[LarryM]

Looking for some wheel advice from a seasoned C30 driver. 18 vs. 19"....how bad of an idea are 19"s on New England roads. I feel like I'm answering this question myself. Currently on 205/50/17, lowered 1.5" with Koni/Eibach. Are my teeth going to fall out with a 35 tire? I've never driven a car with that low of an aspect ratio, figured you likely have and wanted some feedback.

Thanks.

 

[jschinito]

45 profile is great for pot holed streets here in LA. i’m going back to 40 for performance and looks but i’m sure will be back to 45 again.

wouldn’t do 30 unless you have perfect asphalt


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[MyNameIdeasWereTaken]

The "35" is a ratio and is going to be dependent upon what your width is. I ran a 245/35 18 and it wasn't too bad. Though our roads are very smooth here.

Personally, I think 19" wheels are overkill. They can look great, but they're heavy, they make your brakes look tiny, and you can't run a tire with a sufficient sidewall. Insufficient side wall means a harsher ride, more likely to crack/bend a wheel when you hit a pothole, and a loss in cornering performance. It has been debated that 17" wheels are actually the optimal setup for these cars; you can run tires that will have proper flex through the corners, the ride will be fairly decent, and your overall wheel/tire weight may be less. This is part of why Volvo sold the 250 Polestar Luxury Editions with 17s, even though all their R-design counterparts had 18s.

I've driven a few P1 Volvos with 19s (on springs and coilovers) and the ride was significantly more harsh than my car on 235/40 18s.

I assume you have a separate set of winter wheels in Connecticut? If you're just going for summer show (and don't mind your brakes looking small) 19s aren't bad. But if you're going for a balance of style and performance, stick with 18s.

Maybe you can find a local P1 owner with 19s who would be willing to take you for a ride. Then you can judge for yourself if it will be too jarring for you.

 

[MyNameIdeasWereTaken]

Made the 2018 iPd photo contest finalist for best 2 door. Can I get your vote?
https://www.ipdusa.com/blogs/445/photo-contest-2018

 

[LarryM]

The "35" is a ratio and is going to be dependent upon what your width is. I ran a 245/35 18 and it wasn't too bad. Though our roads are very smooth here.

Personally, I think 19" wheels are overkill. They can look great, but they're heavy, they make your brakes look tiny, and you can't run a tire with a sufficient sidewall. Insufficient side wall means a harsher ride, more likely to crack/bend a wheel when you hit a pothole, and a loss in cornering performance. It has been debated that 17" wheels are actually the optimal setup for these cars; you can run tires that will have proper flex through the corners, the ride will be fairly decent, and your overall wheel/tire weight may be less. This is part of why Volvo sold the 250 Polestar Luxury Editions with 17s, even though all their R-design counterparts had 18s.

I've driven a few P1 Volvos with 19s (on springs and coilovers) and the ride was significantly more harsh than my car on 235/40 18s.

I assume you have a separate set of winter wheels in Connecticut? If you're just going for summer show (and don't mind your brakes looking small) 19s aren't bad. But if you're going for a balance of style and performance, stick with 18s.

Maybe you can find a local P1 owner with 19s who would be willing to take you for a ride. Then you can judge for yourself if it will be too jarring for you.

My stock 17" Serapis will become my winter wheels. Whatever I end up going with will be strictly summer. I found a good deal on a used set of Heicos in 19x8, 235x35/19. I think I may pass on them though, as the 18 would get me the performance/appearance that I'm after without the risk of wrecking tires/rims.

Thanks for your input.

 

[MyNameIdeasWereTaken]

New look.

 

[mantamani46]

Because Racecar?

 

[Okidiver]

Do you always have a box of doughnuts ready when LEO is about ?

 

[MyNameIdeasWereTaken]

Momo Champion wheel installed, with an NRG quick release hub.

The Momo wheel is 350mm, which is a tad smaller than stock. This is something I really prefer, as the VW I used to drive had a smaller wheel and I loved it.

