ca4cfcb08e5b8f683d78315e347307.jpg

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[kmb]

Result... If it doesn't fall apart in the near future :)

[ProjectLolvo]

YO ALL

Haven't posted in a while due to being major busy with new job, buttttt, THE REMAP IS DONEEEEE!

Also managed to bodge my linkage, using the knackered one sold to me by the idiots at RA motor spares in Birmingham from eBay (avoid like the plague if at all possible, they haven't got a clue what they're talking about with anything, including posting stuff as far as I can tell) and used a jubilee clip and some cable ties to sort that mf right out.

All gears fine now, and decided now or never for the remap. Took it to SGR Performance in Trafford (awesome dudes, got me in first thing on a monday morning from a Friday email) and received it back with a frankly preposterous 228bhp. Didn't expect anything north of 210 to be honest, so am very pleasantly surprised. Have also had the torque limiters in 1st and 2nd nerfed to my knowledge, and had the boost pressure tweaked and the rev limiter put up by 300rpm or so. I will say, without the coilovers being fitted yet, the car is a ££££ing deathtrap handful. Like sitting with a loaded shotgun stuffed down your pants, nice and cool because of the metal and good at keeping your ball temps even, but liable to go off at any time. Pretty interesting stuff. Lights up tyres top end of 1st when it comes onto the boost, in the dry, from a modest start. Rather pleased with everything, if my gushing here isn't evidence enough of that.

Anyhow, here's a nice dyno graph to have a gander of. Will be heading back next year for the T5, or if I decide to do something bonkers with this before it explodes, like, ooohhh sayyyyy...nitrous or something amusing like that.

Before I turn this post into an essay also, has anyone got any clue whether the BC racing RA series is on par with Eibach B12s? Given that those are my choices for a sub-£1k coilover, opinions and experience would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers all, enjoy the graph (as much as a graph can be enjoyed, I personally have been using it as tug material for several days now [emoji108])

Oh, and the second photo there just amused me, the lolvo tucked in behind what I believe is an RS3? Guess which I reckon sounded better?https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190717/c3bac569b082b6980a74c4ee5e4eb9f1.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190717/05eba8a15d80f5533648baf58f64c889.jpg

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[kmb]

Looks very healthy, glad you're happy with it... How's the clutch? *crosses fingers*

[ProjectLolvo]

Clutch is all good! All at the garage very impressed how good nick it was mechanically for being 17 yrs old. Proper pleased with it [emoji106]

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[ProjectLolvo]

Right, coilovers ordered last Friday, and have been looking at seats for the front. Don't really care whether they match or not, will be ripping the back seats completely out and just want a decent bucket seat to replace the drivers side and an ok one for the passenger side.

Anyone got any clue what I should be looking at? Does there need to be a plate mount underneath? Is there anything else extra I need to buy or can I just get an adapter plate, make sure whatever seat I'm looking at fits, and buy whatever?

Cheers all [emoji106]

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[jellison]

I agree with Don, very odd choice for a track car.

I would never think or taking my tweaked R on track, just to massive. The weight these thing carry would just murder most bits, and that’s before you get to the 20T.

[ProjectLolvo]

As I've already said I'm well aware of the limitations of the vehicle, both engine and platform wise, and have been through them in full with others far better educated on the matter than myself. I haven't started ripping things out of the already knackered interior to reduce the weight yet, rest assured it will be progressing over the next few months, as a dry run for getting something proper sorted next year. We reckon we can get about 150-200kg out but that remains to be seen how much I can do without inside and what I'm willing to chop up with a ripsaw. Will either be a T5 or an R, we'll see. I just cant get enough of 5-pots and don't want a Focus like everyone else, plus the hilarity of thrashing past other cars I have no business lining up against in a Volvo (which clearly says 2.0 on the back) is too fun to get something else. The car was free, I have spare income due to minimal overheads and a job on twice the wage I was on last year, and am having fun arsing about with my Volvo, so regardless of whatever gets said, I've already started and won't be stopping until it explodes or I decide to buy another vehicle. Already have access to 3 other cars as well so despite how bizarre it may sound, I couldn't give a toss about how silly it is.

Cheers for your input though mate, don't mean to be an ££££££££, and will continue posting pictures and hope you have a laugh reading through the thread either way [emoji106]

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[jellison]

Be interesting to see what weight you could get it too. 1300kg?

[ProjectLolvo]

@jellison, tbh mate not too sure, we're just gonna see how mad we can go with it. Whatever weight can come out will be doing, so when we've got some idea of how much we can lose, I'll drop a few photos and stuff on here of what's been done so far. Hopefully around that mark either way [emoji108]

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[ProjectLolvo]

anyone got any clue what to do about bucket seats? Looking on eBay/gumtree currently and found a sparco one that looks decent, does it just need a mount underneath fitting and it'll just fit in? Can't find a forum article or anything on what the process would be. Seats that are in are absolutely buggered anyway so not bothered about replacing them, or about getting a pair that matches either. Cheers [emoji106]

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[MoleT-5R]

I'm not really up on what is what with seat swaps, but depending on what type of motorsport you wish to participate in, could dictate on how your your seat is to be mounted and also whether it has to have any motorsport approval markings, as some are date coded and can not be used after a certain time from new in some disciplines, thus if buying second hand there can be bargains out there if dates are not an issue, so it is worth doing some research before purchasing, the MSA blue book should have any info you need on seat regulations.....hope that helps and nice thread by the way, keep us updated to the projects progress, as I for one also love ripping past people in faster cars in my battered T5 and making them wonder what the hell is in that and reading like minded peoples project threads....:banana:

[ProjectLolvo]

Ey up all, finally got round to fitting the coilovers on Saturday after work. Managed to get started by about 4 and was done for around half 8(ish!) Had a few issues here and there with getting control arms out of the way to drop the springs out of the rear, ended up taking the inboard bolt off as opposed to the outboard as was recommended. Also replaced all drop links while I was down there, so it's feeling pretty refreshed if I'm honest.

