[MvI_S60R]

Exactly one year from this thread post, I joined Swedespeed. Learned just about everything I know about R's on here. I will document anything I do to my caR in this thread along with useful tips and tricks.


A few of you may know me from posting everywhere and a few of you that I sold items to in the classifieds. I'm on Swedespeed everyday via my Tapatalk app.

I am very anal in my oil changes (3.5K w/Amsoil 0W-40) and even more anal in my cleanliness of the car. I run a small auto detailing company at home so I have a lot of chemicals and machines at my disposal. I would honestly eat off any surface of the car, inside and out... But the previous owner of the caR took very good care of it and I keep it at show-quality all the time.

Anyway, on to my R background. I was handed over the keys to my R on July 31, 2013. It took me about 2 months to find an R, nothing was near Ohio. I was about to order an R from NY, it was sonic, body kitted, modded already and was a M66. BUT, a day before I pulled the trigger on that R, I got a notification that an R was up for sale an hour away from me. My R was automatic, Magic Blue, and had no body kit but did have Anthracite Pegs. So why would I go with the R near me? Well the details were on the paper. Here are some pics that the dealer took of it while it was in their lot. These are the only pics I saw of her.


My R presale 1 by Martini_277, on Flickr
My R presale 2 by Martini_277, on Flickr


So what made my R stand out was its service record. Apparently the previous owner had cracked the block in the engine, with 76500 some miles. So he had the entire engine and turbo replaced with a brand new setup. That was back in 2012, when there was still a few new R engines. I didn't really believe it, rebuilt at best, but I went to Volvo/Acura Motorcars of Cleveland where they did it and got the official records of the service. The engine is a hell of a lot cleaner than the transmission so it must have been changed. Also drinks no oil/coolant either.


So after I bought her, I didn't do much to it other than a stage 0 until after I joined SS. The first two below are dead stock pics. The latter few are when I did the plugs and the Snabb Intake. It was to my surprise that the plugs were Ford. But when I had the cylinders open, I was able to take a look in into them. Clean as a whistle, bare metal with just a little a little spot of carbon on a few of them. This is when I realized that this engine must have been new.


Stock R 1.1 by Martini_277, on Flickr
Stock R 2 by Martini_277, on Flickr
S60R spark plug change 2013 by Martini_277, on Flickr
S60R spark plug change 2013 2 by Martini_277, on Flickr


Soon after, I decided to change the stock 4300K D2R bulbs, with 10000K Maxlux D2C bulbs. Some people do not like the blueness of them, but I think they are an aid in the winter and they look OK. I also did a whole IPD turboback exhaust. The last owner put the IPD catback already, I just changed the clamps to bigger stainless ones. I took it to a friend of mine in Cleveland for the downpipe just because he had a big lift that would be easier to do it on. But before I did the downpipe, it started to snow and I got to have my first snow R experience. Now I see how bad the R is in the snow, especially with my Goodyear F1 All Seasons, they sucked a** in the snow. The R AWD is definitely geared towards track only. But here is a video from when my friend and I visited a church parking lot.

After the day we did the video, I got the downpipe installed and I absolutely love the sound of the turbo inside the cabin now. Nothing much happened until winter ended except I put in my IPD R gauge, still pulling 15 PSI strong!
So for a couple months until winter blew away, I did really nothing except change the oil every 3K. But in April, I got tired of all the turbo flutter and I pulled the trigger on a Forge CBV. Before hand, I read a crap ton of threads saying that flutter isn't bad, it is bad, whatever. In my opinion, I think it isn't devastating, but twisting that shaft with the intake side fluttering like that isn't such a good thing, (kind of like at the end of the video above). The old CBV was clean, it barely had miles on it, but the Forge CBV definitely makes the difference. I hold pressure a lot better now and the fluttering is not as bad. When I'm pulling towards 15 PSI, I just slowly let the pressure on the pedal go so the turbo slows down a little, letting the engine inhale more boost instead of it being dumped to the CBV causing fluttering.


Forge S60R CBV by Martini_277, on Flickr
IPD R Boost Gauge by Martini_277, on Flickr


Here is a engine bay shot as of April 2014


Bay shot as of April 2013. Volvo S60R by Martini_277, on Flickr


I also fell into the madness at the time and I plastidipped my grille. I decided to leave the actual "cheese grate" or whatever you call it unplastidipped for aesthetics. I recently plastidipped the whole grille though.


Plastidipped R grill by Martini_277, on Flickr


About a week after, I did a full exterior detail of the R. I'm a mediocre detailer, I know how to work a DA polisher well, but I kinda blow at using a rotary polisher. I also took the time to polish the sh*t out of my Pegs. But before I decided to polish it, I went ahead and changed the Volvo letters on the trunk to V O L V O lettering. I think it makes for a great look, I don't know why Volvo only put them on the '04-'05 Rs.


