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I did a Volvo thing.


zeitgeist57
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I have a bottle of the green volvo powersteering fluid if you want it :p

 

I'll take it!

 

 

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Also, test-fit all the wheels as I wanted to roll on them to see if there's any vibrations. The tires are super chewed up from the P.O. dragging stance...even with some hard and old mismatched tires, barely any vibration so I'm happy with getting some new tires.

 

 

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I posted up some 255/35/19 Continentals I got from a friend on CR but they haven't sold yet (left tire in pic above), and now that I stumbled on these 19s for the Volvo that already had 235/45s on them (on the right) I'm just going to use them. Yes, they will probably rub but fuck it...almost new, name-brand tires FTW. Car gods were looking out for me. :)

 

 

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Vogtland springs for the S60R/S60 AWD didn't look like they'd fit the rears (finger pointing to the stock shock with spring seat...wound to a 5" diameter where the Vogtlands are 6") but after doing some eyeballing it looks like they will clear the rear halfshafts and control arms, so I'm going to install them. Spring bottom left is for the front, bottom right looks to be for the rears but I'll do some measuring before installation.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Sean (Crossle) suggested Wheel Medic for center caps, saying that they have a bunch of leftovers. Well...that is an understatement: they have a whole ROOM of wheels, hub rings, bolts and lugnuts, etc...

 

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For not knowing exactly who made these wheels (but figuring these heavy-ass 19”s are from China) Joel and I brought in a wheel and started going to town, test-fitting what they had.

 

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I don’t know what “Monte Titano” wheels are (one of the ladies said it is a Discount Tire brand) but the caps were a perfect fit and brand new for $20. Nice to check it off our list!

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Dude, I just bought caps. Plus, I’m avoiding the whole “prancing moose” thing.

 

Also, Vogtland springs won’t fit the rear :mad: Amazon seller is saying that I missed the return window so I’m SOL. Gonna fight this guy for a bit, but may see if there are other spring options out there for the non-R AWD S60...

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  • 3 weeks later...

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So...with the Volvo on QuickJacks since before Thanksgiving, I didn't have a ton of time to work on dropping the car. It was mostly evenings, when I wasn't focused on kids/holiday schtuff. It's CR 2019...a lot of you guys know the deal by now. :)

 

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Unfortunately, after further measuring and some research, I apparently received FWD lowering springs, not S60R/S60 AWD springs. You can see how tight the coil is around the rear shock. I had a difficult time with Hangar Racing, the Amazon seller. At first, they said they would consult Vogtland on what's up. After at least a couple of weeks, they never responded. I requested a refund through Amazon, and they said "Tough luck, the return period expired for you." These were uninstalled springs! I was busy dealing with life...by the time I got around to wrenching it was less than 60 days from order. I was pissed, but for $220 springs I wasn't going to waste more time/energy/$$$ at this point. Left a negative review on Amazon for those f-kers aaaaannnndddd...

 

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OF COURSE I CUT THE FACTORY SPRINGS. :lol: Do you like my wife's new bracelets for Christmas?? She didn't.

 

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The front Vogtland springs fit perfectly. Check out that difference! I could almost put on the springs without compressors. Matched the Vogtlands with new struts, and top/bottom rubber spring mounts. Also replaced the end links front and rear all around.

 

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Apologies for the pic as I set the car down late last night. At first (as always) the drop in the front was noticable, but not enough. The rear was hilariously high, like nothing happened. I was aware that this may be the case with AWD S60's as forum commenters said the rears on some cars want to maintain their ground clearance.

 

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After driving it late last night and around town this morning, the rear settled more than a finger's width...still a lot of wheel gap, but it handles much better and the ride is still surprisingly comfortable despite the 1-1.5" drop and firmer feel. Once the 19"s are on it, I'll re-evaluate the rear springs to see if I have room to drop it further.

 

Despite the issue with the rear springs, overall I'm happy with the way it turned out.

Edited by zeitgeist57
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  • 1 month later...