Had a proper test of the damper adjustments, and at 100% stiff, it grips like chewing gum in a wooly hat, very impressed. Its not the hardest when theyve been wound the other way either, so is quite comfy for driving around town. Have yet to take it for a rag about with it sunny outside to see how it grips, but have actually got 3 days off this weekend instead of 1, so should get chance to have a real thrash of it and see how it goes.

On another note, bought a blue Sparco Sprint bucket seat, and ordered some universal mounts online. Apparently the seat has 290mm spacing between the mounting points, which is generally considered standard (it also has bottom mounts as well as side mounts so I can mount it however I like really. Whilst the seat itself is still in date to compete for a few months, the only thing I was even considering is hillclimb, and even then, only for fun, not to actually be competitive. The MSA have said the seat doesn't need to be FIA approved to race hillclimb, so will be fine for purpose as long as it has an appropriate harness. Will be bolting the mounts in as soon as I get time this week, maybe one night after work/gym if I get time but will probably have to be Friday.

Rear seats will also be coming out this weekend, as well as anything else that seems easy to remove, to begin the weight reduction. Will be weighing stuff individually to see how much we cut, hoping for anywhere over/around 200kg.

Will keep the thread updated either way, hope everybody is having an extremely Swedish start to the week, I know I am, skål!

[emoji109][emoji1236][emoji109][emoji1236][emoji109][emoji1236]https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190819/0a747ea9617cf54875aa0d0e5f0f45fb.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190819/723560cbf8117e473b97cc853f307537.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190819/bcbb14242bd207a894e5d0264214ad29.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190819/77f322db512368ef42eaf1c961c9df68.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190819/120ffe72654a30ab55c9a8b65a37056c.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190819/b7f7dd10763ab2333b3892cb0e342380.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190819/48b160b62328389ec6519a2e20038ac4.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190819/cecb8659ca613bc2756be83e9937d2c7.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190819/28d7b277d26803bcc1c31c05fdc60128.jpg

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[ProjectLolvo]

After several hours of faffing last night, I am happy to say, the seat is in! Ended up fabricating a mount from the new ones I bought plus the original Volvo rails that where in the car. Due to the bizarre shape of the floor where they mount (one at 45 degrees and the other flat) I decided I had to reuse the rails that were already in or else have someone custom make some to do the job. Couldn't be arsed with that, as usual because I wanted it done there and then, so I angle grinded the stoppers off the slider with the Volvo seat on, bashed the bearings out with a hammer, and then bolted the new mounts onto the old rails using 60mm M6 bolts with some big ol' penny washers. Its solid as a rock and after a bit of messing, is in the right position front to back/height-wise [emoji106]

I then fitted the new sparco harness, road legal or so I've been led to believe, and have pulled out 2 back seats, leaving one, which we cut to size with a hand saw and bolt croppers. Its been gaffer taped back up, so obviously, looks extremely smart/professional, like all my work [emoji108]

Began with weight reduction, took some carpets out, and cleaned the car interior/boot out, so happy with that for now. Will be seeing if we can shed more weight over the bank holiday weekend.

I'll get some nicer pictures up when I take some, but for now, some of my handiwork will have to suffice.

[emoji1236][emoji123][emoji1236][emoji123][emoji1236][emoji123][emoji1236][emoji123]

Project Lolvo continues! Onward!

SKÅL!https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190824/fbcd1103d1251e54afdb8021511f052c.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190824/2d30011414ec14e4ddeaa98ecfcccc64.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190824/391cbd1ebf17a73d8ab9d0228f89637d.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190824/95b79f0ea19d713bb2c4a7b72ad83e2f.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190824/1216a293f765972bcef632c3844b303f.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190824/62d625f4495ba35018296ad3fe4873e1.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190824/75efd84a408e64aada5dd18616d8bdd0.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190824/e24e9f7f9a6b777dc94565a2b08da4af.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190824/70dfd35bcdea28b52351af64375f0e8d.jpg

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[ProjectLolvo]

Yo all, getting a bit of rub on the insides of the arches and thinking about doing spacers this week, and tyres next week.

Have picked out some decent rubber that the type-R boys reckon are best for the money, about £85 a corner or so which I don't call bad.

Looking at a set of H&R spacers, but not sure what size to order. A couple of other dudes on the Swedespeed forum reckoned 12mmF/15mmR is the way to go, but they're talking looks, not performance. I was thinking 20mm front, and leave the rear tbh, but would take sensible advice off anyone who fancies giving it.

Think I read to get the wheels flush to the arches, to go 12mm front and 15mm rear. Can anyone confirm this? Apart from my already abysmal turning circle, is there any reason I specifically *wouldn't* want to put a 20mm spacer in there?

Cheers for your help either way, hmu if anyone is in the northwest and fancies a little Volvo-off, I know a few decent roads up our way that are profoundly different since PL has had her medicine [emoji1236][emoji123][emoji1236][emoji123][emoji1236][emoji123]https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190827/3d0531bf151c9000dfe373fa1abc5e04.jpg

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[stribo]

Yo all, getting a bit of rub on the insides of the arches and thinking about doing spacers this week, and tyres next week.

Have picked out some decent rubber that the type-R boys reckon are best for the money, about £85 a corner or so which I don't call bad.

