andyb5 Posted September 14, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 14, 2012 Guess its time for an update, since it's only been like 5 months since my last one...so I guess this is going to be a long post..... Alright, lets see. In May I auto-crossed once here at school, its pretty informal and kinda unlike any course I've seen anywhere else. But its fun local, and cheap, so its a winner. It was cool to see a few other Volvos came out. My buddy Matt used to own the black 850 NA and he had just picked up the C30 T5M-RD. Steve's C30 T5-M (next to my car) has a 17 PSI Autotech tune, Evolve intake plenum, upgraded IC, 3" catless turboback, etc. He also has IPD sways, Koni yellows, H&R springs and a set of 18x8.5 Forgestar F14s. My R did alright, but the combo of the auto transmission constantly upshifting and my inability to remember the proper course layout (it had been over 48 hours since I'd slept....) conspired to keep me from doing too well. Regardless, it was a ton of fun, and I can't wait to run them again this fall. Hopefully I'll be a bit more competitive! In this picture, you can see the gnarly LS3-swapped widebody RX7 that came out for the day. It has put down over 400 whp, and even with 335 rears, it still has trouble going straight Also, in the background is my car cooling off after I forgot to fully tighten the coolant expansion tank cap and shot coolant all over my engine bay mid-run. When I got back to RI for the summer, I got caught up on some more "stage 0" type stuff, and finally started on a few small mods here and there. I replaced my upper engine mount and firewall bushings with Powerflex poly from Viva. Overall I'm very happy with them, a bit of vibration at idle, but not too bad, and everything feels much better after having installed them. In case anyone is wondering about the durometer ratings, the purple mount is 80A and yellow is 70A. I also did a crappy job polishing both mounts and all the hardware. I redid all the wire loom on the COP+VVT and injector+TCV harnesses, since they were essentially bare wires. Radiator endtank split wide open while I was idling in the driveway, so no real harm done thankfully. The crack formed just under the upper hose outlet, and emptied the system pretty quickly. A quick order from FCP (never had a bad one, for what its worth) got me a new Nissens radiator, OEM hoses+thermostat. New thermostat. The old one only had about 30k on it, but I'd rather be sure than deal with it down the road To continue the theme of almost-polished pieces in my engine bay, I cleaned up the T-stat housing quickly. Got my projectors finished up again and re-installed with ABM corners. Also got my 480 sidemarkers installed, but this is the best picture I have to show them on the car Bought a used IPD 22mm rear sway bar. Got it installed without problems, and it makes a huge difference in daily driving! Less body roll, better front end response, and the car feels much more neutral when cornering. I also finished up installing a 12" Kicker Solobaric L7 subwoofer, powered by a Polk Audio PA1100.5 5-channel amp. I also hard-wired in a DC to AC inverter for power in the trunk. I got the carpet from Automotive Interiors and Accessories. I bought 7701 (Graphite) cut pile carpet, which is a near-perfect match for the OE carpet Got some interior bits and pieces installed Homelink visor AEM digital boost gauge, QBM trim rings, green cluster LEDs, and silver IPD door lock pins (not pictured) Aspherical mirrors Got my FMIC mounted. At the moment, since its not hooked up yet, I refer to it as FFMIC--fake front mount intercooler Drove out to Swedish Car Day, and had a great time there. It was cool to finally meet so many of the NEC crew, and see all their cars in person. Parked in between Hussein's XR and 1R2NV's 850 R, there was no way I was opening my hood to show off how grimy my engine bay was! Drove back with my friends Matt and Steve, who have the C30s from auto-x. We stopped for lunch on the Mass Pike, and ran into Steve (1R2NV) at the rest stop. Left to right is C30 Steve, Matt, and 850R Steve. Steve's 850 R is hidden behind my wagon And I'll close this post with these expensive aluminum paperweights I have sitting on my desk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmsgltr Posted September 14, 2012 Report Share Posted September 14, 2012 Interfooler! Nice Andy! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Honeyman Posted September 14, 2012 Report Share Posted September 14, 2012 Will look forward to pics/comments on your IC pipe routing. Keep up the good work! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Platinum 850 Posted September 14, 2012 Report Share Posted September 14, 2012 I also finished up installing a 12" Kicker Solobaric L7 subwoofer, powered by a Polk Audio PA1100.5 5-channel amp. I also hard-wired in a DC to AC inverter for power in the trunk. I got the carpet from Automotive Interiors and Accessories. I bought 7701 (Graphite) cut pile carpet, which is a near-perfect match for the OE carpet Great work on the upgrades... Its too bad you didn't go with a black wall plug in (on the righ hand side below your amp). You can bull that off and try and tape it off, in a way, and use this stuff, http://www.duplicolor.com/products/vinylFabricCoating/ they have a charcoal gray, and medium gray which is pretty close match to our interior, and this stuff actually holds up over time, you'll have to see which one works better for you... