DVS LT Vocus XR5 - 93% Volvo content

AshDVS · 2016-03-06T11:29:20+00:00

We'd been looking for a P1 platform car for a little while and the delayed sale of our V70 meant that the C30 we'd had our eye on didn't work out. So, we de...

AshDVS

Hard rubber bushed ones at the moment. If i go to spherical bearings ill make my own up.

This is quite possible as its going to need a fair bit more sorting.

AshDVS

Philia_Bear;90772 wrote
AshDVS;90742 wrote
The Heico rear springs are WAY too firm, WAY too tall and ride like shit, regardless of shock setting.
Fronts are fairly good, though a little on the firm side of where I think they should be.

Welcome to my world, if you find a better spring rate please let me know :-)
That said... when you chuck it into a corner at a rate of speed that seams insane it just grips like monkey kong
Take it for a track day before you decide for sure its horrid... as the track has said its an amazing setup on the track (and horrid from the house to the track and back)

Its definitely horrid.
Even in a motorsport application, it's very important not to get caught up in the 'stiffer = better' mindset.

Ill have a couple of pairs of springs to fit up later in the week and will put it on the scales for a proper look too.

The spring and shock in the rear are a particularly poor match as well.

With the B16 kit that you have, is the ID on the rear springs (at top and bottom) the same as the original springs?

Anyway, when you have the inclination, park it for a week and send one of each down. Ill measure them and will tell you what they are.

Philia_Bear

AshDVS;90778 wrote The spring and shock in the rear are a particularly poor match as well.

With the B16 kit that you have, is the ID on the rear springs (at top and bottom) the same as the original springs?

Anyway, when you have the inclination, park it for a week and send one of each down. Ill measure them and will tell you what they are.

I should be able to park it from the 23-30th of the month, will plan to mail you some springs (old and new for both front and rear)

The sping on the bottom is the same as stock, the top is different as it works with the adjustable spring perches.. but looks very close to stock

AshDVS

The KW/Heico adjusters are quite good, they mount in the lower arm. This means that you can make use of a 'standard' type spring. While not as nice as a typical 2.5" or 5" CO spring for ease of fine-tuning, they're not too bad if you can get your head around what other springs might be available with same 'top' and 'tail'

What it does mean though is that the free length of your chosen spring needs to be a fair bit shorter so as to make up for the height of the adjuster.

This Heico kit that I have was a used kit - I bought one last year and traded another of the same kit in on a GAZ kit too, so I'm not 100% sure that rear components are not intended for an AWD car (hence the ride height issue).

ETA for my two alternate pairs is Thursday afternoon so I might get another go at it on the weekend.

On the plus side, the swaybar links and the Whiteline kit has got rid of nearly all the rattles, so not an entirely unsuccessful evening.

AshDVS

We had some success with rear spring rates today and then spent a couple of hours road-testing over and over with minor rear ride height changes and shock setting changes to fine-tune things. It's pretty good now, but not quite perfect.

The rear end is a lot more settled, the rear springs we ended up with in the car now are MUCH better with the shock.
The GAZ Gold shock I'm using is a shorter shock than standard by quite a bit - they Heico spring in the car was far too tall for it.

It's now got a King Springs pair in the back, using the Heico/KW adjustable perch.
The King Spring is a little softer but not by much at all. Horrible ride and skittishness was down to the shock trying to operate at nearly max stroke and incorrect spring rate.

Heico spring on the right, King Spring on the left -

This seems to fit in with the theory that this pair of Heico springs was for rear of S40/V50 T5 AWD cars.

And fitted, this better shows the adjuster on the shock -

And here's the underside of the adjustable perch -

AshDVS

Ride height changes were as follows

Starting point, with stock suspension -
LF 647
RF 647
LR 687
RR 683

And, with the final pair of rear springs in the car, with some adjustment left, it is -
LF 637
RF 637
LR 668
RR 666

I've done a bit of driving it in this week and here's how it sits -

PaddlerEd

How does that compare to the RTA's records for the ride height? (Last page) found via the RVD website

AshDVS

No idea. I used ground to centre of wheel arch on a concrete pad.
I'll bookmark that and measure according to their reference though for curiosities sake.

