[Loganryan911]

Hey all! I’ve been reading posts on here for well over a year now, and have been wanting to post a longer thread about my car for quite some time. I’m aware there are already a couple build logs on here, and if interest isn’t that great I’ll probably end the thread. That said, I think some decent information will come out and I can’t wait to learn about these vehicles from everyone.

With that out of the way, here’s my 2013 S60 T6. I’m not sure if it’s a Premier or not, what I do know is it's a single owner (other than me) with 77k on it when I picked it up. The paint is in great shape and it’s obvious the previous owner took great care of the car.

And that’s where I come in! I have so many plans for this car, ultimately ending with a stage 2-ish daily that I can take to PIR for weekend drag runs without worrying too much. In the short term, getting the basic bolt ons installed along with the TDI piggyback is my plan.

Here’s my (long) list of goals, as I complete one I’ll post a write up and edit the list to show it was done.

Performance:

• iPD turbo back exhaust (Done!)
• iPD torque and lower mounts (Done!)
• Intake piping
• CAI (Done, sort of…)
• GFB diverter valve
• FMI
• Charge piping
• Radiator upgrade
• Front and rear sway bars/end links
• Chassis bracing
• Poly bushings (other lower engine mount, sway bar etc.)
• Coilovers of some sort (Most likely going to start with lowering springs first, then move to KC or KW once my wallet has some weight to lose.)
• Breaks (at least stronger pads, new rotors, and braided lines, maybe more if I can afford.)

Exterior:

• Summer wheels (been eying Konig Freeforms, although I’m a big fan of Polestar wheels in black)
• Window tint
• Rear wing
• Other trim pieces, we’ll see where the road takes us.

Really looking forward to learning more about my car and the P3 community! I plan on posting about the work I’ve completed already in the next few days, so more to come soon.

 

[phish]

Thing looks really clean. How do you like the ipd turbo back? Been stuck between downpipe to OEM catback or full ipd turboback

Welcome!

 

[Loganryan911]

Thing looks really clean. How do you like the ipd turbo back? Been stuck between downpipe to OEM catback or full ipd turboback

Welcome!

Hey thanks! It is incredibly quiet, there isn't an ounce of drone to be had. Above 3500 you can definitely hear more of the engine, but in my opinion it's what the exhaust should have sounded like from the factory. It looks amazing though, and is probably 20lbs lighter if that's something you worry about.

 

[BenjaminD]

It's beautiful. I actually love the way they look stock, and have always wanted one, especially with those Sleipner wheels. But congrats on finding a new platform for mods!

Yours being a 2013, you can look up your VIN on the Steingold website and see the original window sticker. Lots of fun to be had!

The original P3 S60 is a brilliant car. Yours has Volvo's best-ever engine, too. To think that Volvo almost didn't survive long enough to produce these beautiful machines is wild to me.

 

[p.rico]

Welcome and look forward to reading your posts!

 

[Pidgey_P3]

Welcome! I for one love the build threads, so looking forward to seeing yours come together.

 

[Loganryan911]

It's beautiful. I actually love the way they look stock, and have always wanted one, especially with those Sleipner wheels. But congrats on finding a new platform for mods!

Yours being a 2013, you can look up your VIN on the Steingold website and see the original window sticker. Lots of fun to be had!

The original P3 S60 is a brilliant car. Yours has Volvo's best-ever engine, too. To think that Volvo almost didn't survive long enough to produce these beautiful machines is wild to me.

I had no idea! I'm going to head on over to Steingold now to take a look! I also love the way it currently looks, my only complaint is the wheel gap but even that I can overlook.

 

[Loganryan911]

Welcome and look forward to reading your posts!

Thank you! Your own write up has been a huge inspiration and pastime at work for me 😅 Thanks for all you've posted on here!

 

[Loganryan911]

Welcome! I for one love the build threads, so looking forward to seeing yours come together.

Hey thanks! I'm excited for everything to come together as well, I can't wait to hit the strip this spring.

 

[Loganryan911]

DIY Cold Air/Short Ram Intake

The first order of business when I purchased my car was finding a way to enhance the turbo noise. This is my first turbocharged vehicle and I really wanted to bask in that glow, until I saw how expensive the aftermarket options are. I still can’t believe Snabb’s pricing, even with how clean it looks in the engine bay. And this got me thinking…

I went to my local AutoZone and picked up a 3 inch MAF housing, 45 degree elbow and a cone filter. I was hoping to build a replacement for the MAF housing that is integrated into the stock air box, but I wasn’t so lucky. While I could get it to fit, mounting it properly inside the pipe was impossible. Somehow it disrupted the flow of air within the intake and caused the car to throw a CEL and stall. Bummer.

