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 Post subject: Re: 2006 V70R - the next export to SK?
PostPosted: Fri Sep 27, 2013 11:28 pm 
Somehow completely sideways in 4th

Joined: Thu Nov 10, 2011 11:43 am
Posts: 248
Location: Regina, SK
No hijack worries at all - I love the discussion!

Update: The tranny is acting up again despite Paul's valiant efforts. So rather than risk any gear crunching nastyness, I decided to go ahead and order a new updated valve body and install it myself. I'm hoping to buy one of the knock off Chinese VIDA-DICE units so that I can reset the counters and redo the adaptations if necessary - but there seems to be a lot of issues with getting it to work... So plan is to just swap it and see, and if I have to have the local shop reset the software so be it.

Jordan (jordanrules on here) was an awesome source of info, and helped remove a lot of doubt which was nice. Contacted FCP and asked if they could get the parts I needed AND match Tasca's prices and they agreed - so now I can order the OEM parts through them, grab a few more things and still get their great service and shipping options.

Car itself:

Side hop: The side hop issue can be disconcerting, but the rear tires on it have bad uneven wear, and it really only does it in certain circumstances. I'll sometimes prepare for it, and nothing happens, and other times it'll catch me off guard. Dedicated winter tires with softer sidewalls is supposed to really tone it down, so looking forward to fitting the winter tires to see what they do for it. 0 toe rear, and new summer tires next year will be at the top of the list.

Seats: They look and feel gorgeous, but 8 hours straight and my butt was going numb too! I sat in my 00' R right after and the seat bottom has much better support hands down - and I know why all the forum guys insisted they were the better seats. That said - any future trips will be with my wife and two little girls - so there's no damn way we'll ever be in the car for any serious stretches. Initial comfort and on up to 3-4 hours is perfectly fine - so still a great place to be.

Suspension: It's a compromise for sure, but when you get a proper stretch of road and in Sport or Advanced - this car simply blows minds as to how capable it can be. Enthusiastic highway passes in Advanced showed fantastic stability and instilled a lot of confidence. But I agree fully that it does a crappy job in the rough stuff and if you get caught in a rough patch in comfort mode it can be down right bad... It's a comprimise for sure - but for me the good far out weighs the bad as it's still better than the P80 chassis R that I have - and it's essentially on brand new suspension components and upgraded Koni Sport front struts.

Comparisons: I drove a 2008 BMW 535 Touring AWD (twin turbo 300 HP) - and the suspension was every bit as harsh as the R in sport, with jiggles and rattles to boot. 94K on it, and while it was solid and well put together it felt fat and ponderous. WOT merge onto the highway and it threw a CEL and killed power - so a terrible impression on a test drive. Panaramic sunroof was a big wish list item as I thought it was cool - but the owner of the BMW said it was a PITA with wind noise and leaking. (Benefit of the doubt on the roof - He also had it smash out on him, and they were on their 3rd roof cartridge trying to get it right...) What did it for me however was I had no giggle factor in the car at all... It was nice - but when I drove my buddy's R, or even when I drive mine now - I'm smiling... (Or swearing in awe depending on how fast that sucker spools). Oh yeah - The 08's asking price was $38K!

Conclusions: Once the valve body is in, and all is sorted out the car will be everything I wanted. With new struts not much more than Koni Sport's I'm not worried about the 4C ownership at all, and with 0 toe and good all seasons (Michelin Pilot AS3's is the leading contender) I think the side hop issue will be quite manageable. While it is a pretty fat car - it carries it's weight better than the BMW's I've driven, and I find it a hoot to drive. (Long distance, big sweeper car though - not autocross...) From a family useability point of view with two small kids - the car is simply unrivaled. The other Euro wagons can't even come close to the interior space, and the stock stereo is pretty damn impressive. Most telling for me however is that whenever I park the car I always glance back at it, and when I walk towards it - I always smile. So despite the rocky start I'm very happy with not only this particular car, but generally choosing to go with the R as a whole. It is a TON of car for the money, and the performance envelope it offers is ridiculous - it is the family hauler after all!

