"Project V70 Sport"
 

Greetings. I've been away from the forum for a while now, but I've had a good reason.

To sum it up, I have a base '01 V70 FWD non-turbo (yeah, THAT one unfortunately (P2 Platform)) to which I have exhaustively spent the past year or so repairing, modding, learning and sometimes yelling at. It's been a great example of a definition of the term "Love/Hate relationship", without a doubt.

That being said, having just turned 34 and this being my 11th car, I can honestly say this has been by far my favorite vehicle I've owned, even better then my off-roading Hummer H3 I used to have (forgive me), '95 Camaro, Suzuki Swift GTi (most probably don't even know what that is), VW Beetle Turbo, Scion xB, Honda CBR F2, Yamaha Virago, etc. This is my one and only vehicle now.

For the first time, I'm sucking it up and taking it to the dealer for various issues that just can't be accurately troubleshot(?) without the use of a proprietary Volvo diagnostic scanner.

Here's where my project comes in.

I've experimented with various mods, mostly from IPD, a few of my own creations, and have decided I'm going to document in this thread everything I'm going to do, or have done, to create my own psuedo Sport catagory of this vehicle. I've worked on this car more then all of the work I've put into all 10 previous vehicles combined, and as frustrated as I've become at times, I always come back for more, because I really haven't had a car so easy to work on as this one. I've stripped all of the parts off so I can start from scratch with photos, etc.

Anyway, I'm going to document here what I've done to improve performance, including links, pics, etc. If I can help one person out there who's been thinking about doing some of these things, it will be worth it because it has improved my driving experience with this vehicle to the point where I look for any excuse to go out for a drive, and normally have a 95 mile round trip to work and back every day.

I hope my experiences help somebody/anybody determine what mods really work for those who have been eyeing some of the goodies say, on IPD, where I get most of my parts.

It may take me a month or so to accumulate enough posts to thoroughly complete this project, but again, I love to share my experiences and help people, and with this past year of learning and tinkering, I think I'll have some useful info for us V70 folks out there, not to mention many of these improvements being compatible with the XC70 and S60 platforms.

All I ask is you go easy on me. I'm by far no expert and this is more of a hobby. I'm more of a bolt-on do-it-yourselfer then anything, but I have successfully changed (with the help of a friend) my front axles, struts, etc., as well as have replaced my timing belt on my own, so I am somewhat handy in that respect. I have accumulated 99% of my knowledge from Alan (tech) who is the most helpful person I have literally ever met (virtually, and soon personally) and deserves most, if not all, of the credit for this.

Volvo Parts Suppliers
 

I'll start with this. Here is a list of online parts companies I have used in the past 1 1/2 years of ownership:

IPD USA:
http://www.ipdusa.com/ (top-notch customer serivce, and these folks are great for modding advice and have exclusive performance mods)

FCP Groton:
http://www.fcpgroton.com/ (also top-notch customer service)

eEuroParts:
http://www.eeuroparts.com/Main/Home.aspx (deep selection of OEM/comparible parts)

Discount Volvo Parts
http://www.discountvoparts.com/ (alternative for some hard-to-find parts)

VLV World
http://www.vlvworld.com/ (just some really cool add-ons you can't find anywhere)

These are predominantly where I order parts from. eEuroParts is usually my top pick for OEM replacement parts because they seem to have more of a diverse selection then most sites. I'm sure there are plenty more sites out there that may be better, but for me personally, these are my picks.

If you are looking for little nick-nack parts that you can't find anywhere else, VLV World is the place to go. They have some really cool add-ons that you just can't find anywhere else.

More to come.

Spark Plugs - NGK IX Iridium
 

The absolute first thing I did when I bought my car is change the plugs. It had 67k on it when I purchased it June of '08. It now has 109k (I drive alot).

I always wanted an excuse to buy Iridium plugs, so I bought the NGK IX Iridium spark plugs:

http://www.ngk.com/more_info.asp?AAIA=&pid=3094

It's been roughly 40k running with these plugs, and they have been great. There was a definite improvement after changing them, but most likely the cause being the old ones looked as if they were still original. They were in pretty bad shape. The car starts up with only a few cranks every time, even in the negative degree weather. There has been no degredation in performance since. They seem to do what they say, but again, hard to make a really good comparison considering what was in there before.

