Volvo C70 T5

[nunchukhamster]

Hi folks, this is the details of the work that's gone into (and continues) on my C70.

First things first, this is what it looked like when I bought it, June 2007 (only mod then was the black grill, I have an aversion to chrome which will become more obvious as these photo's continue :D)

http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x314/Nunchukhamster_photos/Car%20pics/2007_0727Volvo0003.jpg

Next up was a Volvo factory strutbrace to stiffen up the front end

http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x314/Nunchukhamster_photos/Car%20pics/2007_0728Volvo0001.jpg

And then a Powerflex top engine mount bush

http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x314/Nunchukhamster_photos/Car%20pics/Photo-0027.jpg

This photo was taken in Germany, before any engine mods were made. At the time the picture was taken (on an autobahn) the car was fully loaded with 3 weeks luggage, 2 adults and a full tank of fuel

http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x314/Nunchukhamster_photos/Car%20pics/DSC00101.jpg

After that trip, and a cambelt change & service, it was time to get serious. So, enter Don Norchi of Kalmar Union, the UK distributor for MTE Remaps. Possibly the best £500 I've ever spent :D On a dyno run a little while after (on a freezing cold day and trusting the figures from a dyno as much as you can) the car ran at 309bhp

http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x314/Nunchukhamster_photos/Car%20pics/Dyno.jpg

The rev limiter has moved to 7,250rpm, the 155mph speed limiter has also gone AWOL :D

Next up, it was time to sort out the looks of the front end more to my liking. So, purchase a set of projector headlamps and matched indicators, fit a 6000K HID kit and you have this

http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x314/Nunchukhamster_photos/Car%20pics/CleanFront.jpg

As you can see, all chrome has disappeared :D

Next was time to sort brakes. Set of BF Goodrich braided hoses all round and Police spec brake pads, job done (my car has the bigger 302mm brake discs already). I was also very lucky at this time because another friend on the T5D5 forum suddenly found a newly written of 850R in a scrappy, complete with full Koni suspension. Tony stripped it all off for me and dropped it to my mechanic for fitting. Cost? £120! Bargain!

Next stop was the Nurburgring, bloody good trip with a whole convoy of Volvo's generally causing chaos on the way there (have you ever seen a "P" reg 850 estate doing 170mph? I have, and I have the video!). Which reminds me, at some point along the way I've fited a cctv camera in the front air dam which records to an MP4 unit in my glovebox. However, as is it's habit, the Ring revealed a slight problem with my car.....a sticking front brake caliper. The smoke after the first lap was impressive in the extreme!! Anyway, got that sorted and had a bloody good time. Then it was back to England and time to decide what to do next.

[nunchukhamster]

Once back home Tim refurbed and painted up a spare set of calipers for me then whacked them on the car.

Not long after, another mate offered me a Ferrita SS catback exhaust for the car, so off I toddled and picked that up. Fitted it myself, never getting the car more than 6" off the ground :D

http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x314/Nunchukhamster_photos/Car%20pics/Tailpipe.jpg

(Now's probably a good time to point out that I am vaguely competent at working on my own car, but I have a severe back problem, hence why I tend to get it done by other folks)

There are other bits and pieces that have been fitted to the car at various times, I just forget when ;) So, there is also a JR performance air filter, work done to clean up air intake route, Powerflex bushes in the transmission torque rod and a boost gauge on the dash.

That gets us up until about September last year. Unfortunately, my dad became very ill (he passed away on 24th Feb this year) so the car was on the back burner for a while.

Not anymore though! Work has recommenced.

First off was to sort some electronics for the inside, so out with the very good factory headunit (but it won't play MP3s) and in with a dvd headunit, a DAB tuner and integration for my iPhone

http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x314/Nunchukhamster_photos/Car%20pics/Shiny/DSCF2667.jpg

See the gearknob in that pic? Scarily enough, that cost £80! They've actually gone up now to over £90. Thanks Mrs Hammy :D

Next I took out the "big block" grill and fitted a black mesh item, complete with a prancing Moose ;)

http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x314/Nunchukhamster_photos/Car%20pics/DSCF2496.jpg

Next, back up to Tim's for some new lower suspension arms, rear brakes and the fitting of a modified main engine mount. That was all done Weds of last week and the difference to turn-in and handling in fast reverse of direction turns is awesome.