Which leads me to my next, I’ll be it stupid, course of action, cutting up the factory airbox. I was very hesitant to do this for obvious reasons, and I could have been way cleaner about cutting it too. But in the end everything fit, and the cone filter now rests where the bottom of the factory airbox was. I kept the factory snorkel installed, so the cone filter is constantly being supplied cool air while the car is in motion.

(Ignore the ziptie, I misplaced my MAF screws last time I worked on my car and haven't made it to the hardware store yet)

And that’s it! The car sounds so much better under load, during cold starts it almost sounds like a hybrid humming along.

I was a bit worried about heat soak during prolonged usage, so I used my scan tool as an access port of sorts to track AIT over an hour or so of driving and idling. The ambient temperature that day was 48f, and after idling for a round 25~ minutes the AIT had increased up to 105f. Not great, and I was a bit worried this was a sign of things to come. Thankfully, as soon as I started driving around the temperature rocketed way down. Driving at a consistent 55 mph saw the AIT drop to only 52f, with the worst of the heat soak occurring during stoplights and only reaching 62f.

If anyone is more interested in this, I can film a video of the test process and show the data. I also plan on uploading a sound clip of the intake in the next day or so. I plan on upgrading to a more professional intake soon, but I’ve been dayling the car with this intake for almost a year now, and it’s hard to justify such a large purchase.

 

[Pidgey_P3]

Do you think there will ukd be a fairly easy and reasonably cost effective solution to creating your own shield/air box for the cone to help keep that hot air away from the intake?

 

[Loganryan911]

Do you think there will ukd be a fairly easy and reasonably cost effective solution to creating your own shield/air box for the cone to help keep that hot air away from the intake?

For sure, Lowes/Home Depot/Hardware stores sell small pieces of sheet metal you could use. Personally, I’d rather just get the Snabb intake or something that is a bit cleaner then what I concocted.

 

[Loganryan911]

While working on my exhaust a couple weeks ago, I pulled off my intake J pipe and saw this. Anyone know what an "acceptable" amount of oil coming out of the turbo is? I'm assuming this is blow by related but still wasn't what I wanted to see.

 

[Loganryan911]

IPD Turboback Exhaust:

A few drinks in on iPD’s website I pulled the trigger on their full exhaust. Originally I had wanted to go with Viva’s “catback” due to its larger pipes and absent resonator, but cost along with the desire for quicker spool led me to IPD. Down the road I plan to purchase the Viva exhaust along with a larger downpipe, but for now this will do.

I was a little apprehensive about this project after reading the stories about the install. All my car buddies were busy and I don’t have access to a lift, meaning it was me, myself and my jack stands. Getting the factory exhaust out was more or less easy, I was honestly amazed at how much it had rusted away over the past 10 years. Comparing the old muffler with IPDs got me hopeful for a bunch of new sounds, more on that later.

The DP was another story. Originally I attempted to follow Built for Speed’s install guide and come from the battery area and under the car. This worked to a point, and I was able to get the two bolts facing the firewall loose (After 3ish hours…). That was it though, there just isn’t enough room to get the remaining bolts without losing your mind.

A bit discouraged, I called a local shop and was quoted $420 (nice) for them to install it for me. This seemed a little much to me, so I figured I’d give it another go. This time I removed the cowl and false firewall to get a better angle on the remaining bolts. This ended up making everything easier, with the exception for the bottom bolt facing the engine. In the end, I spent an hour at least feeling it out before breaking it loose. After removing the crossmember and hanger bracket thing, it was out.

The install of the new DP took an hour at most. Thanks to a pre-cat not being in the way everything fits way better.

Firing the car up the first time I was honestly a bit disappointed. While the exhaust note definitely has more to it, it's still incredibly quiet. Inside the cabin it's almost identical to stock, with above 3k being where you start to notice a bit more volume. That said the turbo spools WAY earlier, and the car pulls noticeably harder starting around 2,500 rpm. Everything feels way smoother throughout the rev range.

I attempted to link a sound video but the forum didn't like it, here's the link if anyone is curious: 2013 Volvo S60 T6 IPD Turboback Exhaust Sound

All in all, I’m very happy with the exhaust and can’t wait to see how it pairs with GFB’s DV+ and the TDI box.