Looking at a set of H&R spacers, but not sure what size to order. A couple of other dudes on the Swedespeed forum reckoned 12mmF/15mmR is the way to go, but they're talking looks, not performance. I was thinking 20mm front, and leave the rear tbh, but would take sensible advice off anyone who fancies giving it.

Think I read to get the wheels flush to the arches, to go 12mm front and 15mm rear. Can anyone confirm this? Apart from my already abysmal turning circle, is there any reason I specifically *wouldn't* want to put a 20mm spacer in there?

Cheers for your help either way, hmu if anyone is in the northwest and fancies a little Volvo-off, I know a few decent roads up our way that are profoundly different since PL has had her medicine [emoji1236][emoji123][emoji1236][emoji123][emoji1236][emoji123]https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190827/3d0531bf151c9000dfe373fa1abc5e04.jpg

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An alternative would be to fit R steering lock limiters, the downside is a dreadful steering lock.

[ed-oorklep]

Yo all, getting a bit of rub on the insides of the arches and thinking about doing spacers this week, and tyres next week.

Have picked out some decent rubber that the type-R boys reckon are best for the money, about £85 a corner or so which I don't call bad.

Looking at a set of H&R spacers, but not sure what size to order. A couple of other dudes on the Swedespeed forum reckoned 12mmF/15mmR is the way to go, but they're talking looks, not performance. I was thinking 20mm front, and leave the rear tbh, but would take sensible advice off anyone who fancies giving it.

Think I read to get the wheels flush to the arches, to go 12mm front and 15mm rear. Can anyone confirm this? Apart from my already abysmal turning circle, is there any reason I specifically *wouldn't* want to put a 20mm spacer in there?

Cheers for your help either way, hmu if anyone is in the northwest and fancies a little Volvo-off, I know a few decent roads up our way that are profoundly different since PL has had her medicine [emoji1236][emoji123][emoji1236][emoji123][emoji1236][emoji123]

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Those numbers look correct for the setup I had on my S60 with the BC kit and Nebula's if the ET of your rims is the same as the Nebula's that will mean you will get the wheels flush with the arches. I measured what I needed by making sure the car was level and use a leveling tool to measure the distance from the arch edge to the wheel/tire and where I wanted it to be.
Nothing is stopping you from going fatter though I guess. except for hitting the plastic but that you should be able to measure.

https://i.imgur.com/VFc4FQUl.jpg

[don kalmar union]

One thing that would help with the combination of a heavy car with a relatively low output engine. Early 850s with non turbo engines had a lower ratio M56 gearbox that would really help acceleration, albeit with a lower maximum speed.
Renault's Safrane from that period had the same Volvo M56 and the Volvo NA 5 pot in some variants with even lower ratios and the lowest final drive of all.
I did such a swap in my old S70 T5 that I used in a Toyo prod. saloon series. It did help in that most UK circuits have not got long straights to exploit high speeds in gear and it really helps out of corners.
I did have all the ratio and final drive info. but it is now long gone. If I remember there was all you needed to know in some old Volvo 850/S/V 70 Haynes manuals.
Don.

PS if your car has the later M66 then it might be worth a look at other such lower ratio boxes.......

[ProjectLolvo]

Cheers for the help guys, think I will just get 2 identical sets of 15mm spacers for ease, will ring Larkspeed today to see what they have in stock and what bolts I'll need, should be reyt for both and if slightly wider at front then I'm not too fussed. Any extra clearance on the massive front calipers is a bonus anyway.

@Don I will certainly be looking into that mate thanks. Have done some reading early this morning and did not realise the sheer variety there are of M56 boxes, also read that they're practically the same as the M90 out of the 940 (I think?). How difficult is alteration to the final drive? Would I be able to get something machined if I work out the ratio needed that may do the trick, or is there a part available?

Also been looking into some other parts that may be applicable to a T5 for next year (or might keep this and swap to a 2.4T if that's a do-able task, if only to experience swapping an engine and the issues that comes with) and have come across a Quaife/Gripper LSD. Both look like an excellent buy but will have to wait til I've decided what I'm doing before I get one. You never know, may end up with an S60R next year, so anything M56 centric I buy would be useless for that, drivetrain-wise anyway.

Took her for a spin on Snake Pass last weekend and embarrassed some rather slow bikers (except one who was having ££££££££££ none of it, to be expected) very happy with it so far, just want more weight out and some nice new tyres. Progress! Onward [emoji1236][emoji594][emoji1236][emoji594][emoji1236]

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[MoleT-5R]

Cheers for the help guys, think I will just get 2 identical sets of 15mm spacers for ease, will ring Larkspeed today to see what they have in stock and what bolts I'll need, should be reyt for both and if slightly wider at front then I'm not too fussed. Any extra clearance on the massive front calipers is a bonus anyway.

@Don I will certainly be looking into that mate thanks. Have done some reading early this morning and did not realise the sheer variety there are of M56 boxes, also read that they're practically the same as the M90 out of the 940 (I think?). How difficult is alteration to the final drive? Would I be able to get something machined if I work out the ratio needed that may do the trick, or is there a part available?

Also been looking into some other parts that may be applicable to a T5 for next year (or might keep this and swap to a 2.4T if that's a do-able task, if only to experience swapping an engine and the issues that comes with) and have come across a Quaife/Gripper LSD. Both look like an excellent buy but will have to wait til I've decided what I'm doing before I get one. You never know, may end up with an S60R next year, so anything M56 centric I buy would be useless for that, drivetrain-wise anyway.

