Wow! Congrats, keep both cars!! 

anaya661 wrote:

Wow! Congrats, keep both cars!! 

I wish I could.  I've grown rather fond of it.  Sadly, finances come into play in their usual buzzkill fashion.

I wouldn't be surprised if the engine covers served a 3rd function: reducing underhood NVH.

Subbed for more pics and info. Nice purchase! Please do a comprehensive road test/ review.

Oh, and there's no way that has too much power for fwd. I've had more power and lots more tq in the gti than that, and i still need moar. Admittedly, it's tough to get used to a torquey fwd car after the flypaper-like grip of awd, but you'll quickly acclimate and learn to love the way a 2wd car puts more power to the ground at higher speeds without all that drivetrain loss. You'll also learn to trust the amazing surefootedness modern stability/ traction control programs impart in rainy and snowy weather.

My only visual Issue, as I have with so many newer cars, is the George Forman grille fog light surround plastic. In so many cars it isnt a real open grille. I'd love an open honeycomb! Which is something for me to say being the trypophobe that I am 

Last edited by anaya661 (2012-04-29 02:55:03)

Just posted this on the C30 forum in the "top 5 likes and dislikes for new owners" thread.

----------------------------
After less than a week, I've got a list together:

Like:
  1)  Power - it comes in at an unbelievably low rpm for a 2.5l engine, and there is hardly any turbo lag
  2)  Comfort - the miscellaneous comfort/luxury bits are nice.  Keyless entry, climate control, steering wheel controls, etc.  Not necessary, but nice.
  3)  Styling - no surprise.  I bought the damn thing in the first place, after all.
  4)  Steering ratio - the quicker steering ratio means I can keep my hands in proper position through tighter turns, although it does require a little more precision on the freeway
  5)  USB port on sound system - it's nice to put some songs on a flash drive for whatever suits my mood. 
 
Dislike:
  1)  Pedal spacing - heel/toe just isn't that easy.  The accelerator needs to extend farther down and the brake pedal needs to be closer to it
  2)  Pedal feel - they're too soft.  I'm accustomed to more pedal effort.  I'm getting used to the clutch, but the brake pedal should be more firm
  3)  Suspension - while much better than the standard model, the R-Design still needs work.  I should be able to come into a corner hot, brake hard, transition to cornering, and get on the gas.  I can do that, but the car squirms around with a vague feeling, and the DTSC light starts flashing at me.  The damping isn't right, and there's too much body roll, particularly in the front.  I guess I've spoiled myself with the suspension I put together on my last car, and have purchased a luxury/sport coupe, not a sports car.  Oh, well, I like to tinker, and this gives me something to do.
  4)  Speaking of brakes, just braking hard with a little turning makes the car squirm.  There's too much initial bite, so they're not as progressive as I'd like, but a pad change will likely cure that.
  5)  Not enough lateral support on the seats
  6)  General visibility - it's adequate, but that's it.  The dash is high and the view to the rear isn't particulary good
  7)  I had to pay extra for a cargo cover?  Seriously?
  8)  Rear armrest doesn't fold up - minor, but it's more of a complaint about stupid Americans and their lawyers than anything else
  9)  Center display - it both shows smudges and reflects a lot.  Not always easy to see.

lizzardo wrote:

thymighty wrote:

It still looks very similar to the 2.4l in the 850 in my driveway.   The amount of plastic on the C30 seems like nothing compared to oh, say, a GTI.

Thanks for breaking down the parts content Lizzardo.  I'm glad to see not much has changed under the new ownership.  I don't think production will cease in Europe, but I do think Chinese parts content is inevitable.

It was all from the window sticker.  I don't know when they added that information.  I don't think my Linear's had it.  I'll look later when I get out the Linear Files.

All that plastic is kind of a bummer, since I really like machinery.  It serves two purposes though:

1)  Managing airflow is critical for cooling, especially on turbocharged engines.  Even the battery has a cover with a cooling duct to it.
2)  It's cheaper to mold a plastic part than it is to put a decent finish on metal.  When they doesn't show, rough castings are good enough.

I believe the parts composition sticker is a somewhat recent development.  I first noticed it in on a new Nissan Altima in 2010, just before I bought my 9-2x.

The battery cooling duct has been present on every Volvo I've owned.  The 850 also gets a cooling duct from the grille to the large plastic box housing the various ECMs it has.

Sounds like a great car. I'd pass on the Bilsteins though. I had a set on my 2008 GTI and they were uncomfortably stiff. They snubbed out bumps excessively quickly and made the ride feel brutal as a result. I finally had to change them out because the ride drove me nuts.

Your best bet will probably be adjustable Koni Sports, assuming they are available for your car, but I'd try a mild rear swaybar upgrade before doing anything else, as this is going to create a dramatic improvement in the car's handling with less of an impact on ride quality than any other suspension upgrades. My 92x was super floaty and unstable on the highway when new, and it would move around and squirm under braking like your Volvo. My first suspension upgrade was the FHI 20 mm rsb and that basically solved those issues. Granted it didn't turn that car into a track star, but for road use it made the car far more sporty yet stable, both in a turn and in a straight line at high speed cruise.

Bunnspeed wrote:

Off topic for a sec: Lizzardo, I see you have a C30 with the Polestar tune. How do you like it, tuned? I was just sitting in a C30 a few hours ago at a car expo and talking about Polestar. What kind of power does it make with just a reflash?

Sorry to threadjack 

Replying here to negate the threadjack.  I think it's better this way.

The standard power/torque is 227/236, with the torque curve being pancake flat from 1500-5000rpm.  The do that to minimize torque steer.  They control boost, ignition, and cam timing to get that flatness.  The cam timing is apparently continuously variable, rather than a simpler two-stage system.  The Polestar tune ups that to 250/273 and loses the artificial flatness for a more conventional looking torque curve.