BEST part of this whole adventure though is that I finally got to not only meet Matt and Dale, but we got to hang out two weekends in a row and geek out on car stuff. The drama of the tranny discovery SUCKED, but having Matt and Dale backing me up that day and helping me out after, and having Paul there to check the car out and have it ready for me to pick up the following weekend just blows the negative into nothing and I have a great story and new friends instead... Doesn't get better than that!!

I'll keep you posted on the valve body upgrade and hopefully the happy conclusion of a finely shifting car in all conditions... I'll also have to do a photo shoot with both my R's as the both look pretty freakin' good.

Rabin


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 Post subject: Re: 2006 V70R - the next export to SK?
PostPosted: Sat Sep 28, 2013 10:38 am 
Haha, I just built a W24 Octo-Turbo, now what?!
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Joined: Wed Dec 21, 2005 7:14 pm
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Matt and Dale r teh awesome.

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 Post subject: Re: 2006 V70R - the next export to SK?
PostPosted: Sun Sep 29, 2013 10:02 am 
Haha, I just built a W24 Octo-Turbo, now what?!
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swedishmeatball wrote:
Matt and Dale r teh awesome.


What he said.

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 Post subject: Re: 2006 V70R - the next export to SK?
PostPosted: Sun Sep 29, 2013 12:37 pm 
Haha, I just built a W24 Octo-Turbo, now what?!

Joined: Wed Dec 21, 2005 8:03 pm
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122_Canuck wrote:
swedishmeatball wrote:
Matt and Dale r teh awesome.


What he said.


Oh stop it... #-o

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 Post subject: Re: 2006 V70R - the next export to SK?
PostPosted: Mon Sep 30, 2013 2:54 am 
Somehow completely sideways in 4th

Joined: Thu Nov 10, 2011 11:43 am
Posts: 248
Location: Regina, SK
No update really - but I did take the new R to Saskatoon on it's first family trip, and it was great. (It was driven gingerly to say the least.) Great highway car, better fuel economy than the '00 V70R, the kids loved it, and there wasn't one side hop event on the entire trip (which surprised me as there were a few rough stretches that I though it would show itself). My wife even drove it for the first time and quite liked it.

The only negative on the whole trip was getting dinged for doing 110 in a 90 on circle drive... LAME ticket as it was the flow of traffic and I was just selected at random apparently... So much for my thinking it was a fairly discrete wagon that shouldn't get too many looks from cops, but apparently Saskatoon cops got special training as my only other ticket in years was in my other wagon there as well.

Rabin


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 Post subject: Re: 2006 V70R - the next export to SK?
PostPosted: Mon Sep 30, 2013 7:25 am 
Haha, I just built a W24 Octo-Turbo, now what?!
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Joined: Wed Dec 21, 2005 8:40 pm
Posts: 3492
Location: Calgary, Ab
Booo! Yes, random selection to help slow down traffic. Visual deterrent and all that.

What exactly is this side hop issue? Are the rear wheels so toed in that when one comes off the ground, the other pushes the arse over? Is it a geometry thing, where upon impact the wheel is driven backwards and this causes toe-in, or is there bad bump steer? Sounds ugly - is it really that serious?


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 Post subject: Re: 2006 V70R - the next export to SK?
PostPosted: Mon Sep 30, 2013 9:19 am 
Bone stock

Joined: Fri Jul 19, 2013 10:13 am
Posts: 20
The side hop is caused by a change in the wheel geometry as the rear suspension is loaded into a corner. Now a couple things on side hop. First off it is not to be confused with the odd corkscrew motion the 4C equipped cars can exhibit in normal driving situations. The side hop rears it's head when the car is really working in the corners. ie double to triple the limit through the off ramp etc. Real 8/10s hooning stuff. What will happen is the rear will load and then bunny hop sideways. Hopefully the tires regain adhesion... I think it is a combo of rear suspension geometry and the fact the rear is designed to take heavier loads than the typical passenger sedan.