S60R volvo emblem by Martini_277, on Flickr
S60R V O L V O by Martini_277, on Flickr


Here are some pics when I polished the paint/Pegs. I used Mr. Pink and the MTM Foam gun for the washing. Then I used my drill DA polisher with Meguiars final polish. Lastly, I applied a layer of 50/50 Chem Guys Paste Wax.


Foamy S60R by Martini_277, on Flickr
Foamy S60R 2 by Martini_277, on Flickr
Volvo S60R Magic Blue Paint by Martini_277, on Flickr
Magic Blue Volvo S60R 3 by Martini_277, on Flickr

 

[MvI_S60R]

So from April all the way to June 2014, I've been working saving up for a FMIC kit. Towards the end of June, I pulled the trigger on Kristians Snabb ULTIMATE FMIC aka Big bill. But when I pulled that trigger, it pulled out almost my entire savings account....
I was very impressed with the quality of the kit and the intercooler itself. His instructions are well written, but I used it just for bolt sizes if you know what you're doing. At the time, I did it in my parents house, in their gigantic porch because it is big and air flows by easily as it was hottt those couple days. Here are a few photos of the IC and the kit.


Snabb FMIC 1 by Martini_277, on Flickr
Snabb FMIC 2 by Martini_277, on Flickr
Snabb FMIC 3 by Martini_277, on Flickr


So front start to end, the FMIC took me 3 days. I did run into a lot of problems, primarily towards the end of the process. Ripping everything out from the car and doing a thorough cleaning of the engine bay. I spent 3 hours at least cleaning under there. I got the throttle body cleaned up and I also got some oil and filth out from the side of the block. The engine itself was very clean, no corrosion and no caked on filth because, again, engine is lower mileage.


Snabb FMIC 4 by Martini_277, on Flickr
Snabb FMIC 5 S60R throttle body by Martini_277, on Flickr
Snabb FMIC 6 S60R throttle body cleaned by Martini_277, on Flickr


On day 2, I started to put the silicone in and start to dry fit everything in. I didn't run into many clearance problems as far as the pipes go. I would say the hardest one is charge pipe to throttle body. You either have to have small hands or a good vantage point to get to it and tighten the f*ck out of it so it would slide out. The absolute hardest part was getting the actual intercooler on the car. I had a lot of clearance issues with it. I mean to the point where it is 3 inches off the center point of the car.
So I had to take the crash bar off and cut into it to make room for the IC end tank to be able to clear the AC condenser on the left side. I know it isnt the best idea, but its the only choice after I tried pushing the radiator assembly backwards. But after I got the IC in, drilled and set, I spent the latter part of day 3 and a little of day 4 putting everything back together. I have been reaping the FMIC rewards since. Much better acceleration, sustained boost and less boost lag. Especially here in the winter, it drives like a bullet now.


Snabb FMIC 8 by Martini_277, on Flickr
Snabb FMIC 7 by Martini_277, on Flickr
Snabb FMIC 9 by Martini_277, on Flickr


So about a month after the FMIC, into September, I was able to order some spacers. I got 10MM up front and 15MM in the rear. I will say, put anti-seize between the spacer and the rotor. The spacers got so stuck between the two and it was close to impossible to tear it off without getting the spacer out of balance. I think it turned out great. I never liked Rs that have the rear wheels so much in, it doesn't really add to the look unless its slammed. I got them from FCP on sale. As you might catch in the photo below, you will see my strut brace and rear brace. They make a WORLD of difference in R handling. The front brace was much easy to install, the rear one took some weird movements to fondle the bolts in.


S60R Pre Spacers by Martini_277, on Flickr
S60R pre spacers 2 by Martini_277, on Flickr


Post Spacers


Post spacers 1 by Martini_277, on Flickr
Post spacers 2 by Martini_277, on Flickr


A few months after the spacers, I went ahead and converted all the lights up front to HID. I have a big thread on how to do the DRLs to HID, it took me a really long time to figure out what the problems were with it, its all detailed in that thread though. I decided to go with Kensun ballasts for the DRLs, 35W. I think that they look great and are not too bright when people pass by on the road. For the fogs, I used Cmod_R's build thread on how to set them up. I bought new aftermarket fogs, the ones that don't have fluting on the front of the glass. I used a 55W DDM kit with 15000K bulbs. I siliconed waaayyyy more than he did though. I used a full tube of it between the two. I also have 0 connectors anywhere in the foglight setup. I mean from to the car to the kit, I cut and soldered everything. I can't fully pull the front bumper away from the car more than 6 feet without splicing then soldering again, but I'd prefer that instead of risking getting water into the connectors. I also used liquid electric tape to seal the ballasts and all the connections, its better than any shrink tubing or electrical tape. They are so bright that I illuminate 2-story houses from ground to chimney on the road. I get flashed but not that often, you can aim them down but I like them up real high. I will post some photos of my foglight setup once I rip the front bumper off again sometime.


