shoman Posted July 31, 2006 Report Share Posted July 31, 2006 I figured, but he might have packed up the toques, plaid shirts and back bacon, and moved south!JohnC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AGV70R Posted July 31, 2006 Author Report Share Posted July 31, 2006 LOLLLLL.... Well, Doug is from the US northeast (check the membermap) so he isn't Canadian BUT, he may like beer as much as I do... (and I am Canadian!)RHey,I'm originally Canadian too - George Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
defgh1 Posted July 31, 2006 Report Share Posted July 31, 2006 I figured, but he might have packed up the toques, plaid shirts and back bacon, and moved south!JohnCNope, born and raised in MD, but I do like Molson beer. Doug H Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shoman Posted July 31, 2006 Report Share Posted July 31, 2006 Molson eh? does the name "Tim Horton" mean anything to you?JohnC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AGV70R Posted July 31, 2006 Author Report Share Posted July 31, 2006 Molson eh? does the name "Tim Horton" mean anything to you?JohnCOh yeah ... large decaf with six sugars ...... hmmm sweet. I love the coloUr, the flavoUr. The closest thing here in the US to Tim Hortons is Dunkin' Donuts. -G Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shoman Posted July 31, 2006 Report Share Posted July 31, 2006 Yikes! - and I thought triple triple was excessive! What do you do at Starbucks? 10? With all that sugar, you don't want a spill on the upholstry. Dunkin donuts was here for a few months or so (literally). I bounce back and forth between Tim's and Starbucks myself.Michigan has Timmys - I have partaken in Ann Arbour - double cream extra large - smooth and stimulating, just as I hope my new V70R will be!George, why don't you look into the Tim Hortons franchise for Illinois!JohnC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AGV70R Posted July 31, 2006 Author Report Share Posted July 31, 2006 Yikes! - and I thought triple triple was excessive! What do you do at Starbucks? 10? With all that sugar, you don't want a spill on the upholstry. Dunkin donuts was here for a few months or so (literally). I bounce back and forth between Tim's and Starbucks myself.Yeah I have a bit of a sweet tooth - once when I was a kid for four months, every work day I had six cans of coke....George, why don't you look into the Tim Hortons franchise for Illinois!JohnCBecause I'd eat all the donuts and become bankrupt in a month or so.Not to go back on topic ..... but can someone explain if all the other v70 variants have same or longer wheelbases why the R is so hard to turn? Is it the width of the tires? Thanks - George Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shoman Posted July 31, 2006 Report Share Posted July 31, 2006 Yes - back to business...I spoke to my sales rep today to check on my car arrival date and he said that yes, it is the width of the tires that adds to the steering radius.I understand that the V70 does not have a great sterring radius to begin with, the AWD makes it worse and then the wider tires limit it further - makes sense.And that tracking info works! - my car arrived in Halifax July 19 so it could arrive any day now! I am going to make a separate post about tracking, but for those interested go to the front door of the website:http://www.2wglobal.com/www/wep/index.jsp and hit "Cargo Tracking" under Ocean Services Tools and thenm hit "Auto Cargo" under Track By.Type in your VIN and voila it gives the dates of received at terminal, loaded on vessel, and discharged at terminal.Gotta love technology.. that works!JohnC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Needsdecaf Posted July 31, 2006 Report Share Posted July 31, 2006 The excessive turning radius of the R is due to the width of the tires, and mostly due to the large offset of the wheels needed to clear those big old' Brembo calipers.You'll get used to it, but you'll never like it.And I have never had a problem with seeing the gauges, day or night. I absolutely LOVE the gauges. Never get tired of seeing them at night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AGV70R Posted July 31, 2006 Author Report Share Posted July 31, 2006 The excessive turning radius of the R is due to the width of the tires, and mostly due to the large offset of the wheels needed to clear those big old' Brembo calipers.You'll get used to it, but you'll never like it.And I have never had a problem with seeing the gauges, day or night. I absolutely LOVE the gauges. Never get tired of seeing them at night.I dont really buy that as a reason/excuse. Here's why:The AMG E63 EClass 469 HP Wagon has a wheel base of 112.3 inches (vs 108.5 in for the R) with 14 inch 6 piston brakes up front and 4 pistons in rear. Its track is at least 61.3 inches (vs 60.8 inches for the R ) For tires it has 245/40 18s front with 265/35 18s (wider than the V70Rs)So according to all the reasons Ive heard the AMG should have a far worse turn diameter.... YET it still has a turning diameter about 6 feet tighter! 