Took her for a spin on Snake Pass last weekend and embarrassed some rather slow bikers (except one who was having ££££££££££ none of it, to be expected) very happy with it so far, just want more weight out and some nice new tyres. Progress! Onward [emoji1236][emoji594][emoji1236][emoji594][emoji1236]

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From experience I can say that the M56 box from 850/v70 na 10v cars will give you an awesome track box acceleration is rapid and still able to clear 150 before hitting the std rev limiter, I have a quaife atb in mine for drag racing , which was a simple fit, but for track use I would replace that with a gripper though,

[ProjectLolvo]

From experience I can say that the M56 box from 850/v70 na 10v cars will give you an awesome track box acceleration is rapid and still able to clear 150 before hitting the std rev limiter, I have a quaife atb in mine for drag racing , which was a simple fit, but for track use I would replace that with a gripper though,So is the M56 gearbox different depending on which vehicle it's been pulled from? Will one fit the another platform or does it mount differently? To be honest, I get a bit annoyed at how for some reason 1st, 2nd and 3rd all feel extremely long, but in 5th at 70mph I'm only just off the boost on the turbo and if I go to 80mph on the motorway, I can hear it spooling and know how much fuel is being rinsed because of how far up the gear I am.

What I would like is 5 fairly short gears, perhaps a max speed of 130 or so which is more than enough, and then an overdrive for the motorway to save fuel. Is there anything that would suit this application? I could understand if that sounds stupid, and I will be buying a more appropriate V70 D5 for a daily as soon as I've sold a fiesta ST I bought and fixed to sell, so the motorway cruising isn't that important. I'm more keen to make adequate use of the piddly 230hp than anything. Happy with it for a 2.0 obviously, but would love to be able to make better use of it.

Weight reduction may also be continuing this weekend if I get time, and have purchased 2 pairs of H&R 15mm spacers and some 45mm bolts to fit them with, which should be with us next weekend. Will be buying a trolley jack as well so that I can finally use the axle stands I have properly, ££££ty little jack is driving me up the wall for when I just want to do a little driveway job.

Meant to say, will probably be looking into LSD when I sort either a 2.4T swap or a T5, depending on what's more cost effective/fun/learning experience. Definitely going gripper though, every Volvo guy has recommended them so far. Quaife for the jap stuff, gripper for heavy euro stuff.

As usual cheers guys [emoji106]

[emoji1236][emoji594][emoji1236][emoji594][emoji1236][emoji594][emoji1236]

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[MoleT-5R]

So is the M56 gearbox different depending on which vehicle it's been pulled from? Will one fit the another platform or does it mount differently? To be honest, I get a bit annoyed at how for some reason 1st, 2nd and 3rd all feel extremely long, but in 5th at 70mph I'm only just off the boost on the turbo and if I go to 80mph on the motorway, I can hear it spooling and know how much fuel is being rinsed because of how far up the gear I am.

What I would like is 5 fairly short gears, perhaps a max speed of 130 or so which is more than enough, and then an overdrive for the motorway to save fuel. Is there anything that would suit this application? I could understand if that sounds stupid, and I will be buying a more appropriate V70 D5 for a daily as soon as I've sold a fiesta ST I bought and fixed to sell, so the motorway cruising isn't that important. I'm more keen to make adequate use of the piddly 230hp than anything. Happy with it for a 2.0 obviously, but would love to be able to make better use of it.

Weight reduction may also be continuing this weekend if I get time, and have purchased 2 pairs of H&R 15mm spacers and some 45mm bolts to fit them with, which should be with us next weekend. Will be buying a trolley jack as well so that I can finally use the axle stands I have properly, ££££ty little jack is driving me up the wall for when I just want to do a little driveway job.

Meant to say, will probably be looking into LSD when I sort either a 2.4T swap or a T5, depending on what's more cost effective/fun/learning experience. Definitely going gripper though, every Volvo guy has recommended them so far. Quaife for the jap stuff, gripper for heavy euro stuff.

As usual cheers guys [emoji106]

[emoji1236][emoji594][emoji1236][emoji594][emoji1236][emoji594][emoji1236]

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The 2.0l 10v box has the lowest and closest 1st,2nd and 3rd gear ratio's and a final drive of 4.45:1. The available std m56 final drive ratios were 4.00:1, 4.25:1, 4.45:1, the 4.45:1 from my experience drag racing and also from no the road driving, is very rapid through the box and 130mph is somewhere between 5500-6000 rpm iirc, obviously if your only running a 2.0l then a lot is to be gained in fitting a T5 lump, all though it would be quite a bit of work tbh, there are also other gearbox options such as m59 and m66 but I don't know much about these as far as ratio's and fitment go, but they are straight bolt up swaps (m59 would require driveshafts as these differ from m56) m66's are available from the ford st's iirc correctly but I couldn't tell you about FD's or ratios for those unfortunately....hope this helps.