Air Intake - Filter and future system
 

I purchased a K&N panel air filter as a replacement to the OEM one:

http://www.knfilters.com/search/prod...x?Prod=33-2176

I have always ran them in my past cars, but have had the unfortunate circumstance of them always being over-oiled from the factory. This will cause oil deposit buildups to form on the resistor/sensors of the mass air flow sensor. This started happening on the V70 as well so I cleaned the oil off and now run it dry.

That being said, in this specific car, I can honestly say I really don't know if running a K&N really does much as far as a noticable difference. Do I feel it? Yes, but it's not as dramatic as it is in other cars. I'm obviously going to keep it since I have it, but I will leave this up to personal preference. If you are like me and want to get every last drop of possible power from your engine without doing major modifications, go for the K&N, but don't expect a huge performance increase. It just isn't going to happen.

I've been hounding IPD for a year about their R air intake and whether or not they will make an adaptation for the V70/S60. The last update was that it was on their to-do list and hopefully they'll have one in the next 6 months, meaning possibly by June '10, which will be an adaptation of the following R system they have:

http://www.ipdusa.com/Volvo-V70XC70-...-127-387-4781/

If we got enough people on the forum together to rally them to go forward with this, I think they would push it up a bit. I told them I want to be the first person (guinea pig) to purchase it.

Niether me nor tech have been able to find any kit for this platform, but if you are a Do-it-yourselfer, you can be creative and figure something out. There's many possibilities to create your own, but I'd rather just wait for the IPD system since it's a nice looking system and seems like it may do some good.

Tires - Dunlop SP Winter Sport 3D
 

I'm the kind of person that is almost anal about research when it comes to doing anything so I can learn what I need to make an educated choice. This is one of those times.

I spent literally almost an entire day on Tire Rack's web site reading reviews of snow tires before I purchased these, and I would keep seeing various reviews about how people had purchased Blizzak's and so forth, and went to these Dunlops instead.

Stock tire size on the V70 is 205/55/ R16, but after talking to some people on the forum, I decided to move up a notch higher to 215/55 R16.

Here are the tires I decided to purchase:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....inter+Sport+3D

I went with these because people were giving high marks for tire wear, saying that as a winter tire, these tires wear very slowly compared to others they have used. I can tell you that this is absolutely true. I installed these in early October and put at least 10 to 15k miles on them already. The top snow traction layer on the front wheels is still at least 50% there, and the rears look like they have hardly any wear at all, and this being mostly DRY weather driving. These tires have only seen maybe 30% wet driving conditions, and they are holding out surprisingly well for snow and ice tires.

Let's talk about traction. These tires are amazing in the rain and snow. What a difference. I've never had tires that had such grip on the road in the snow and rain. The V70 with these tires handles much better then my H3 did in AWD and 4WD Locked modes. Braking is incredible. I've purposely tried to make these things slip in the rain, and the ABS rarely ever kicks in. In the snow, of course they will slip under the right conditions, but in the slushy stuff, I can say they are almost as solid as they are in the rain.

And the dry performance? They are like super glue on the road.

I bought they XL version which stands for Extra Load, for towing and so forth. I bought these because they have reinforced thick sidewalls and with the amount of potholes I have to deal with daily on the highways and streets of Chicago, they were well worth it, although you do suffer maybe 2 - 3 MPG loss because of the bigger size and weight of the extra compound, but they are well worth it for peice of mind hitting these things all day long.

Here are some pics of what they look like (I will take better ones once the weather changes:

Attachment 21837

Attachment 21838

As you can see, they fill quite nicely, and the fronts only rub a very tiny bit when turning the wheel to it's limit. Other then that, they never rub under normal driving conditions.

Keep in mind, I plan on running these year round. If I have to buy 2 a year, so be it, but with the increase in performance and traction, it's well worth the $200 investment a year, in my opinion.

The XL version I have also gives you a stiffer ride and a bit more cornering support and added wieght capacity for towing and/or added passengers.

Misc - Sound system
 

This really isn't a mod per-say, but I thought I would throw it out there.

Here's what I did to get a psuedo-auxilary audio input:

Attachment 21836

http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n..._H3/Radio2.jpg

I use a Sony cassette adapter. You'd be surprised how good the sound really is. It sounds just as good as a CD, but with a tad bit of hiss unless you use Dolby noise reduction, and I'm a stickler for sound quality. It's not like the old days where it sounded like garbage. This actually works very well. You can use your Blackberry (which I use) with Pandora (free cd-quality music streaming, kinda like XM but free), an iPod, etc. It sounds great.