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NEU Posted September 14, 2012 Report Share Posted September 14, 2012 Looks good, but would look better lowered.... The sways really make the car handle! Just wish we could get a 25mm bar. <_< Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyb5 Posted September 14, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 14, 2012 Interfooler!Nice Andy! Interfooler love it! Will look forward to pics/comments on your IC pipe routing. Keep up the good work! I'm hoping the route I have drawn up will work. If it does, I think a lot of ME7 guys will be going to FMICs. I just need to find time to cut/mark up all the pipes, and send em off to get welded up. Great work on the upgrades...Its too bad you didn't go with a black wall plug in (on the righ hand side below your amp). You can bull that off and try and tape it off, in a way, and use this stuff, http://www.duplicolo...lFabricCoating/ they have a charcoal gray, and medium gray which is pretty close match to our interior, and this stuff actually holds up over time, you'll have to see which one works better for you...Thanks, appreciate the link. It takes ~2 minutes to pull it off, but I've been being lazy. Need to really finish that up sometime soon. Looks good, but would look better lowered.... The sways really make the car handle! Just wish we could get a 25mm bar. Thanks Neu! Yeah, it needs to be much lower, but I'm still undecided if I want to just throw a pair of springs on for a while or go straight to coilovers up front in the spring. I'm hoping that the lower/stiffer front setup will be enough that I don't need my front IPD bar, because I really like the way the car rotates right now, it feels very neutral for such a front-heavy car. A 25mm bar would be nice though! Rears will get drop bolts regardless of what I do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NEU Posted September 15, 2012 Report Share Posted September 15, 2012 I know you want to AutoX but for a daily driver... Some adjustable endlinks for the front, that really makes the front bar tight! It's sweet!. And remember when you lower it you get a lot of negative camber in the rear. Whether you want it or not. Mines pretty extreme. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CBoosT5 Posted September 15, 2012 Report Share Posted September 15, 2012 Nice clean car, your sub setup is ideal! I told you that in person haha, but it had to be said again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firepuma Posted September 17, 2012 Report Share Posted September 17, 2012 glad you found one. looks like you've had your hands full. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mune237 Posted September 17, 2012 Report Share Posted September 17, 2012 Easier to just swap the entire gauges from one cluster to the original - no messing with the faces & needles. Just transfer the trip computer to the R speedo perfect time to add the trim rings Here's a pic to help with the visual... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyb5 Posted November 4, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 4, 2012 Lil update. Autocrossed again today, here are a couple picsMy friend Arjun's '10 WRX. His first autoX and he did well. His car is really capable, its definitely fun to ride in.Here are a couple videos.....(hit mute, the audio sucks)This one is my last run, my fastest of the day, and with it I beat Arjun's best time by ~1 second.https://youtu.be/o6pdhhWpj1QMy first run (slowest of the day) but I thought it was a cool camera angle https://youtu.be/32Xi12mLI2M(I'm working on improving my hand positioning on the wheel)Oh and the reason for the shitty audio--my "GoPro" doesn't like open windows Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmsgltr Posted November 4, 2012 Report Share Posted November 4, 2012 +1 I would if I could but I'm on mobile Nice work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commander Riker Posted November 4, 2012 Report Share Posted November 4, 2012 Great work on your car! I have to ask though... what was with the white car parked on your autocross course! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyb5 Posted November 4, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 4, 2012 Thanks guys. The parking lot we use at school is normally occupied by dormitory resident parking, and we are given use of it a few times a semester. Students are expected to move their cars out of a defined area, but beyond that the parking office won't move cars for us. That idiot has left their POS Pontiac in the way every time this fall, and its extremely aggravating having to plan a course around a parked car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TFIVEM Posted November 4, 2012 Report Share Posted November 4, 2012 Lookin great dude! When are you back in RI? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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