Big thanks to Sean @ Northend for helping me with the wheels! The old tires were so stretched and hard (like when I’m with your mom), that Wheel Medic had to remove them. Sean mounted and balanced the 255 Continentals on the 19” wheels. TIME FOR PAINT...

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Especially considering these are $100 wheels, with free tires, I am really happy with the outcome. The Krylon gold looks surprisingly awesome :lol: will be interested in how 3 coats of paint hold up.

Drove it last night on Bethel/Henderson Road area and it never rubbed or bottomed out. Going to need to lower the rear a bit but the fitment turned out great!

 

by chance did you get shorter struts for dropped springs?

 

No.

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I think they look great! Apparently you were able to get your threading problem sorted out.

 

Out of curiosity, why avoid the prancing moose? I figured that would be one of the coolest things about having a Volvo "racecar".

 

Thanks, Rick! I stopped thinking about the prancing moose because:

1) They are pretty played out, IMO

2) I'll ask Joel again, but I think even he didn't want them on "his" car.

 

The wheels look great!

 

Awesome car. Between this and your truck and some of your other rides, you do a damn good job of making them really cool and not spending much money to do it.

 

Thanks, bud. Yes, I'll be happy when I sell the CTS-V only because I hardly ever drive it and I really am having a blast with lightly modding these cheaper cars. It helps that my son is really into the car scene these days and he's 8.5years old. Even my '79 Lincoln at $2k purchase price puts a smile on my face.

 

If there's any wish I had, it's to do more YouTube videos with my kids showcasing the builds, but I've been really busy and not had enough time...bouncing outside to do some wrenching with little notice because I have an hour-hour/half time frame and the weather works out...

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  • 5 months later...

It's been awhile since I updated this thread (THANKS COVID) but good updates to report:

 

- Sold the CTS-V. This is the new family hauler for me with the babyseat base LATCH'd to the backseat...and I have to say even with the LS/6-speed I don't miss the V that much. It was a great car, but I've been customizing the Volvo and considering the cost I've grown to really like this car.

 

- Swapped out the HU-650 Volvo stereo as it would cut out randomly. Checked online and a lot of strong recommendations for good ol' Crutchfield. I haven't ordered anything from them in almost 20 years :lol: but they had a great deal on a CarPlay-enabled Sony unit, with pre-wired harnesses for the Volvo and Scosche install kit for less than $300 all in. Considering I was looking at cheap Chinese crap from Amazon and eBay, I couldn't be happier with this thing. Sounds awesome, great to have my phone playing Spotify while the Sony unit shows Waze directions...it's been an awesome leap forward for a 2005 car.

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- The big thing: got the AWD system fixed (vid above). Ever since buying this thing last year, the Haldex system has not worked. This is a common thing for older, normie-driven Volvo's if you don't keep up with the maintenance. I replaced the rear-diff filter, pump, and fluid. Figuring the DEM was fried, and also seeing research on SwedeSpeed that some other guys use V8 XC90 DEM's as an upgrade (see the YouTube video below), I looked for a couple of months on the right DEM and picked one up on eBay for $150.

 

Installed it last weekend, and proceeded to do an embarassing dad-dance.

https://i.imgur.com/m2NTUNh.mp4

 

Drove the Volvo around and there is now a RWD-bias my son and I can feel through corners and under acceleration. It's still an automatic, but the fun-factor on this thing just went up 10x. I'm very happy with the way this worked out! :woowoo:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Quick explanation on the Haldex AWD system, in case you care: There is an angle gear (FWD diff that sends power to the rear driveshaft) that's always spinning. The rear diff uses a computer (DEM) to sense driving dynamics and tell a hydraulic pump (AOC unit) to pressurize a wet clutch pack to engage the spinning driveshaft to the rear wheels through the diff when AWD is needed. There's even a tiny fluid filter to keep the fluid clean. When the fluid is dirty, or any wear issue causing the pump voltage to spike, the DEM is easily fried. These are available new for up to $1500(!!) but junkers sell them for $150-250 on forums and eBay.

Edited by zeitgeist57
Fixed YT link
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Hell yeah!