[ProjectLolvo]

Cheers for the info brother, will start looking for a 10V gearbox at some point in the next month or so. Is it the M56H that I'm looking for? Think I'm on an M56L, but not 100% sure. Those ratios sound bang on though for what I'm after, nice one [emoji106]


Has anyone ever had any experience with strut braces? Supposed to be polybushing the trans mount and the engine mounts, and thought I'd splash out and get the front and rear strut braces sorted while I'm there. Is there any point or are they a bit naff? From my (very limited) mechanic understanding, they benefit a heavy, front-wheel drive car best due to the tendency to flex and therefore understeer. If I'm honest, most of my issues currently are from a lack of grip (my tyres suck balls, and want an LSD) and from lift off oversteer, but I'm working that out with the adjustable dampers. Managed to get it to a point with pleasing slip angle, as long as I'm hell for leather into the bend. Its controllable, and actually sort of helps the enormous bulk around the corner. She's tried to bite my head off a couple of times, but after spending a good few hours getting used to the handling, it just makes me laugh every damn time, honestly it's better than I thought I would ever get and I've still foreseeably got miiiiiiiiiles to go [emoji1236][emoji594][emoji1236]

As usual boys, any help greatly appreciated [emoji108]

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[stribo]

Cheers for the info brother, will start looking for a 10V gearbox at some point in the next month or so. Is it the M56H that I'm looking for? Think I'm on an M56L, but not 100% sure. Those ratios sound bang on though for what I'm after, nice one [emoji106]


Has anyone ever had any experience with strut braces? Supposed to be polybushing the trans mount and the engine mounts, and thought I'd splash out and get the front and rear strut braces sorted while I'm there. Is there any point or are they a bit naff? From my (very limited) mechanic understanding, they benefit a heavy, front-wheel drive car best due to the tendency to flex and therefore understeer. If I'm honest, most of my issues currently are from a lack of grip (my tyres suck balls, and want an LSD) and from lift off oversteer, but I'm working that out with the adjustable dampers. Managed to get it to a point with pleasing slip angle, as long as I'm hell for leather into the bend. Its controllable, and actually sort of helps the enormous bulk around the corner. She's tried to bite my head off a couple of times, but after spending a good few hours getting used to the handling, it just makes me laugh every damn time, honestly it's better than I thought I would ever get and I've still foreseeably got miiiiiiiiiles to go [emoji1236][emoji594][emoji1236]

As usual boys, any help greatly appreciated [emoji108]

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A front strut brace will help with steering feel, though you don't want to go too stiff on the front end as that'll just cause more understeer, a rear strut brace will help promote lift off oversteer, and kill some of the understeer, so in my opinion is a must do.

[ProjectLolvo]

Cheers, will keep that in mind when buying, maybe get a normal front strut but soften the dampers a bit and keep the rear stiff and maintain grip?

Also, will maybe be getting some semi-slicks and some lightweight track wheels to go on when I finally make it to 3 Sisters or wherever, is it vital that I have a baffled sump fabricated? As it is, the cornering is profoundly more brutal than standard, so I am a little concerned about surge when taking corners properly. My mates dad recently managed to blow his type-R up through oil surge, I respect that I won't be cornering like one of those, but the difference from stock in PL is far greater than his was from a stock Civic.

Tl;dr - Baffled sump or no baffled sump?

(Pictures of spacers included for reference also, they look almost too nice to use ha [emoji108])https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190905/61600677f1fd60790aadc98afa883a85.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190905/d88db522c1b328b4a593e9a6d437f44e.jpg

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[kmb]

Can you do before and after piccies for the spacers? Do you buy special longer bolts with spacers? Forgive my ignorance, I've never fitted any but often thought the rears on my C30 could do with them.

[ProjectLolvo]

@kmb I just fitted the spacers, used 15mm all round and tbh it probably could've gone a bit further on the front without being too far out, have yet to see what handling difference there is though, just got new Michelin Asymmetric 5s to have a do of so gonna go find my favourite moorland b-roads and have a proper do. Rear is absolutely flush to the plastic sill inside the arch, don't know if I'm gonna bother removing it, if I decide to lower more than I already have then I'll probably have to, to avoid rub at least, but as it is, I'm happy with how it's sat.

Yeah, I did get longer bolts, standard are M14x30, 17mm with 60deg head, just went 15mm bigger to M14x45. Larkspeed wanted £2 per bolt, so got some on eBay instead for about £1.40 each.

As you can see from the before/after shots, it's sat quite nicely, will post a picture from outside the car at some point soon to show the difference.

Will be buying some Ultra Racing strut braces for front and rear next week, there's a website that will do both for near enough £200, so after that there's not much more I can be doing except starting to rip stuff out with a bit more enthusiasm.

Also having calipers painted next few weeks in Focus RS green, which is guaranteed to make people laugh (and me), and will be doing braided hoses/seal refurb while they're off. Might have to get a Lolvo stencil made up to go over where it says "Volvo" on them as well, we'll see if I can be arsed though won't we eh?

Happy volvo-ing

PL [emoji594][emoji1236][emoji594][emoji1236][emoji594][emoji123][emoji123][emoji123]https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190907/d4f9da78cd5d310887550f9d5affeecb.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190907/35c930343795ac18d57edf3363eb2485.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190907/2d48b40fdb7a7a2531a8feb8dbb1c909.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190907/bbf6033c0eeb84ebdaa2527328d8190b.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190907/a145743490e6259b019f22f3d9a93dc8.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190907/7d823d8b36568f2786ff75e948b9606f.jpg

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[ProjectLolvo]

Linkage sheathe snapped around the back-front cable of the shifter yesterday while out on a decent drive (had to drive home from 3-4 miles away in 3rd without stopping), so we decided to bodge it properly with a pair of little brackets and some cable ties. Second linkage I've had that's snapped right on one of the plastic sheathes, (was other end last time on top of the trans) think I've found one of the few parts of a Volvo that aren't inherently hard as ££££ing nails. This seems (like the other part of my linkage bodge) to be tougher than the actual part Volvo had put in, so I think it'll last me longer than wrapping it in f*****g gaffer tape.

Happy with how it's sat now anyway, got a new alloy on the way to complete the set and have a spare, and because we've noticed a little crack on the back of one of the ones being used that needs to be repaired.