37.4ft (vs the posted turn diameter of 43.3 ft for the V70R.) So clearly its not because of the wide tires or the brakes , etc, etc, since the AMG is bigger in every criteria.So there has to be some reason. Is it just a poor design choice? Did they need to do some change when addingon biger tires/brakes that they didnt to save a little money somewhere....Its not a big deal since Im rarely below 5mph for very long I always wonder how much money they must make on a S4/S6 Avant, AMG, etc if they can deliver the V70R for what they go for. Still amazing value... you should be kicking yourself if you brought anything else.-George Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
defgh1 Posted July 31, 2006 Report Share Posted July 31, 2006 I dont really buy that as a reason/excuse. Here's why:The AMG E63 EClass 469 HP Wagon has a wheel base of 112.3 inches (vs 108.5 in for the R) with 14 inch 6 piston brakes up front and 4 pistons in rear. Its track is at least 61.3 inches (vs 60.8 inches for the R ) For tires it has 245/40 18s front with 265/35 18s (wider than the V70Rs)So according to all the reasons Ive heard the AMG should have a far worse turn diameter.... YET it still has a turning diameter about 6 feet tighter! 37.4ft (vs the posted turn diameter of 43.3 ft for the V70R.) So clearly its not because of the wide tires or the brakes , etc, etc, since the AMG is bigger in every criteria.So there has to be some reason. Is it just a poor design choice? Did they need to do some change when addingon biger tires/brakes that they didnt to save a little money somewhere....Its not a big deal since Im rarely below 5mph for very long I always wonder how much money they must make on a S4/S6 Avant, AMG, etc if they can deliver the V70R for what they go for. Still amazing value... you should be kicking yourself if you brought anything else.-GeorgeApples and Oranges comparison. The Volvo has a transverse mounted engine and transmission with AWD compared to the AMG that is RWD with a longitudinal engine and transmission.Doug H Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geoguy Posted July 31, 2006 Report Share Posted July 31, 2006 I think the additional item that contributes to the big turning circle is the transversely mounted 5-cylinder motor. A little extra room (e.g. gained from a narrower drivetrain) would allow the front wheels to pivot a bit more & significantly reduce the turning radius/diameter. I assume the AMG E Class has a V8 oriented parallel to the car's length?My super-duty work trucks feel more nimble than the R when it comes to negotiating tight parking spaces! But I'm ok with that, the occasional parking-spot nuisance is more than offset by other benefits. - Markedit . . . Doug apparently types faster than I do . . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shoman Posted July 31, 2006 Report Share Posted July 31, 2006 George,I think you are right - it starts with the basic design - according to my research, the plain V70 has a turning radius of 39 feet - that is more than the AMG.Add the AWD, brakes and wider tires and there you have it.Now what determines the turning radius in the basic V70 design, I do not know. Obviously Volvo's priorities in the basic V70 design did not include the turning radius, so we R drivers live with that compromise made worse by our car's features.JohnC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlexD Posted July 31, 2006 Report Share Posted July 31, 2006 Obviously Volvo's priorities in the basic V70 design did not include the turning radius, so we R drivers live with that compromise made worse by our car's features.You hit the nail on the head. Just because it has a transverse mounted inline engine doesn't mean that the turning radius has to be bad. Case in point: The new S40 with the same 2.5L inline 5 cylinder engine , slightly smaller track, and a turning radius of 34.9 feet with the AWD system. The only logical explaination is that the turning radius just wasn't that big of a deal to the designers, or they would have worked harder to correct it. Actually, I have to say that it's not that big of a deal to me either, driving around europe with my V70R where the roads are smaller and car parks even smaller, it wasn't really a big deal.Oh, as a side note, the V70 can be had with the same width tires as our V70Rs and it has the same turning radius, so did the old AWD V70. The difference must be the wheel offset and the slightly larger track. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
defgh1 Posted July 31, 2006 Report Share Posted July 31, 2006 The 2.5L motor in the S40/V50 is not the same as the R's. It is a compacted version with reduced length. Allowing for a few additional inches of wheel turn-in would make a noticable difference in turn radius.Doug H Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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