 

I truly enjoy reading your threads and following your progress on these vehicles :thumbup:

 

Thanks, Steve - I may have said this before, but I try to put as much detail as I can so even I remember these projects years later. :) I was looking at my old CTS-V, BMW, Corvette, and Passat posts recently...

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Sweet!

 

What was the model of radio that you got? Been looking for one to put in my sons car.

 

Sony XAV-AX1000 - $212.04 for an "open box item"...it was in perfect condition and I had to cut the tape to get it out. Looked brand new.

Antenna adapter - $3.27

Metra Wiring Harness - $3.71

Scosche Dash Kit - $6.55

Crutchfield ReadyHarness Service - $24.99

 

Now that I'm looking at my email invoice, I think I stumbled on some super sale when I ordered it back on 5/26. Paid $268 shipped for everything. I've wired car stereos many times (just did my '79 Lincoln earlier this year with all new speaker wiring too) but if you're plugging an aftermarket stereo into a factory wiring harness on a new car, thay ReadyHarness Service is a no-brainer for the cost. wires are cut/crimped to perfect length, and plugs right in.

 

EDIT: Just checked Crutchfield and their out of inventory. :( You can also easily plug in a backup camera which I didn't do but thought was a nice feature. Also plugged in a mic and phone calls are crystal clear for me and whomever I'm talking to.

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Drove the Volvo around and there is now a RWD-bias my son and I can feel through corners and under acceleration. It's still an automatic, but the fun-factor on this thing just went up 10x. I'm very happy with the way this worked out! :woowoo:

 

What you're feeling is not RWD bias, it's simply that the rear is now doing something.

 

Haldex maxes out at 50/50 which I'm sure you know.

 

Awesome that this mod is out there for those cars, pretty cool! I had a HPA competition haldex controller on my Golf R, made a big difference also.

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You’re right, Aaron. What I should’ve said is the XC90 DEM starts out giving power to the rear wheels and engages them earlier depending on the driving conditions.

 

An enthusiastic addition of RWD power, instead of a “More RWD bias“.

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  • 1 month later...
Can you do this with the s60r also?

 

Sorry Aaron - didn't see your response. The S60R seems to be it's own animal (adjustable 4c suspension, different engine, interior, body bits) so I wouldn't be surprised if the rear-diff DEM is also different.

 

Quick update: I ended up buying a DiCE cable from a China supplier, uOBDII.com or some shit like that. Ryan (unfunnyryan) here on CR was AWESOME in letting me use an old Lenovo laptop and setting it up. I thought I would need it for the DEM (with VIDA to communicate with the Volvo's systems) but just plugging in the DEM fixed the AWD system.

 

However... since I already had the DiCE cable and laptop :ninja:

 

https://hiltontuning.com/

 

I bought a Stage 2 tune from Hilton Tuning...and promptly discovered a few weaknesses on the car. The download of the tune and reflash was very easy. However, the boost was maaad inconsistent, and I found that an ignition coil died causing a cylinder misfire. Replaced that, and still had a P0101 MAF CEL. Pulled the MAF out and noticed flakes of an old leaf??? in the mesh. Cleaned it out and sprayed MAF cleaner and it seems much better...except that another ignition coil misfired. :lol: So I'm just replacing the last 3 out of 5 ignition coils I haven't yet replaced. This isn't unheard of, as 15 years and 114k miles sounds like the max life for these coil packs.

 

Rob Hilton @ Hilton Tuning has been great. They legit just use FB Messenger to communicate with clients, and their tuning software downloaded on my laptop allows for data logging that he can track. While I'm waiting for ignition coils this week, Rob reminded me to gap the plugs to .028". Having someone communicate with the Volvo knowledge they have is huge.

 

Looking forward to National Trail next Wednesday for T&T. :fuckyeah:

 

If the ignition coils and cleaned MAF smooth everything out, next (last) performance mod will be to delete the catalytic converter. I paid for the "cat-delete" option with the tune to not trigger a CEL. The reduced backpressure supposedly improves turbo response and maximizes the power from the Stage 2 tune.

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