Friday, the car went to have it's wheels refurbed (long overdue!!!), then today it had a full valet, so now it looks like this...

http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x314/Nunchukhamster_photos/Car%20pics/Shiny/DSCF2673.jpg

http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x314/Nunchukhamster_photos/Car%20pics/Shiny/DSCF2672.jpg

http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x314/Nunchukhamster_photos/Car%20pics/Shiny/DSCF2679.jpg

And I finally fitted it's new Nurburgring badge (bought last year at the track)

http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x314/Nunchukhamster_photos/Car%20pics/Shiny/DSCF2661.jpg

[Ang]

I have to say I am impressed, looks great and goes great, what more do you want? Apart from that is access to those videos ;)

[AndysR]

Very nice Mr NCH :cool:

[nunchukhamster]

Apart from that is access to those videos ;)

The white blur down the left-hand side at about 1m30s is Tim's 850 (I was doing 120-130mph at the time)

http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=510894011584355172

And this should be a full lap of the Ring (in 2 parts)

http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=361708584946876102

http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=-2864062272149153921

(I think those links are correct, I can't play them at work to check).

[Kerry_T-5R]

Really nice set of mods! Handling & power upgraded - it is one tidy C70. I think the best external mod you have done is the headlights as they look so much better than the "before" picture, the whole car is dark and your new wheel colour really sets it off!

Kerry

[Ang]

That film footage was really good, cheers for putting up the link:d

[macca]

Very nice car, thanks for showing us all of that :) Love the colour and with all the dark bits on it too.

Also be good to see it on a proper dyno, the one at PE is an aging pile of crap (I've been there several times and nearly saw it blow up). I'm suprised that wheelspin made it read lower though, did you see it do that or is that what was explained to you? A dyno works by calculating the resistance at the tyres in to torque and then in to power at the wheels. The rest is guesswork, ie. flywheel power. If you get wheelspin there is less resistance and the dyno will think there is more power.

I'm hoping to organise a trip to Surrey Rolling Road soon, once a few projects are finished as I know there's quite a few people who want to go already. Their DynoDynamics road is a very nice bit of kit, well set up and well run to give very accurate results. Also not being tuners means they have no vested interest in fudging your figures! :)

[mills]

wow, im loving this :drool: makes a nice change to see some non japanese projects unfolding. what was it like going round the Nurburg ring?
and how do you find the vredestein tyres? my mrs has a set on her car and her folks also go for them too.

[nunchukhamster]

With regards to the dyno, I don't believe any bits of paper from any dyno TBH hence my comment , the best thing you can do whilst on a dyno is get an AFR plot in my opinion on a T5, the rest is guesswork/operator error. There is no such thing as a calibrated dyno, so no 2 are comparable (and yes, I know how they work). Hence, I have bits of paper saying 309bhp and 283bhp for the car with the same setup on different dyno's (the latter being a DD). BHP figures are only good for pissing contests really, what the car can do with the power is the important thing.

The Ring was a good laugh, first time I'd been since a rainy day back in 2004 :D

As there were a bunch of us there (mostly V70's & 850's) we got some odd looks in the car park, followed by some rather more respectful looks after folks had seen the cars doing their thing :) You've never seen anything as funny as the face of the guy who's driving a shiny new Porsche GT3 with his foot to the floor when it gets overtaken by a "P" plate 850 estate going up a hill :D

The Vredestein tyres are very good, this is the 3rd car I've fitted them to have been impressed with them every time.

[mills]

The Ring was a good laugh, first time I'd been since a rainy day back in 2004 :D

As there were a bunch of us there (mostly V70's & 850's) we got some odd looks in the car park, followed by some rather more respectful looks after folks had seen the cars doing their thing :) You've never seen anything as funny as the face of the guy who's driving a shiny new Porsche GT3 with his foot to the floor when it gets overtaken by a "P" plate 850 estate going up a hill :D

The Vredestein tyres are very good, this is the 3rd car I've fitted them to have been impressed with them every time.


i can imagine, kinda like the face of a guy in an impreza getting overtaken by a metro (with a 1.8 vvc lump :eyes:) :sign_lol:

[nunchukhamster]

Hmmm, been slacking a bit of late and sorting other stuff, but did just waste a couple of hours out in the sun....

New (less chavtastic) boost gauge fitted, finally sorted out my aerial up/down button properly and finished off the gear linkage bush modification.

I've got a set of 470cc green injectors waiting to go on (just got to do some data-logging and send the files off to MTE to get my map tweaked, may also get the rear lambda sensor readings "defaulted" so I can mess about with my CAT a bit) and an uprated IPD rear-ARB to go on (being fitted on the 27th).

So, think all that is left before my 3,000 mile european roadtrip (which includes a brief stop at the Nurburgring, then on to the Stelvio Pass and Brenner Pass amongst others) in August/September is a regular service and aircon regas, then in October on go the Carbotech XP8's ready for my proper Nurburgring visit for this year :D

[macca]

Sounds like a nice few bits, I look forward to seeing this one day.

What injectors do they have in as standard?

[nunchukhamster]

Sounds like a nice few bits, I look forward to seeing this one day.

What injectors do they have in as standard?

Ah, all depends on year of the car LOL

There are 4 colour injectors which the T5's and R's came out of the factory with....

