Phil's S60 T5 Barge

[philmots]

Another new car for me..

The E46 330 went as it wasn't fast enough really, and even though they're old and cheap people still think you're a bit flash, I don't like that.

So picked this sleeper up...

Its a 2006 2.4 T5 manual, 71k miles, 4 brand new Bridgestones, new Varta battery, new front discs and pads, lots of history and a nice £1300 bill from a specialist in Oct last year for general maintenance.

It's a dark metallic blue, not ideal I'd rather black or grey but they're so rare you can't be fussy. It's got Satnav and TV, the premium 13 speaker hifi which blows Harmon Kardon away, upgraded soft leather, I'm not sure what else is standard or not but it's got heated seats, folding mirrors etc too.

It's remapped - running roughly 320hp and 330lbft - it seems good for that compared to other cars I've had.

Couple of days after picking it up it developed a miss (typical) changed the coils which made things smoother when it wasn't missing but the missing was still there and getting progressively worse to the point of being un-driveable.

In the end I diagnosed it as the fuel pressure sensor - £180 from Volvo! I bought the same part from Ford (Focus RS/ST part) for £54, it took about 5 minutes to fit and now the car runs perfectly. Very happy it was a simple and cheap fix.

These are the sellers pics...

Ive since added genuine Volvo mats to match the carpet and new genuine wipers.

Within the next month I'm having the wheels refurbed (they're not too bad) and will have it detailed.. So I'll add more pictures then.

More power is available with bigger injectors (from S60 R, this already has the same turbo) and down pipes etc, but I doubt I'll bother as it's quick enough now, plus it rolls a bit in the corners.

it reminds me a lot of my old 9-3 2.8T, I love sleepers.

 

[SkidMarx]

Love it, im looking at these myself. How much you pay if you dont mind me asking?

 

[v15ben]

No-one will overtake you on a motorway ever again!

 

[Lal B3N]

Such a sleeper. Bet it pulls well!

 

[Goodj]

As part of "similar threads" I found this little gem from back in time.

So many heros, all destroyed by T5 power.

Super barges

 

[DanielJames]

Looks epic mate, also interested to know how much these go for?

 

[Gally]

Bit too mature for my liking, some Volvos are uber cool, this is fast old man barge!

 

[RDH]

Quick or not, that is one boring car. In many senses of the word.

 

[leeroybrown]

I love that!

 

[jimbo666]

Awesome. I still miss my old D5. So damn comfortable. If have loved a T5 but I wouldn't have been able to keep putting fuel in it.

 

[_Tom]

Bet you'd shock a few in that. I thought these mapped to about 280/290 and it was the R's which went to 320ish?

 

[Edd]

Looks good Phil, any reason you opted for this over another 9-3? Just fancied something different?

 

[philmots]

I'll answer some stuff...

Love it, im looking at these myself. How much you pay if you dont mind me asking?

Only gave £3350 for it. Bargain I reckon.

Looks epic mate, also interested to know how much these go for?

As above, I think I got lucky.. It wasn't actually for sale, I was browsing the Volvo forums and found it so I sent a PM asking if he'd sell it. Got a result.

Quick or not, that is one boring car. In many senses of the word.

Yeah you're right, it looks pretty lame on the outside but it's part of its appeal, nobody gives you any hassle in it. Had the louder/brash cars but I grew up.

I love that!

Cheers

Awesome. I still miss my old D5. So damn comfortable. If have loved a T5 but I wouldn't have been able to keep putting fuel in it.

It's easily the most comfy car I've had, like 10x the M Sport BM' as you're probably aware. But then this is a bit s**t in the corners lol. Fuel is about 23mpg at the minute, it'll probably improve when the novelty wears off, but I only do 3k a year so I'm not that fussed.

Bet you'd shock a few in that. I thought these mapped to about 280/290 and it was the R's which went to 320ish?

The older pre-facelift 2.3T mapped to that. The facelift went to 2.4 and got the pretty big KKK turbo from the 'R, that is just a 2.5 version of this engine with bigger injectors, this is actually a stronger engine as the liners break down on the 'R as that's what made the extra capacity. With that, the unreliable 4WD and the unreliable 4C suspension, this is a much better buy.

Looks good Phil, any reason you opted for this over another 9-3? Just fancied something different?

Mainly for something different, although I could of bought my old one back. I also kind of fell out with it when Saab went bust, I can't really explain why.