I never made friends with entire 4C system with the R. When I bought the car I felt it was gimmicky and I still do. The car I replaced the R with (Pontiac G8 GT) had a simple non-adjustable system and it was light years ahead in ride quality and handling. No electronics required required. I dare say my 1970 1800E has better ride quality than my former R. The higher sidewalls are probably the biggest reason.

This is not to take anything way from the VR. It was awesome. It had flaws but it also had some character.
Saskatchewan is the perfect spot for the R as there are probably only a handful of corners in the entire province where it could be an issue.


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 Post subject: Re: 2006 V70R - the next export to SK?
PostPosted: Tue Oct 01, 2013 1:05 am 
Somehow completely sideways in 4th

Joined: Thu Nov 10, 2011 11:43 am
Posts: 248
Location: Regina, SK
There are a lot of differing opinions on side hop, as does my definition of side hop. I did some quick googling to find an explanation of what it means for me and found this one: http://forums.swedespeed.com/showthread.php?192872

I only experience it when one of the rear wheels impacts a sharp bump that unsettles the car. It feels like the impact toes out the rear wheel and the back end changes direction for a split second which gives a very disconcerting feeling. When I read about it I assumed it was any bumps, but ring road here in Regina is TERRIBLE, and my 00' R is actually pretty damn rough as the impacts really feel quite hard. In the 06' R they are handled MUCH better, and the rear end stays planted. There were no signs of side hop at all when the impact was simultaneously hit with both rear wheels (IE expansion joints / frost heaves). Where the car noticeably is affected is where there is missing pavement chunks or pot holes on the road that impact one side of the car.

The toe change makes sense to me, as does running 0 toe, but I only if 0 toe settings result in less toe when the suspension is loaded on impact. When I get the wheel alignment done I want to get them to anchor the car and see what kind of deflection is attained in the rear of the car when the suspension has a "thrust" force applied to the suspension which basically sees how much bushing deflection is possible with a moderate amount of force applied. Taking out the compliance, then 0 toe align it with the force applied - then release the suspension and see if it stays in spec. My feeling is that the wheels are toeing out on impact and that's why it feels like the rear end is stepping out. Not sure I want to replace any bushings at this point if they're not needed, but new updated OEM ones might be a good option after the alignment, but I'll make that call when I check the car out myself.

I should probably give a bit more info on why I chose the V70R: I'm a winter traction freak, and I'm HUGELY protective of my family in winter. All my cars run studded winter tires, and if the 06' didn't come with nice Dunlop Graspic DS2 winter tires I would have installed studded winter tires on it as well. (Still might if the Dunlops don't cut it). I hate mini vans (they steal your soul!), can't stand SUV/CUV handling, I like cool cars - and always LOVED wagons since I was kid. I'm not a dyed in the wool Volvo guy, they are simply the best cars that have all the features I wanted in a family car. My preference is actually Peugeot cars, but developed an AWD addiction owning Subaru's which is why AWD is so critical when we found out we had bambino #1 on the way. Tried out all the AWD cars I could find in our budget and found the newer Subie's sorely lacking. Searched ebay with only "AWD + Wagon" and that's how I found the V70 series Volvos. A bit of research and I chose the 00' R as the best one, and then found a really nice one in Edmonton after driving an XC locally and really liking it. Drove the R and was sold - it buried the Subie in refinement. (Interior space beat out MB, BMW and Audi - 260HP I5 didn't hurt either). That's the only reason I'm driving Volvo's - and it's the only reason I've added the 06' R as it's even better than our 00' R in some areas.

So while the G8 is a stunning car in it's own right - it's not even a consideration. Given all my criteria - the R really is the best suited car for us at the moment.