Here is a Bluetooth alternative for us Blackberry users with no wires:

http://www.engadget.com/2005/02/23/t...ereo-cassette/

http://www.amazon.com/Flexii-Bluetoo.../dp/B001BWZD4Y

The other alternative of course is to spend the money and buy the actual iPod interface, in which you have to take the radio out to install. Also, there are actual Bluetooth adapters that can be hardwired into your system via RF Modulator so you can stream your music wirelessly using Bluetooth (again, Blackberry), but I really didn't feel like going through all of that. This is convenient because I can plug my wife's iPod or my Blackberry in very easily, and anybody else who has any device can just plug in.

I know, it's not rocket science, but it works, and as you can see, I stuffed the wiring between the moldings and ran it through to the cup holder, so there's no messy wires. It's a cheap way to bring your car up to the modern era, and it actually works very well. You'll be surprised if you do it. I know I was.

Oil - Valvoline MaxLife 5W-30 Synthetic Blend
 

I won't even get into this debate :) I'm just stating what I use.

http://www.valvoline.com/products/co...ge-motor-oil/2

BUT, for anybody that wants to know why, I just read all the propoganda for each and this one seemed decent. I also looked up test results for the infamous 3 ball test.

I've actually used the Amsoil super premium gold rediculously expensive 0w-30 $10 a qt stuff in my car, and if you want a loud engine with oil that is so thin it burns off, go for it.

I wised up and went to a more conventional motor oil, and it works well. No burning off, the engine is quiet, etc.

Transmission fluid - Mobile 3309
 

After a long time of waiting, Mobile released practically the same (if not the EXACT) fluid the Volvo transmission uses to the general public:

http://www.ipdusa.com/product.asp?st...hStartRecord=1

If you want to change your fluid, this is the stuff to use (depending on your model of course).

After flushing the system a few times, my slipping problems stopped.

If you want to do it the easy way, buy yourself one of these (I have one and it works well)

http://www.fcpgroton.com/product-exe...with+Extractor

I actually bought mine from FCP's eBay store as a stand-alone unit. It works great. No need to get under the car and drain and fill, etc. You know exactly how much you are pumping out and exactly what you need to put back in. This isn't a perfect method, but if you do it a few times, you are getting alot of the old stuff out. It's not ideal, but again, for us do-it-yourselfers who aren't big gearheads, it works sufficiently. You can drain about 4 Qts at a time like this, so again, it's by far NOT the ideal way of doing it, but if you want an easy way to do it yourself, do this cycle a few times and you are most-likely in much better shape then you were before.

Misc fluid Additives
 

I was never a big believer in additives, but when I started having minor transmission slip problems, I read some info and tried the Lucas Oil Stop Slip, and from then on, I have been a Lucas products fan ever since. Since it actually worked, I tried others.

Here's a list of products I use or have used in the past (I don't use Stop Slip anymore, just changed the trans fluid):

Queit's the engine valve noise down a bit: http://www.lucasoil.com/products/dis...how&headTitle= - Lucas Synthetic Oil Stabilizer

Stops Transmission slip, and yes, it sure does work:
http://www.lucasoil.com/products/dis...how&headTitle= - Lucas Transmission Fix

Stops small leaks in power steering system:
http://www.lucasoil.com/products/dis...how&headTitle= - Lucas Power Steering Stop Leak

Fuel Treatment:
http://www.lucasoil.com/products/dis...how&headTitle= - Lucas Fuel Treatment

Why Lucas fuel treatments compared to the zillion other ones out there? Well, Lucas is one of the only companies that has not been investigated by the governemt for deceptive business practices in regards to false advertising and misleading their customers with fuel treatments, hence why I use theirs, because it may actually work. Yes, like I said, I do my homework.

Again, this is all a matter of personal opinion and preference, but when I buy a product, and it actually does what it says it does, that's convincing enough for me. All of these products do what they say they do, at least for me, and that's about all the proof in the pudding you can ask for.

Side Note: If you keep up with NRHA, you'll notice they are one of the biggest sponsors of it, so they must be doing something right to have the money to do that.

Until next time....
 

This is all I have for now. My car goes into the dealer next weekend for a problem/leak in the EVAP system in the rear.

When I get the car back, I'll be taking it to my buddy's heated garage and start doing some minor bolt-on mods with pictures, advice, etc.

I'll post the info when I have it ready, so check back in 2 to 3 weeks. I've got my IPD transmission torque mount, strut tower brace, and possibly a few other goodies I'm going to add, including a modification to the upper engine mount which I'll explain in detail when I have the pics to show.