Not looking bad. 60kg of weight out as of today too, weighed generously by the council tip weighbridge [emoji106]

PL [emoji1236][emoji594][emoji1236][emoji594][emoji1236][emoji123][emoji123][emoji123]https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190908/ef1538e6f91a05e081e7e64465a8ae57.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190908/0a5fec5ac9e7e34fd1ba42e32f95e828.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190908/a94652539d0a5c076e4d562def54ddc6.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190908/421acdd3b8018d6ce0dabd4a9a400448.jpg

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[ProjectLolvo]

Think I might be in danger of being a moron; tyres are Goodyear Eagle F1 AS5s. Bit of a mouthful so I think I was understandably confused. They still grip like f*** either way.

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[stribo]

Cheers, will keep that in mind when buying, maybe get a normal front strut but soften the dampers a bit and keep the rear stiff and maintain grip?

Also, will maybe be getting some semi-slicks and some lightweight track wheels to go on when I finally make it to 3 Sisters or wherever, is it vital that I have a baffled sump fabricated? As it is, the cornering is profoundly more brutal than standard, so I am a little concerned about surge when taking corners properly. My mates dad recently managed to blow his type-R up through oil surge, I respect that I won't be cornering like one of those, but the difference from stock in PL is far greater than his was from a stock Civic.

Tl;dr - Baffled sump or no baffled sump?

(Pictures of spacers included for reference also, they look almost too nice to use ha [emoji108])https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190905/61600677f1fd60790aadc98afa883a85.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190905/d88db522c1b328b4a593e9a6d437f44e.jpg

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If anything you want to stiffen the dampers, and fit a softer front ARB. Control body roll with the suspension as much as possible, with an ARB as an assister. A stiff ARB will just send the shock from a bump across the axle causing both wheels to be affected.

[ProjectLolvo]

Cheers for the input mate, just bought myself a front and rear top strut to fit this weekend, and will be changing out the ARBs at some point in the next couple of months when I have a spare £450 or so (that's how much I found them for on Larkspeed - Ultra Racing same as struts)

Probably will push the boat out and do lower struts as well, but they're twice the price and don't seem (as far as an hours googling is concerned) to make much difference for the money. Everyone I've spoken to has just said do tops for now and then when I sort the ARBs fit the lowers if I have money to buy them. Also sorting some powerflex bushes finally, so need to get those on as soon as they're bought and delivered.

If I am to be getting an engine swap sorted sometime in spring next year, these purchases won't be letting me down, and if we cba with engines and messing about and end up switching to a T5/2.4T/2.5T, then all of this stuff will just be getting swapped straight over to the new car.

Meant to say, think I'm heading to track attack at Wigan on 19th of October for a shakedown if anyone's interested? Will most likely be there with the type-R boys, my mate in his silly 500+hp supercharged EP3 might be there, and another in a much more reasonable NA FN2 with some interesting bits under the bonnet. If anyone fancies it let me know, hmu on Instagram @theridingviking.

Cheers all [emoji106]

PL [emoji1236][emoji596][emoji1236][emoji594][emoji594][emoji1236][emoji596][emoji1236][emoji123][emoji123][emoji123]

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[ProjectLolvo]

Incoming with another hairbrained idea here, found a garage called Shemtech(tek?) that will do a 300+hp tune for the 2.0T with a 16T and 550cc injectors if all is well with the health of the engine. Mine flew through at SGR performance on the dyno, so I have been looking into and reckon me and my pal at Carwurx will be able to handle the swap from 12T to 16T, and fit the injectors same time.

Has anyone here got any experience of that particular swap? Have read that if I get a newer 16T rather than the 2002 that would go with my engine, the water/oil cooling lines are on the opposite side, but other than that it's just a straight swap. Does anyone know if this is correct? Won't just be swapping the bits and doing nothing else, will be adding a boost gauge to make sure all is well, and then immediately taking the car to be tuned before any driving is done. Have seen some that are outputting north of 300hp about on their Facebook page and on youtube, couldn't believe it myself but have spoken to the guys there and they seem like genuine 5-cyl enthusiasts, so am keen to look into it. I'm aware also bigger intercooler/oil cooler is recommended too, and am scoping out parts for that as we speak. Just keen to get some more hp, handling is belting at with car now sat a shade over 1200kg, I'm ridiculously excited to see how it'll go with 300bhp. Seriously, normal people have sex dreams, I just dream about Volvos going fast with flames shooting out of the exhaust.
Weird, it's like, I can *feel* that my wallet is afraid.

Anyhoo, if anyone has any advice then let me know asap, as all being well, this will be my birthday treat to myself and will be done by end of October. Might even cancel the track day if it isn't done fully before then.

Peace out all [emoji123][emoji1236][emoji123][emoji1236][emoji123]

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[ed-oorklep]

Incoming with another hairbrained idea here, found a garage called Shemtech(tek?) that will do a 300+hp tune for the 2.0T with a 16T and 550cc injectors if all is well with the health of the engine. Mine flew through at SGR performance on the dyno, so I have been looking into and reckon me and my pal at Carwurx will be able to handle the swap from 12T to 16T, and fit the injectors same time.

Has anyone here got any experience of that particular swap? Have read that if I get a newer 16T rather than the 2002 that would go with my engine, the water/oil cooling lines are on the opposite side, but other than that it's just a straight swap. Does anyone know if this is correct? Won't just be swapping the bits and doing nothing else, will be adding a boost gauge to make sure all is well, and then immediately taking the car to be tuned before any driving is done. Have seen some that are outputting north of 300hp about on their Facebook page and on youtube, couldn't believe it myself but have spoken to the guys there and they seem like genuine 5-cyl enthusiasts, so am keen to look into it. I'm aware also bigger intercooler/oil cooler is recommended too, and am scoping out parts for that as we speak. Just keen to get some more hp, handling is belting at with car now sat a shade over 1200kg, I'm ridiculously excited to see how it'll go with 300bhp. Seriously, normal people have sex dreams, I just dream about Volvos going fast with flames shooting out of the exhaust.
Weird, it's like, I can *feel* that my wallet is afraid.