Rabin


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 Post subject: Re: 2006 V70R - the next export to SK?
PostPosted: Wed Oct 02, 2013 9:19 am 
Bone stock

Joined: Fri Jul 19, 2013 10:13 am
Posts: 20
That is true. The VR is close to the perfect family wagon except for one glaring fault and the reason I finally sold mine. The lack of rear seat legroom.

When my kids were real young and in backward facing seats (1 in the centre only) the driving position was really awkward to accommodate me when driving. When older and forward facing things were better and really good when they were in the integrated boosters (great feature). Unfortunately they quickly ran out of rear seat legroom. I don't know why Volvo skimped in this area.

The only other nitpick (sounds like I didn't like my R but I really I did) was the poor performance of the headlights on high beam. Downright dangerous and possibly the worst high beams I have ever experienced. I wrote a long winded letter to Volvo saying how disappointed I was in the lights especially for a company who wraps themselves in the safety blanket.

Here is the problem:

Bi Xenon reflector headlight. Moving to high beam the reflector changes and essentially focuses the same light beam upward. So far so good. What Volvo did however was take the usual Halogen high beam assist (long range pencil beam) and turn it into a DRL for the Canadian market. The net result is that there is no far illumination. You can outdrive the R's high beams at 80 km/h. I added aftermarket pencil beam lights behind the grill to make up for the lack of light.


Also don't forget to put some sort of clear film over the headlights. They are glass and they will not last in SK very long in the winter. You want the thick stuff. Even with it one of my lights got a small crack. One unit can run north of $1000.


Have fun with your R.


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 Post subject: Re: 2006 V70R - the next export to SK?
PostPosted: Wed Oct 02, 2013 8:27 pm 
Somehow completely sideways in 4th

Joined: Thu Nov 10, 2011 11:43 am
Posts: 248
Location: Regina, SK
I've only driven it at night once and I didn't notice them being bad at all - but it was a high traffic hyw11 between Regina and Saskatoon. My 89' 505 turbo has Euro headlights with 90/100W Hella H4's and they pretty much obliterate all other lights including HID lights in modern cars. The 06' R are way better than the 00' V70R lights - especially now that I succumbed to the crappy ABM projectors - but damnit the ABM's look GREAT! 06' is a US market car so the HID's are on all the time, but the halogen high beam assists don't appear to come on at all, so I'll have to see if they've been disabled in the software if I ever get the the knock off VIDA-DICE set up... I'd prefer some halogen assistance as I find the colour temp of Halogen to be far better for actually lighting things up. I hope to change the HID bulbs out to 3000K versions for the same colour reason, but it also outputs more lumens.

Rear seat room will be fine for the next 5-10 years, and with two petite girls I don't think leg room will be a concern for as long as we own the car. Once the youngest is in gr1 in the school across the street, our accrued miles on our cars is going to drop likely in half or even less with no daycare or school pick ups. My wife and I both work on Campus and that's walking/biking distance from our house which will be REALLY nice to finally enjoy.

So while the car does have it's fair share of niggles and foibles - they all disappear with a spirited run. I took a couple friends for a little blast and while walking to the car the one guy was beaking my choice of a "station wagon"... That changed when he saw the car, and after a quick rip on a back road he vowed never EVER to bad mouth my wagon again... He was more than a little impressed!

Rabin


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 Post subject: Re: 2006 V70R - the next export to SK?
PostPosted: Thu Oct 03, 2013 12:28 am 
Somehow completely sideways in 4th

Joined: Thu Nov 10, 2011 11:43 am
Posts: 248
Location: Regina, SK
Update on the car:

I ordered all the parts from FCP as Mike R confirmed that he'd match Tasca's prices for the valve body and pan sealant. Bought Hawk HPS front pads and a new left tie rod as per Paul's list of things that it'll likely need in the future - figured I'd maximize shipping. (And a new rear O2 for my 00'R)

I'll be doing a fairly major fluid flush on all the car systems when I do the valve body, switching everything over to synthetics before winter (engine, transmission, diff and bevel), as well as fresh Pentosin power steering fluid.