The Polestar tune is more expensive that than some other tunes and not as aggressive, but preserves the warranty.  Since I ordered the car that way, I don't have a back-to-back comparison, but people on the C30 forum that have upgraded after owning the car for some time are quite pleased with the difference.

I'll follow this up with information about my mods so far.  I waited about as long with this car as I did with my Linear.  That is, I started almost immediately.

  Bilstein's are probably the highest quality standard shock available, if you select wisely. Any "Sport" model s intended for aftermarket "tuner" springs, and typically are slightly shorter than their HD series. As such, they are typically over damped for factory stock springs. HDs are usually well matched to stock springs. I have Bilstein Sports on my Eibach ProKit equipped Audi //S6, it's a pretty close match (very slightly under damped in the rear, but there is a reasonable cost option of customer selected custom damping for Bilstein's, and the wait is apparently not long. The thing is, Bilstein's tend to last so long, I may never get the chance to try the option. My previous Audi 200q had Bilstein Sports and H&R Sports and my friend had an A4 with a Bilstein Coilover kit, and the damping was just about spot on.

Here's the list of mods:

- Debadged rear
- Elevate rear sway bar.
- All-season (rubber) mats all around. Sunglasses holder on driver's side. Load bars with locks (will only put them on as needed)
- Door sill protectors
- Engine skid plate.  The stock one is just a plastic shield, mostly for airflow.  The oil pan is cast aluminum and apparently can't take a hit very well.
- Bilstein HD struts/shocks.  I thought about thsi one a while.  I needed something better than stock and went with these over the Koni FSD, partly from personal prejudice.  Bilsteins were standard on the old Saab Turbos, and I've seen Konis wear out sooner than I thought they should. 
- Hardwired Valentine 1.  I connected it to the plug that would be connected to the autodimming mirror if I had one.
- Elevate Intercooler with matching intake and intercooler hard pipes with silicone hoses, and Elevate upper intake manifold
- Insulation on inside of roof panel

The car had some quirks when new.  It turned out that the shipping spacers were left in when they PDId the car.  That made the nose high and made the handling a little more "interesting" than it ought to have been.  It certainly accounted for what seems an overly aggressive stability control system.

Now, the quirk that needs fixing is the clutch.  If I rev to over 5500 before shifting, the engagement points moves up from the floor.  If I rev to the limit (6500) and shift quickly, the clutch takes a moment to engage after releasing the pedal.  It feels llike the release mechanism is sticking.  I bring it in tomorrow.  They've ordered up everything possible so they'll have it on hand once they do the tardown.  Volvo is interested in the problem since it's not one they've heard of.

In other news, the car is no longer in production. The 2013 model is the last.  It was the tenth worst selling car in the US in 2012.  It's been out for a while, so rumors of replacements are, of course, heating up.  A competitor to the Mini seems most credible.

Bunnspeed wrote:

Definitely do your research before purchasing Bils as they obviously can be hit or miss depending on the application.

Scargo wrote:

Bilstein's are probably the highest quality standard shock available, if you select wisely. Any "Sport" model s intended for aftermarket "tuner" springs, and typically are slightly shorter than their HD series. As such, they are typically over damped for factory stock springs. HDs are usually well matched to stock springs.

I did a fair bit of research.  Bilsteins use an internal, hydraulic bump stop.  The Standard and HD models can cause trouble on cars that have been lowered significantly.  They hit the bump stop too easily:  The Sport models have a shortened mechanism to account for this.  I went with the HD, because even though the R-Design is a little lower than the standard C30, it's not a lot.  The gas pressure in the shocks/struts did raise the car slightly, but I'm used to that now.  I can clear the wheel stops in parking garages, so don't need to worry about cracking any plastic there.

The ride:  Small, square bumps, such as freeway expansion joints, are definitely more noticeable.  Some stretches of road are not as comfortable as stock.  Larger bumps are absorbed dramatically better though.  The net gain is significant.  The stockers were close in damping, but slightly soft on rebound in the front.  The harshness on small stuff seems to have diminished as I've got some miles on the dampers.  They felt like they had some "stiction" that needed breaking in.  Then again, maybe I've gotten used to it.

Bunnspeed wrote:

Any thoughts about going Stage 2 on your car?

Check the intake mods:  everything from the MAF to the throttle body, plus the upper manifold (it's two pieces).  The bigger intercooler definitely helped in the summer.  Not so much on the first acceleration, but multiple accelerations in succession got softer.  The new one is more efficient and less prone to heating up like that.  The rest is designed to help response and midrange.  I have been considering a muffler, just to get a little more auditory feedback, but don't want to end up with drone on the freeway.  The next thing up in the power realm is the downpipe, but that means a new tune.  The rest is all good with the Polestar tune.  Not sure I want to make that jump for a while, although it does give a significant boost in power.  The CBE is supposedly good for a few HP though. 

I haven't tracked it yet.  I'm sure I'll feel the extra weight over the Linear, and the extra power will screw up all my markers.  The weight and power will also surely take their toll on the brakes.  I'm worried about the Emergency Brake Assist feature.  It can't be turned off.  It's designed to detect emergency braking actions and speed up the point of maximum braking.  I think it holds it there a bit too.  It turns out that many people let off on the brake when they realize impact is unavoidable.  The Linear's upgraded brakes and low power meant I could go from full throttle to maximum braking very quickly and predictably.  I think I caused some in the HPDE sessions to overcook a corner or two, waiting for me to brake.

My cousin have a c30 with the T5 engine he is very tempted to get the polestar tune to maintain the warranty.

He don't have the R-design but the same engine specs as a R.