Anyhoo, if anyone has any advice then let me know asap, as all being well, this will be my birthday treat to myself and will be done by end of October. Might even cancel the track day if it isn't done fully before then.

Peace out all [emoji123][emoji1236][emoji123][emoji1236][emoji123]

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I asked the guy who tuned my 2.0T about this and indeed this is possible and fairly easy, however the clutch on these 2.0T's are not that great (Volvo went cheap here), they will be ok up to 260-270 hp but anything over that you will have to upgrade that as well or expect to burn through it really quickly.
But if you are planning on that anyways, then it's easy peasy (or rather, not that hard) ;-).
The risk of cylinder cracks on the 2.0T's is a lot less then on the 2.5 T's though, because the wall thickness is similar to the T5's (both the 2.3 and 2.4's) and not as small as the 2.5T's. So the engine will be able to cope with these amounts of power.
However, keep in mind it will never be a T5 you'll always have the characteristics of the smaller engine capacity.

[ProjectLolvo]

Ey up all, project is certainly not dead, just been ££££££££££ mad busy with work for a while and didn't want to post something half-a**ed.

As it goes, the Lolvo is now at what I'm comfortable calling mk1, there will beore stuff happening next year but I'm now torn between building a 2006 Fiesta ST150 up as a hill-climb and time-attack project, or starting a 740/940 build for drifting, so not sure what I'm gonna invest my time and money in just yet. Still a few things need tidying on the Lolvo (most important are 4-wheel alignment, braided brake lines) but the most difficult bits have been done.

Not sure how far I'd updated the thread but I'm now up to here with modifications

-16T turbo swap done (more info below)
-550cc injectors fitted
-custom remap (no idea on bhp, dyno next month [emoji106])
-full custom exhaust fabricated and fitted
-UltraRacing front and rear upper strut brace
-Powerflex polybush top engine mount
-BC Racing BR series coilovers
-H&R 15mm spacers front and rear
-Sparco Sprint-L seat and harness with custom seat mounts
-337mm XC90 brake conversion with custom copper lines
-cheapo chinese boost gauge and recirc plumbed, for turbo flutter and for extra fast&furious shenanigans
-Goodyear Eagle f1 as5s on front
-Contisport winter on the rear

So to start, the turbo was bought from a dude called Andy in Wirral, and was originally from an S60 T5, I bought it for £130, and it wasn't in bad nick. I sent it to the turbocentre in Wakefield, who re-did all seals and gaskets, cleaned it, and re-core'd it with a billet aluminium 6+6 wheel, all for £380, we then fitted that before injectors and mapping. I took it to see Shem in Nottingham for a tune and to have the injectors fitted, long story short, after a lot of messing about and two separate visits, I finally got what I wanted out of them. Jack at Flux Fabrications in the same unit was a lot easier to deal with if I'm honest, and I've heard a lot of good stuff about Shem but he didn't seem all that arsed about me or about the car. Oh well, bygones be bygones and all that crap, Lolvo got done either way.

Jack made me a downpipe and 200-cell Magnaflow sport-cat, which while legal and MoT-able, now sounds ££££££££££ absurd, I absolutely love it and so do my mates. Pops bangs and overrun like a touring car. It definitely needs another tune post-exhaust, but will get around to that next few months. Might pop down to SGR in Trafford again, they were awesome last time I dealt with them.

Where I'm up to now, I'm trying to find another set of Orestes alloys to wrap with semi-slicks (Nankang NS2s sound ok to you lot?), and after a Gripper diff, as well as pricing up a Snabb/do88 intercooler kit (looks crazy pricey though) Also looking at a new steering wheel as mine is knackered and shiny/slippy af when my hands start to sweat, and getting a plan together for first track day with the Type-R lot.
Should raise a few eyebrows, that's for damn sure.

Floated around a few ideas with my mate who is building a rally car (nutter has 2 original Renault 5 Tour de Corse spec cars) like Tractive dogbox and diff, from the S60 Challenge touring cars in Sweden, but was quoted £7500 for a second hand box so that's probably not going to happen haha. You never know though! Might win the lottery or get into drug-dealing, and end up spending the lot on Volvos, that sounds fun...


Also had the first decent drive out since building the car to mk1 (weather has literally been sh**e since October), went to Buttertubs Pass in the yorkshire dales from where I live near Manchester, all B-roads all day, kicked its head in for a good hour or so, and all was fine. Had a few issues with misfiring and dirty spark plugs but replaced all them and coil packs as well to be safe and all sound.

Anyhow here's some pictures and stuff. Let me know if there's anything I need to be on the lookout for, or if there's something I can be doing as a next step that I've missed. Happy Volvo-ing to you all, and a happy new year (I'm stuck in ££££££££££ work today so *buzzing* with that)

Stay viking yo, peaceeeee [emoji1236][emoji1236][emoji1236][emoji594][emoji594][emoji594][emoji91][emoji91][emoji91][emoji594][emoji594][emoji594][emoji1236][emoji1236][emoji1236]

also LOOK AT MY ££££££££££ TSHIRT MY SISTER HAD MADE FOR ME

STRAIGHT MF VOLVOGANGSTAhttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200101/60c7a0bbad44b895c93030bbf32134ac.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200101/96f6de6f361fb64034240792833c73e2.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200101/2b02b87bfd218cb4cbe7f7ad23f0cf76.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200101/da347da62008ed5a9ece1faaafc94764.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200101/6705254a3d0c97806448575f31f6517a.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200101/598e0daf880cc3e1924889f0c93bb185.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200101/b9b82cbd661884617456db2670224a17.jpg

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[Dangerous Dave]

Great update, good to see it coming along nicely.