Orange 315cc
White 350cc
Blue 395cc <---- these are what I have
Green 450cc (but usually only flow about 420cc when tested)

The greens I have sat in Tim's garage are a proven 470cc, so should be fun. At the moment, due to the fact that my car responded very well to the remap, my duty cycle is up around 92% on the blues which is BAD (maximum should really be around 80%).

I'll try and make it to a meet soon, just been a bit busy of late, next definite one I'm at is an openday that one of the Volvo maindealers organises for us.

Alternatively, feel free to tag along in November......

[Kerry_T-5R]

Sounds good, looking forward to seeing the pics and hearing whether the IPD anti roll bar makes any difference! Did you get the ARB from Kalmar Union?

[nunchukhamster]

Sounds good, looking forward to seeing the pics and hearing whether the IPD anti roll bar makes any difference! Did you get the ARB from Kalmar Union?

Yep, it's coming from Don, no-one else seems to sell the rear one by itself, which is odd as it really sorts out the understeer on these cars.

[macca]

Lol.. 92% is very bad! And very risky, you're a braver man than I :D

I'm amazed you guys don't have nervous breakdowns dealing with Don, after hearing the hassle Kerry has every time!

[nunchukhamster]

Lol.. 92% is very bad! And very risky, you're a braver man than I :D

I'm amazed you guys don't have nervous breakdowns dealing with Don, after hearing the hassle Kerry has every time!

Ah, if I was running an older T5 with the Motronic 4.3 or 4.4 system I wouldn't dare run it on these injectors, but the ME7 system I have fitted is a much cleverer bit of kit. In theory, the blues should be fine with the standard re-map, but my car is regarded as a bit of a freak with the way it responded to the remap, the concensus seems to be that when the engine was originally built is must of been absolutely spot-on with all tolerances etc (yes, that makes me a spawny bastid as it was only the 2nd C70 I looked at).

The only problem folks tend to have with Don is getting hold of him sometimes ;) However, once you meet him in person you tend to understand, he is very much of the old-school, "my word is my bond" (just think Stirling Moss and you'll get the idea :D) and he hasn't really grasped this "new fangled computer technology" yet.

The products he sells are superb though (and AFAIK he is yet to fail to beat anyone else's prices on parts). I may be slightly biased though as I tend to get quick answers from him as he's as much a friend as a supplier ;)

[macca]

You sound like you're very lucky there then, well done. Prime base for modifying if that's the case too!

Yes, Don sounds very good and good prices etc. It's just funny watching Kerry try to get hold of him, even when he's been trying for ages to pay him after receiving parts! I'm sure some not-so-nice people could take advantage of his trust, though I hope this doesn't happen too much.

[Kerry_T-5R]

You sound like you're very lucky there then, well done. Prime base for modifying if that's the case too!

Yes, Don sounds very good and good prices etc. It's just funny watching Kerry try to get hold of him, even when he's been trying for ages to pay him after receiving parts! I'm sure some not-so-nice people could take advantage of his trust, though I hope this doesn't happen too much.

Don't remind me! I had to chase him for 2 weeks to pay him! Thats the wrong way round.... He is a very nice chap and does some excellent parts and deals - If I get hold of him, I get my parts from him.

[nunchukhamster]

Just heard, my IPD ARB has arrived at MRG, ready for the 27th :D

[nunchukhamster]

Well, after the extended delay the IPD ARB is finally on, and so are the 470cc injectors. I need to adjust my boost gauge, I keep hitting the 1.5 BAR warning buzzer :D

[Kerry_T-5R]

Well, after the extended delay the IPD ARB is finally on, and so are the 470cc injectors. I need to adjust my boost gauge, I keep hitting the 1.5 BAR warning buzzer :D

Sounds good to me! :) What do you think of the ARB?

[nunchukhamster]

Sorry for delay, been very busy lately.

The ARB is excellent, much reduced understeer.

I have a new shiny toy being fitted on the 30th.....

http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x314/Nunchukhamster_photos/Photo0089.jpg

Other than that, just been playing with the lights, have now got LED strips instead of just single bulb sidelights, looks much better IMO, will take pics when I remember.

[macca]

Looks nice, is it custom made or do they do off-the-shelf for your car? Where's it from?

[nunchukhamster]

Custom job, one of the guys on T5D5 had a contact, they made 15 of them, they were delivered last week, there are only 2 unsold now I think. £165 a go, which is about half the cost from other suppliers and they are superb quality.

Couple of quick DRL pics as promised....

http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x314/Nunchukhamster_photos/Car%20pics/drls1.jpg

http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x314/Nunchukhamster_photos/Car%20pics/drls2.jpg

I think it looks MUCH better than just the single bulb in the centre of the lens.

[Kerry_T-5R]

Looks great, do you know how easy or hard it is to fit? I read that the mounting points dont match up exactly?

I bet you are glad you got the arb, I had to buy a set of those IPD's aswell - I thought they make an incredible difference!

Kerry