No airbag, but my car hasn't had any functioning airbags for a while now. It's actually quite practical and track safe with the seat and harness setup. But to prevent any airbag codes, a 2ohm 1/4watt resistor is wired in line.

I moved the cruise control buttons to the side of the column. Still easily accessible for the few times I actually use it.

Sorry for not having a detailed write-up. It's a pretty straight forward process and I already have a video on stock wheel removal. Truth be told, if you need a step by step guide for a wheel install, then you probably shouldn't be taking the steering wheel off to begin with.

 

[MyNameIdeasWereTaken]

In collaboration with Elevate, I test fitted their new aluminum control knob rings in my cars. These are definitely a high quality product and a great solution to covering up worn control knobs.

 

[MyNameIdeasWereTaken]

Nothing fancy, just a quick little afternoon recording. Though, it makes me want to get out there and do some storyboarded 60 second car films.

 

[MyNameIdeasWereTaken]

Some of the better parts from this car will be replacing parts on my C30.

 

[MyNameIdeasWereTaken]

 

[MyNameIdeasWereTaken]

I swapped over the Do88 intercooler from my parts car to replace my Elevate intercooler.
I'm really impressed with the build quality and size of the Do88. It is the absolute biggest you could probably go without cutting anything. The downfall is the added weight.
Installation was a little frustrating because the fitment is so tight. The Elevate intercooler is much easier to install, especially since it makes use of the factory lower mounting tabs.

In our hot GA summer, I'm not noticing any improvements with cooling, though I'm sure there is some. I will say, I never experienced any heat soak with the Elevate intercoolers on my fully modded K04 S40, C30, or V50, even after hard runs of the dragon in the summer.

I do notice a very slight improvement in overall power delivery, similar to what I experienced when upgrading the intercooler hardpipe. The Do88 intercooler has more curved end tanks and it feels like it was designed for a smoother air flow going through it.

If you already have an upgraded intercooler, especially the Elevate one, I would not justify the cost for the very slight improvement that the Do88 offers.
Buying new, I would definitely choose the Do88 first. But if you can score a good deal, I'd still say any upgrade is going to be better than stock.

 

[MyNameIdeasWereTaken]

After driving a bit more today, I'm actually kind of torn between the two...

Both intercoolers sufficiently cool the air and I'm not measuring any noticeable temp differences. For a significantly lower air temp, you're going to need a much bigger intercooler and probably cut away part of the bumper.

Do88 feels like it flows better, but Elevate is lighter weight and that's weight out at the front tip of the car. (I'm pretty sensitive to weight, I noticed a difference after relocating the battery and I felt the steering difference after upgrading to 320mm brakes)

The Do88 might have a larger front surface, but you're still limited by the front bumper opening.

The Do88 sits right up against the radiator, while the Elevate one leaves some room. This could prevent the hot air from easily escaping and may hinder the Do88's cooling ability over long periods of time.

The Do88's larger volume is beneficial for cooling more air at once, but that's also more space for the boosted air to fill before reaching the throttle.
This also brings to question the impact this has on the CBV. Boost pressure, piping sizes, and total volume all matter when choosing the right spring for a traditional blowoff valve because the larger volume is holding more pressurized air. This may only be a negligible difference on this scale, but I don't know all the science behind it. Maybe someone more knowledgable can chime in.

A while back, I stuck the stock intercooler on my tuned car and the significantly smaller volume was (slightly) noticeable on the low end. Bigger is better for cooling, but if I was going for quarter mile times, I'd probably run the stock intercooler.

Just some observations from my unbiased opinion, since I did not choose to purchase either one of these. The car came with an Elevate intercooler and the Do88 was "free."
Based on retail price, I would still probably choose the Do88. But now that I have personally tried both, I think each intercooler has it's own advantages and disadvantages.

It's about finding that "balance" for what you need.