Love the Tshirt :D

[MoleT-5R]

Nice update and as above, great t-shirt.

As for a gripper diff you could be in luck, contact Dean Wood (WoodyT5 on here), he currently has an M66 with a gripper fitted, that will slip straight in and is about to part with it afaik, you can PM him through VPC or PM me and I'll put you in touch if your interested.

[ProjectLolvo]

Cheers pal, knocked it out the park with that one didn't she? Haha.


I might well be in need of that yeah. Although does the M66 diff fit with a M56 box? Thought they were completely different, gripper website has a load of different ones for sale and thats just for the M56. If that's not the case though it could be something that I might splash out on with January wage haha.

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[MoleT-5R]

Cheers pal, knocked it out the park with that one didn't she? Haha.


I might well be in need of that yeah. Although does the M66 diff fit with a M56 box? Thought they were completely different, gripper website has a load of different ones for sale and thats just for the M56. If that's not the case though it could be something that I might splash out on with January wage haha.

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Sorry I meant the whole box (m66 complete with gripper fitted) it would slip straight in as its currently in a S60, as for fitting just the diff into an m56 I couldn't say, I'd imagine it would be different, but I have not checked tbh.

[ProjectLolvo]

Sorry I meant the whole box (m66 complete with gripper fitted) it would slip straight in as its currently in a S60, as for fitting just the diff into an m56 I couldn't say, I'd imagine it would be different, but I have not checked tbh.Ah I wondered what that was about, to be honest I've not a clue what the swap would be like. Is there not like an issue what with the M66 being 6-speed and having to have something different to select reverse? I've had an absolute nightmare with linkages on my box (M56 late 2001/early 2002 design) due to it being literally the only gearbox that uses the ball joint things on either end of the linkage instead of the clip+pin like off literally every other Volvo, so if I were to swap to something with more parts readily available with a diff already fitted that might be good for me.

Any clue how much of a pain in the penis a gearbox swap would actually be?

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[ProjectLolvo]

I am assuming it's a M66 FWD as well, not sure what model that would be out of but just hoping it isn't a 4WD, I would be completely out of my depth by that point haha.

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[kmb]

Nice chrimbo presents, glad you're still making progress!

[MoleT-5R]

I am assuming it's a M66 FWD as well, not sure what model that would be out of but just hoping it isn't a 4WD, I would be completely out of my depth by that point haha.

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S60 t5 fwd , should have ball type linkages afaik. So it should be a straight forward swap, a part possibly for the gear selector....reverse could be in a different position. Also having thought a bit more about gripper diffs, I think I heard Tim Williams say that m66 gripper is all you can get these days and they fit the m56, worth checking as may not be remembering it all correctly

[ProjectLolvo]

Ey up all, late update here but been busy with work as usual to get some dough to one side so I can sort intercooler and diff before I call it a do for a bit.

Had a few issues today to say the least though. Basically, took the car to TGS Dyno in Stockport, and when I tapped into the vacuum line that goes to their boost gauge to get a read, all boost disappeared. Did 3 runs, absolutely nothing and about 200bhp. Rubbish. I took her into the car park and re-connected everything, put the hose loop back in for the PCV and connected the boost gauge back to the vacuum line coming out of the intake manifold. Car was boosting again, so put it back on the dyno to get a miserable 220bhp, with it struggling in the low end.

Paid the guys for their time, and took it home. I went out for a blast just to see if it felt any different, and boost gauge seemed normal (just over 1 bar at peak) along with power delivery feeling normal (crazy turbo lag, plenty of ££££££££ top end). It doesn't seem like 220bhp when I'm driving, the first map I had was 228bhp in like June or something, the current map feels like waaay more than that when I'm booting it about.

So my question is this, does the S60 hate rolling roads? Do I need to find a hub Dyno? Have I been stiffed on the remap that was done after the turbo, injectors, downpipe and cat? I'm at a loss as to what to do, no pipes leaking, no induction loss, no misfire, no smoke. Basically no problems at all apart from when it's on the dyno it feels massively down on power. Printout read 220bhp but she can't be making 8hp less than the remap it had with stock turbo/injectors/downpipe can it???

Any help or suggestions would be very kindly appreciated, pulling my f****ng hair out here honestly.

Cheers [emoji108][emoji1236][emoji594][emoji1236][emoji594][emoji1236]

Oh, and forgot to say, yes still interested in diff, just got this to sort first and make sure it's doing what I want, then intercooler and final tune, then diff, ta[emoji106]

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[ProjectLolvo]

Another little update here, seems I may have been a touch hasty. Have been back to the car to have a poke about, and decided to see whether or not my cheapo boost gauge worked better if I tapped into the line traditionally rather than the youtube fast&furious way which included a turbo flutter noise for my own personal juvenile amusement. Stuck the t-piece on the vacuum hose and just jammed the boost gauge hose onto it, and hey presto. Arse dyno says there is bags more boost. Don't even know what to say to be honest. I think I'm probably just a f****ng idiot who likes turbo noises, so the first thing I'm doing (after another dyno run, and possibly an intercooler and map) is getting some sort of TCV that I can use to make noises and not lose boost.

Peaceeeee [emoji108][emoji1236][emoji594]

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