Such a sleeper. Bet it pulls well!

Yes and yes.

As part of "similar threads" I found this little gem from back in time.

So many heros, all destroyed by T5 power.

Super barges

Hahh that's an old thread, and was probably a standard 2.3!

 

[Matt W]

Love a good barge. Spent the day driving a Honda accord recently, was so comfy compared to the clio, can have a conversation in silence! I imagine a saloon with a decent non-diesel engine would be awesome for long distance cruising.

 

[Goodj]

can have a conversation in silence!

Telepathy?
whatsapp?

 

[Liam B]

Love the colour

 

[cat171]

I love these!! Maybe in a few years when I fancy a barge, I'll go this route.

 

[not normal dan]

I'm a real fan of these, did me apprenticeship with Volvo when I left school so I've seen, worked on and driven plenty of these, even me old man has the v70 equivalent

 

[philmots]

I managed to break it...

Blown a 2" hole in the boost pipe to the intercooler, oops.. Only £35 though so got one on order, also got the other rubber one coming that goes straight to the turbo, that was £30. It looks like it's leaked before as it's just wrapped in duck tape.!

other than that, it's going great.. Wheel refurb due.

 

[Daz.]

Are they comfy? looks like a lovely place to sit to me.

I'd have to change the wood myself to gloss black or something similar but apart from that


Smoked chrome wheel refurb!

 

[Mr R.]

Love it mate, just what ill be getting the wife as our family bus. Just perfect for our needs.

Whats the mpg like? The misses only does about 5k per year

Is the manual better than the auto?

 

[philmots]

Driving really really careful with no town work it does 31mpg, but enjoying it it's more like 24-25... Again that's with no town, but quiet back roads with plenty of WOT.

Never drove an auto one, but apparently they're like chocolate. I generally prefer autos and they're more common, but for some reason I can't get on with the idea of an auto fwd car!

Its also easily as comfy as it looks, most comfy car I've had, I think the relatively small 17" wheels help.

 

[Chrisgti6]

Glad I'm not the only grandad car driver on here anymore!

Any ideas where it was mapped and anything else it had? 320bhp and 330lb-ft sounds a lot from just a remap!

 

[philmots]

Glad I'm not the only grandad car driver on here anymore!

Any ideas where it was mapped and anything else it had? 320bhp and 330lb-ft sounds a lot from just a remap!

Have a read of this.. http://forums.t5d5.org/topic/24935-p2r-24t5-remaps-for-sale-flashed-via-obd2/

It's a long story but this guy basically had lots of issues with the apparently perfect MTE maps, so did a better job himself.

The 2.4 T5 has a pretty big turbo (same as the R) so these power figures are achievable with no other mods. They are 260 std so not a huge jump really..

Bigger injectors, down pipe and IC and you'll be good for 370ish but tbh I'm not bothering, it's quick enough on the road (specially round here) as it is, always seem to be on the brakes.

Ive not had it on the rollers, yet.. but it's a fair bit quicker than my old 2.8T 9-3 that made 300 on RS Tunings DD rollers.

 

[Mr R.]

Phil is the 2.4 better than the 2.5 i keep on seeing for sale or are they the same thing?

Oh im sure that the 2.5 is only 210 bhp?

Ive also seen the 2.3 T5?

 

[philmots]

2.3 T5 is the pre facelift, 2.4 T5 are facelift cars... These and the R's are the only real interesting ones.

The 2.5T if it's not an R isn't anything juicy. The 2.3T is a 280hp with a map.

Avoid the R's as it's a weaker engine due to thinner liners that crack. They fetch almost twice the money too, it's not twice the car.

A few lads who want big power from their R's are actually using the 2.4 engine. Apart from the capacity and injectors, it's the same.

 

[Alan]

I managed to break it...

Blown a 2" hole in the boost pipe to the intercooler, oops.. Only £35 though so got one on order, also got the other rubber one coming that goes straight to the turbo, that was £30. It looks like it's leaked before as it's just wrapped in duck tape.!

other than that, it's going great.. Wheel refurb due.

Awesome Philip.

I done EXACTLY the same thing on my MK2 Focus ST two years ago, i was doing some knots whilst having a bit of 'sport' with an Astra VXR.. I thought i'd shagged the turbo, into Ford, half an hour and it was sorted (FOC as it was under warranty).