Factory front ride height is quite low so I wasnt keen on going down much further than that and a 10mm drop in the front should mean that getting a decent wheel alignment should still be possible.

AshDVS

I've been doing some tinkering during the break and, amongst more interesting things, I bought some LV Focus XR5 mirrors (already in the right colour) with the intent to swap them over too.
They're a different shape to LS/LT mirrors but they do physically mount up without issue. The mounting points in the bases are the same.

So, I removed a mirror from the car only to find that the electrical connector is different, as are the colours of wires in the mirror loom.
In short, there was obviously some fairly large changes between LS/LT models and LV - major wiring looms are different and all the connectors I've come across so far differ between the cars.

So, I'm not going to swap them over afterall.

Other than that, I finished off the front bar and test fitted it, modified the bar support and removed some more odds and ends, ready to send out for paint.

While the bar is off, I'll fit the new intercooler too, which is on its way.

I'm also going to revisit the rear suspension too as I feel I dont have enough adjustment with the combination I've got at the moment, though I'm not unhappy with the ride - I'd simply like to move to a spring that I can easily replace with one of a different rate.

Currently, I've got -

GAZ adjustable shocks, Heico/KW adjustable perches and a pair of King Springs

I'll move to -

GAZ adjustable shocks, GAZ adjustable perches and springs that are easily interchangeable in small rate increments (which really is one of the biggest advantages of moving to a 'coilover'/adjustable perch scenario)

The hardware will come in our next GAZ order which should be here next week.

AshDVS

This is how it sits at the moment -

Philia_Bear

an ash vinal wrap could look quite good on that

AshDVS

Philia_Bear;95769 wrotean ash vinal wrap could look quite good on that

No vinyl wrap for me. It needs a wash and it'll get a decent cut and polish when the parts are back from paint.
LF guard had a couple of shopping trolley dings and some vicious stone chips so I'll it done at the same time.

I'll do the bonnet separately a little later on.

Philia_Bear

meaning to ask, which intercooler did you go with?

AshDVS

It's a Pumaspeed R-Sport intercooler.
dimensions are 650mm x 76 x 310

Its got an integrated scoop as well. I ordered a black one.
These are one of the ones we offer but Airtec are a really good option too.

I went with standard sized inlet and outlet. I don't believe there will be a tangible difference in going bigger here as the pipework still needs to taper down at the other end. This also allows you to use standard hoses (if you want to).
Its coming in an order in the next week or so. I'll take some pics then.

I think that the scoop would be the biggest issue getting it into a C30/S40/V50 but there are a couple of other options that should work.

Ben

Funny about the loom, the Fiesta is the same. Facelift dash, console, stereo etc bolt in but the loom is all different so you're screwed. Most annoying.

AshDVS

It is a bit odd. I didn't mind going to the effort with the tail lights and the tailgate, but the LS/LT mirrors are not a big enough visual improvement to justify trying to work it out.

I do have full wiring diagrams but honestly I can't really be bothered doing it.
It'll sit as-is now until the intercooler arrives and I'm gathering other little odds and ends in the background so that I can convert to the Focus RS airbox and get all of the tidying-up tasks done at the same time, before panels are painted and I put it back together.

AshDVS

I did a 500 and a little bit km round trip on Saturday to pick up a genuine Focus RS spoiler.
Even my buy price for a new one is frightening so I figured I just wasn't going to get one. I didnt want to buy a copy, so had planned on sticking with the XR5 one, but this came up so I went and grabbed it.

Focus RS' always have black spoilers, regardless of body colour. I may paint it but I'm not sure yet. It might help offset some of the black on the front bar too. I'll have a look at all that once panels are back from paint.

Ex850R

You really really wanted that!
Have only seen one RS from behind, I thought the package looked good, very boy racer!
Pix from other angles?

AshDVS

Ex850R;96583 wroteYou really really wanted that!
Have only seen one RS from behind, I thought the package looked good, very boy racer!
Pix from other angles?

I did. Not everyone's taste, sure, but just one of those 'I must have it' things.
I haven't taken any other pics yet. It still has no LF guard, headlights or bumper.

The intercooler for it is sitting on the bench too. :)

Ex850R

Some times a little bling, the part that others may not like is just what is needed!

I don't mind it, will like to see it in person.

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