Peace of mind and all that...

Rabin


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 Post subject: Re: 2006 V70R - the next export to SK?
PostPosted: Tue Oct 07, 2014 1:15 pm 
Somehow completely sideways in 4th

Joined: Thu Nov 10, 2011 11:43 am
Posts: 248
Location: Regina, SK
Holy crap - almost a year to the date of my last post and I finally have the new valve body swapped in this past weekend. Lost two plus hours looking for a metal clip before I could reassemble.

Car is together now, flushed tranny fluid with fresh Redline ATF4, and set fluid level at 50C as per instructions in VIDA. Took FAR too long how to reset the transmission fluid counter, and I will also do the transmission adaptation reset once I find what the drive cycle is after the reset. (Hopefully Jordan sees this as I haven't found anything specific to the 6sp auto).

Plan for tonight is to check the haldex oil and filter, and bevel gear oil. If either don't look recently changed I'll change them.

Booked it in to ensure the car has the latest software packs, and to get a valet key programmed for the car starter.

Upgrades:

I changed the front pads to Hawk HPS, and while the brakes are good I miss how instant the factory Jurid pads would bite in. I'll go back to stock next time.

Repairs needed:
Front 4C strut is leaking - hoping it lasts winter.
Need to fix/replace rear parking sensor #2
Headlights do suck. Bought the AUX driving light kit for it and will either mod the DRL lights to come on as high beams with uprated bulbs, or go ahead with driving lights behind grill. (Not a fan of the light bracket off the license plate mounts in the kit)

Comments:
I absolutely fricken love this car. Moving the accelerometers has made a WORLD of difference in how the car rides, and with the new Michelin AS3's installed on trued Pegs the car is fantastic.

I'm praying the valve body fixes the tranny issues, but aside from not wanting to do any WOT events, or being cautious when passing to avoid the nasty shifting - the car has been fantastic to drive.

Capabilities of this car are still ridiculous - and it still makes me giggle.

Rabin


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 Post subject: Re: 2006 V70R - the next export to SK?
PostPosted: Wed Oct 08, 2014 8:50 am 
First volvo in outer space
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Rabin, thanks for the update, hard to figure out where the time goes doesn't it??

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66 122S (Garage Queen)
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 Post subject: Re: 2006 V70R - the next export to SK?
PostPosted: Wed Oct 08, 2014 10:27 am 
Haha, I just built a W24 Octo-Turbo, now what?!
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Joined: Thu Dec 29, 2005 12:29 am
Posts: 1790
Location: Eating tofu and legumes in my hippie shack
bean wrote:
Headlights do suck. Bought the AUX driving light kit for it and will either mod the DRL lights to come on as high beams with uprated bulbs, or go ahead with driving lights behind grill. (Not a fan of the light bracket off the license plate mounts in the kit)


Whoa whoa whoa!!! Which driving light kit??? The factory one??? If so, I've been looking for it everywhere, and cannot seem to source it in North America. Indeed, these headlights DO suck. Just awful. Need extra lights in the worst way for this winter.

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 Post subject: Re: 2006 V70R - the next export to SK?
PostPosted: Wed Oct 08, 2014 10:39 am 
Somehow completely sideways in 4th

Joined: Thu Nov 10, 2011 11:43 am
Posts: 248
Location: Regina, SK
Tasca got it for me - comes with the harness, switch, and the bumper bracket to mount the lights too. Not a fan of mounting lights with no impact protection, so would prefer to mount them inside the grill infront of the horns...

Kit was $146 IIRC - and I can post the cost and part number tonight. Dude is selling euro lights with proper high beams for $1200 shipped - but thats still too much for just better high beams.

Rabin


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