 

[MyNameIdeasWereTaken]

On Friday the 13th, shortly after passing 194k miles, I blew the head gasket and may have cracked the cylinder head during some high revving mountain runs. No cooling issues and the car still idles/revs fine. Just lots of white smoke from the exhaust and there's coolant in the oil.
I think the years of abuse and high mileage finally caught up to her. I'm not mad, I expected it sooner or later.

The car will be parked for a while since other projects take precedence.

The plan is to rebuild, rather than swap engines with the parts car, because either way I'd be swapping my cams over and pulling the head seems much easier than swapping the engine. I'd rather leave the spare engine in tact for the time being.

During the rebuild, I'll be adding the Elevate ported lower intake manifold and the much newer/cleaner injectors from the parts car.

I'm also upgrading the K04 with the 7+7 billet compressor wheel from Viva. I don't expect to see a huge performance increase with this, but it should flow better, let the turbo spool up quicker, and I might as well replace it while the exhaust manifold is off.

It's not the full hybrid CHRA because I'm keeping the stock bearings, but I really don't foresee this being an issue with how well the stock turbo can take a beating. It will technically still be a hybrid turbo, even though it's retaining the stock 44.92mm inducer and 56.08mm exducer diameters.

I have no desire to deal with the K16 costs and tuning issues. I'm just looking for optimal results with what I have.

Truth be told, I spent all week debating between rebuilding or moving on. I've been bored with this car for a while and driving it at 100% still leaves something to be desired. An AWD swap remains on the radar, but there's better cars for the roads I drive and moving on is the only way I'll improve as a driver.
Either way, a running car will sell for more than a broken car. She's going to be fixed and she's going to be upgraded, hopefully keeping me interested for a little bit longer.

 

[MyNameIdeasWereTaken]

Sometimes I feel like I'm just talking to myself in this thread.

A broken car can still get new parts!

Swapped out the Volvo 320s for the Elevate Wilwood 6 piston 320s. I moved the car in the driveway after bleeding them, but won't be able to comment on performance until I get the car drivable again.

I will say that the Wilwood caliper and bracket weigh just under 6lbs, while the Volvo 320 caliper and bracket exceeded my 12lb kitchen scale. So that is a significant weight savings.

 

[dbphillips]

You are talking to yourself, but many of us appreciate. If only you had your own dyno to give us the intel on what component provides what power! I went with the XC60 FMIC, Mototec dp, and was thinking about the hybrid, but I'm starting to feel diminishing returns with P*. I'm hoping if I drop a stage 2+ tune in, I'll grab another 25 hp at the engine, but it sounds like a stretch. 300/300 works for me.

I like the idea of more braking power and 12 pounds less weight up front, too!

 

[MyNameIdeasWereTaken]

You are talking to yourself, but many of us appreciate. If only you had your own dyno to give us the intel on what component provides what power! I went with the XC60 FMIC, Mototec dp, and was thinking about the hybrid, but I'm starting to feel diminishing returns with P*. I'm hoping if I drop a stage 2+ tune in, I'll grab another 25 hp at the engine, but it sounds like a stretch. 300/300 works for me.

I like the idea of more braking power and 12 pounds less weight up front, too!

Yeah... Just too much time and money to bother putting it on a dyno after each individual part. Especially when I'm "done" with this car and don't care to spend more on it.
Without a remap, I've heard people gaining 5-10whp with the turbine wheel upgrade. With a tune, the ST225 Focus guys are seeing 20-30whp, but my expectations are pretty low for this.

A well written aftermarket tune will definitely show better results than what you're getting with Polestar. P* adapts pretty well to upgraded parts, but it's still only designed to optimize the stock parts. Especially with the FMIC and DP, you should be holding boost around 16-18psi. The few bolt-on build P* tuned cars that I have driven were noticeably slower, you could tell they had a lot of untapped potential.

 

[Okidiver]

Luke, this is not the car you will sell just yet...:saber:200k is just around the bend...