 

[Chrisgti6]

Have a read of this.. http://forums.t5d5.org/topic/24935-p2r-24t5-remaps-for-sale-flashed-via-obd2/

It's a long story but this guy basically had lots of issues with the apparently perfect MTE maps, so did a better job himself.

The 2.4 T5 has a pretty big turbo (same as the R) so these power figures are achievable with no other mods. They are 260 std so not a huge jump really..

Bigger injectors, down pipe and IC and you'll be good for 370ish but tbh I'm not bothering, it's quick enough on the road (specially round here) as it is, always seem to be on the brakes.

Ive not had it on the rollers, yet.. but it's a fair bit quicker than my old 2.8T 9-3 that made 300 on RS Tunings DD rollers.

Good on the guy for doing that, sounds awesome. I really wish they'd put the 2.4 lump in the S40, however I can understand why they didn't.

I looked at the S60's when buying mine, but I just couldn't bring myself to buy one!

 

[tomhunt85]

Awesome Philip.

I done EXACTLY the same thing on my MK2 Focus ST two years ago, i was doing some knots whilst having a bit of 'sport' with an Astra VXR.. I thought i'd shagged the turbo, into Ford, half an hour and it was sorted (FOC as it was under warranty).

My ST also did this in the convoluted section of the post intercooler pipe. Put a Pro-Alloy hard pipe on.

 

[DaylePemberton]

I am doing an apprenticeship with Volvo now and these T5's are quick so with it being remapped to 320bhp I bet it pulls well!

 

[philmots]

Good on the guy for doing that, sounds awesome. I really wish they'd put the 2.4 lump in the S40, however I can understand why they didn't.

I looked at the S60's when buying mine, but I just couldn't bring myself to buy one!

in fairness I really wanted an estate.: I missed a V50 T5 Sport which I'd of been happy with, they do look nice. Then was looking for a V70 T5 but they're so rare and fetched big money. In fairness I got this for an absolute steal, mainly because it wasn't running right. But it's now perfect for not a lot of money I've dropped right on.

i don't really like the look of it, but it's comfy, quick and doesn't attract any attention at all.!

 

[Alan]

My ST also did this in the convoluted section of the post intercooler pipe. Put a Pro-Alloy hard pipe on.

It seems to be a common thing on that engine under boost/load, my mates RS had similar issues too, although it was 370bhp.

 

[tomhunt85]

It seems to be a common thing on that engine under boost/load, my mates RS had similar issues too, although it was 370bhp.

It was hard to spot the split, I had to dismantle half the front of the car to find it. Mine was over 300, was supposed to be a 320 set up but didn't have the full exhaust. The hard pipe was hard to fit, a lot go with the silicone replacements now it seems.

 

[philmots]

Unfortunately there's only really one kit for the S60, although the engine set up is similar to the ST and RS slight differences in placements of the intercooler etc means it needs a specific kit..!

You can get this kit by do88.. http://www.partsforvolvosonline.com/product_info.php?products_id=8258

but that's like 10% of the cars value! No chance

 

[philmots]

Car all fixed up now, managed to fit it myself so saved on garage bills.

I replaced the TCV too after reading on another forum that these should be treated as a service item, the seals around the piston inside wear with use, specially when using more boost. I bought a revised part that's from the Focus RS, can only guess it's designed for higher pressures.. It's the same part number as I took off but the Pierburg number is different.

What a difference! It replaced punch low down that I never knew I'd lost.. Got a really nice elasticity feel to the throttle now that's typical of turbo cars, feels like there's endless torque all over.

I'd recommend anyone with an RS, ST, T5 or any incarnation of this engine to change theirs.

New pics... Needs a detail and wheel refurb, the front left has been attempted in the past by diy and is really dull.

 

[philmots]

These vids give an idea of performance against E46 M3...

http://youtu.be/k3QvWf_SQpI

..and a heavy cab

http://youtu.be/iigiYu0tJ2c

 

[leeroybrown]

Phil - Do they feel fast with being a bit of a barge?

I was looking at one pretty much in the same spec, colour and funnily enough same sort of reg a few months back

 

[Ex-User (60778)]

Nice car! I've just stuck a deposit down on a c30 t5 prefacelift.

 

[BoatNonce]

Love me a good Lolvo.

Really are good cars despite their boring reputation. Which makes it all the more fun blowing stuff away.

 

[Chrisgti6]

Nice car! I've just stuck a deposit down on a c30 t5 prefacelift.

Any details or a link to the car?