I hope somebody finds this information useful, because I've spent the last year accumulating it just for this purpose. I haven't posted because I wanted to create a sort-of V70 do-it-yourself amateur guide, so I figure I would just wait.

More to come....

Just a quick update; I have the new engine mount and strut tower brace hardware in but I've been really busy lately. I'm ordering new HD front sway bar endlinks (they are going bad ironically) and rear Bilstein shocks this week. I'll be posting an update with pics of the mounts and brace by this weekend, and hopefully the sway bar links and shocks next weekend (if I have time to install them). I'm also watching eBay for a rear sway bar, since apparently I'm one of the unfortunate people that doesn't have one. Once I find one of those, I'll probably buy the HD rear endlinks as well.

What I thought was a EVAP problem actually turned out to be a bad throttle body (under a 200k warranty) and bad fuel injectors, causing the cat. converter to throw all kinds of errors. Those have since been replaced.

I'm also going to be installing a trailer hitch and wiring harness in the next month or two, which I will take pics of and write about.

I'll post more in the next week or two.

I have my trailer hitch installed now along with a self-powered wiring harness, my heavy duty endlinks will be on this weekend along with a new sway bar for the rear. I'm almost done with this project and am taking alot of pics, so in a week or two more you should start seeing more. I am only a few days away from something I've been working on for 2 years so I'm at the point where I just want it done. I'll get the info up here soon.

Pics please!!

:)

Just got a 01 v70 T5 today, so I am def in for pics and info. :)

That's awesome! I'd love to have a T5!

Just an update for everybody..... I fell off the face of the earth because I spent the last 7 or 8 months working on my house, foolishly thinking the more I did to it, the more marketable it would be in this questionable market. I also did alot of traveling for my job (I'm a computer geek), using that opportunity to find different locations to move to. Well, the housing market ended up taking a much larger hit on my area then even my real-estate agent predicted, so after months of work, I wasn't even close to being able to break even.

I donated some of my parts to Alan (tech) for his rebuild. I actually did add a couple of new mods though, but haven't documented them yet. I plan on getting back into this project sometime in January. Right now, I'm honestly tapped out with all the money I dumped into my house.

So, I am still planning on pursuing this again, just not for a month or two. Just sit tight for a bit :)

B5254S Turbo?
 

Hi I am a fellow V70 non-turbo tuner, working to get my performance up. So far I have rebuilt my entire rear end suspension and brakes with parts from FCP. I got my Calipers from Carquest and enameled them myself. I will be doing the same suspension and brake upgrades to the front end this winter. Then it is off to the drive-train before the increase in HP will be same. I am wondering how involved in your rebuild you plan to go. Here is what I am think for my own B5254S.

I plan to rebuild the drive-train from the hubs back though the tranny and get a 6 speed inline torque conversion done on either my tranny or a salvaged V70R. Have you done any research into what kind of transmission upgrades people have tried in the past? I cannot find very much information.

This is all to accommodate keeping my original block replacing all the interior parts for the prep of a 16 psi twin turbo set up. Have you thought of putting a turbo in yours? Our blocks can take it for sure but I am not sure of the rest of the engine mechanics. That is why the rebuild. The last time I put a turbo in a non-turbo car it was only running 12 psi built all the cold side pipework out of PVC and due to running pressure I replaced three valve covers, numerous cams and valves, etc. The '89 BMW 6 couldn't handle the pressure. I waste gated the system down to only 8 psi and still screwed up my head regularly. That didn't last too long and was before I had a family. This V70 is currently my daily driver and our family traveling car. I plan to get a minivan soon.

Anyway, I would love to see more pics of what you have done, and hear what else you have planned. I mostly interested in information on building a turbo system in one of our non-turbo cars. Without just doing a straight swap for a V70R engine and transmission. I want 16 psi because my calculations says that puts me in the 400hp range, and I like fast! Any info from anyone would be helpful.

ok 1st time post 1st volvo owner 01 v70 t5...looking to find oem 16 inch wheels to mount snows...anything to look for in terms of wheel width and or depth to ensure proper fit? also tryimg to locate 3rd seat..any ideas? Thanks

Hummerguy,

Thank you for the posts and open discussion. I am also the owner of an '01 non-turbo V70. I look forward to seeing your modifications and hearing your evaluations. Keep up the good work.

worldbound4now

Just picked up a 2000 V70 yesterday
 

Through up some pics and thanks for posting this.... good stuff for a newbie like myself !

B

trailer hitch wiring
 

Did you finish this..getting ready to do it and would love any suggestions