Volvo S60R HID DRLs 1 by Martini_277, on Flickr
Volvo S60R Magic Blue full HID lighting by Martini_277, on Flickro

 

[MvI_S60R]

After the lighting project, I decided to swap to some snow tires. Last winter was a PITA with All seasons, so I got Michelin Pilot Aplin PA3's and I love them. Compared to others, these grip the best on dry pavement and have the least noise, at least to the reviewers. They go grip like hell to snow though, didn't slip once in inches of snow/slush.

Michelin Pilot Alpin PA3 1 by Martini_277, on Flickr
Michelin Sport Alpin PA3 2 by Martini_277, on Flickr

 

[MvI_S60R]

This past weekend, I also plastidipped my Pegs. I don't like matte Pegs too much, but I've spent so much time polishing them that I don't want salt to ruin them. Also, the tire machine scuffed the paint a little but when I mounted the snow tires.
I polished the hell out of the paint again then I plastidipped them. For those wondering, I cut a folded trash bag in half and wrapped the rotors. They are so big that I had to tape the bag to itself, it wouldn't wrap all the way around it. But they turned out good for now, I will rip the plastidip off right after I mount the summer tires.


Plastidipping Pegs by Martini_277, on Flickr
S60R winter mode by Martini_277, on Flickr
Plasti Pegs 1 by Martini_277, on Flickr

 

[ScarGO]

That's one pretty R

 

[[email protected]]

Looking good.

 

[Jcw010]

I think it looks great. Keep it up.

 

[Jackyl]

The last photos with the black pegs may have convinced me to do the same to mine...

 

[titan joe]

That's a way great find of an R. I like where you are taking it too.

 

[MvI_S60R]

That's a way great find of an R. I like where you are taking it too.

Thanks, hopefully when this thread is a few years older, I will have her built in and out fully

 

[brettborders]

I like it!

 

[MvI_S60R]

So I took advantage of the deals on FCP.com and I got a Poly torque rod. I got it for $35 which is a great deal compared to the other $160 version. I got out the original rubber torque rod and it should be a crime as to how beat that thing was. The ProParts one was very stiff and looked good. Well when I was torquing it in, the stud thread busted! I was just doing hand ratchet, not even that tight on it and it busted. Maybe because it was cold but I think it was a defective little thing. The stud then got stuck in the nut which I had to drill out to install it back in.The other stud did make it and I got that one tight. Soon I will get another one and install that with less torque.


Stock S60R torque rod by Martini_277, on Flickr
Busted PPS torque rod by Martini_277, on Flickr

 

[R Mayor]

Nice build thread.

Very detailed on the snabb fmic install.

Keep it up. :thumbup:

 

[khalil_y]

Nice man! Love the paint and after polish work.

 

[MvI_S60R]

As a few of you may see, I started a thread on the poly torque mount. I got a new one from Eeuroparts.com, which sells it cheaper than FCP and actually came with new nuts. I love this thing, shifts are so better and the car feels all around more tight. I do get some vibrations from it, but I did a ECU reset and that helped for some reason. I def recommend this to any R owner. Here is the link to where I got her.


Torque Rod Comp. 2 by Martini_277, on Flickr
Torque Rod Comp. by Martini_277, on Flickr
PPS poly torque rod by Martini_277, on Flickr
PPS torque rod installed by Martini_277, on Flickr

 

[MvI_S60R]

Finally got enough dough to do the sport kit!! I decided to go with Elevate only on the fact they are cheaper and I think they make the car look a lot more complete. I plan on getting them painted and mounted in March. They look good, came all the way from Cali pretty fast. The pass side skirt is botched a little bit so I'll need to do a bunch of sanding. I may also post a separate thread to debunk Elevate skirts, if they work well for me..


Elevate skirts 1 by Martini_277, on Flickr Elevate skirts 2 by Martini_277, on Flickr

 

[khalil_y]

You lucky magnificent bastard!

Sent from Tapatalk because the people around me are boring.

 

[MvI_S60R]

You lucky magnificent bastard!

Sent from Tapatalk because the people around me are boring.

I've never felt so contradicted yet complimented at the same time..

 

[khalil_y]

I've never felt so contradicted yet complimented at the same time..

Lmao! I'm jelly of the sport kit. I want one and want to get dual exhaust for the car.

Sent from Tapatalk because the people around me are boring.

 

[MvI_S60R]

Lmao! I'm jelly of the sport kit. I want one and want to get dual exhaust for the car.

Sent from Tapatalk because the people around me are boring.

I have been wanting to get one since I've owned it as well. It's not too bad, $400 for skirts and $275 for rear valence (winglets are too low for my neighborhood). Yes I had to delay a brake job a month but hey, I may not be able to stop but it will look good trying to!