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How to track prep your Volvo

8K views 65 replies 17 participants last post by  Power6 
#1 ·
How to track prep your volvo:

1.) Order some real performance tires
Tire Automotive tire Automotive wheel system Bumper Auto part


2.) Get some proper pads and racing brake fluid
Product Motor oil Fluid Lubricant Packaging and labeling


3.) You'll want some spare wheels to mount the summer/track tires on. I scored a take off set of 19's for $500. I guess it's boring the same wheel, but also pretty stealth.
Alloy wheel Tire Rim Spoke Wheel


4.) Do the swapping and the flushing, complete flush is needed to get the good stuff out in the calipers.
Auto part Disc brake Vehicle brake Wheel Brake


5.) Re-assemble with the new wheels and tires. Take her for a spin!
Land vehicle Alloy wheel Vehicle Rim Wheel


Tires are Bridgestone Potenza S007A, Extreme Performance in Tire Rack parlance, one notch below the DOT approved RE-71R autocross tire, which gets too hot on road course anyways. I was able to get some driving in and scrub off the mold release stuff. Potenzas are known to be stiff, part of why they are awesome handling. Ride is a bit bouncier, more thump over sharp bumps. Tread noise not bad. So great to be a on a sticky tire again, they just GRIP long after the P Zeros would have given up so much fun! I'm hoping they measure up to my favorite old RE-01Rs that did like 1000 laps all over the Northeast on my SRT-4, fantastic sticky and durable tire. Just look at those sweet unbroken tread blocks and who needs sipes?

Too early to tell for the EBC Yellow Stuff pads, they have a break in layer that needs to be worn through. I am anticipating no more warped rotors. I was delighted no groans from the pads on release, the stock Volvo pads do that all the time, like when the auto parking brake releases. Time will tell if it stays that way after break in.

Notes: Thanks to Swedespeed knowledge retracted the rear caliper with a 9V battery. Also I have a LOT of tools, yet somehow not a freaking 11mm hex drive for the front caliper slider bolts. Why in the world did they use an 11mm hex drive?? Who knows but it cost me 2 hours finding one locally. I have not needed to run out for a tool in 10 years. You got me good Volvo.

I'll be at Thompson Speedway July 30 for SCCA Track Night in America.
 
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#55 ·
Also just want to save the laggy downshift with these Aisin gearbox is probably my biggest complain about the drivetrain when driven hard. Upshift isn’t so bad, just a bit mushy compared to the ZF offerings on the RWD cars.


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#56 ·
Naw I'm not that serious, I mean it's a Volvo lol. The brakes work fine, the taper is no big deal for a few track nights. Not that I don't want a fixed caliper of course, just cuz I want it.

The trans is not great on the track, I have found best strategy is run in manual so it will upshift at max always, downshifting is an issue, you can use the paddles but they are never handy, I have found you can tap the gas pedal to WOT real quick and it downshifts to the lowest gear so you are set for maintenance throttle and track out.

Always the drive home reminds what a great street car it is though. Sport chassis and sticky tires, tackles on ramps like a boss!
 
#58 ·
Not much to add here other than a tip of the proverbial cap to the OP. I've got my Porsche GT4 for track duty so I can't imagine taking the V60 on track other than for a DE type event. But mad respect. While I get the "Miata is always the answer" mindset and I agree there are far better cars for track use, I also respect the heck out of someone who "runs what they brung" and learns about his/her car.

Stay safe, keep the shiny side up.
 
#62 ·
"Yes all around. If you have the 345/320 size brakes: AP1865 front, AP1821 rear. Viva has them, look under S90 they don't have them listed under S60 on their site."

Thanks power, I didn't think to look under s90.
I believe we started at same point R Design with sports chasis[emoji16]
 
#63 ·
I went to the first track night of the season today. It was cold! 42-44 deg and a few flakes of random snow. I think the temps make a big difference in how she runs, did not feel so flat over 80 and I hit 115 on the front straight, where previous I think 110 was the fastest on the hot summer days last year. I will get to process the data and see what we can learn, maybe there is a heat component to power limiting. Added more data this year I got a thermocouple for the caliper temp in addition to rotor, learned some interesting stuff. This should be the last track time before I get my prototype brake kit installed. Then we go back for data, scientific and stuff. I drove the bejeebus out of her today, rotors up over 1000 deg reeling in some sports cars...ahh but it's just a track day ha.

For some reason lots of attention to the Volvo this time. One of the track people came down to see the car and tell me about how he was trying to get Volvo dealers to have some events there. Then he came back and handed me a pass to any one of their private events. Pretty cool! You get a lot of attention showing up with a car that literally nobody else does.
 
#64 ·
I dunno, some cars just shouldn't be tracked, it's not fun...I guess that's my reason for thinking it so silly - of course no one else brings their Volvo to the track!

I took my BMW 2016 340i to the track and it wasn't fun and it was a much better setup and much lighter than our V60. Pretty sure I said it once, but I'll say it again, buy a cheap track car like a Miata and you'll have a lot more fun. You can't even turn off all the track control, can you?
 
#65 ·
It's awesome that Power6 is tracking their Volvo and the SPA platform is pretty capable despite some limitations. Driving enjoyment is subjective - I can track a minivan and still have a blast ??‍♂ As an enthusiast community we should be supportive of people going out and getting seat time in general.

Plus, part of the fun is keeping up and chasing down "sportier" cars with something that's unsuspecting ?
 
#66 ·
I get the sentiments, believe me I do! I think it's worth going through my mindset, because I truly believe that many people are guided by some social order or expectations or group-think that limit their views on what is acceptable, or a "good idea" and then they might put that on other people. You have to consider though, well firstly I just kinda had this car for other reasons, and realized hey this thing is pretty nice, this sport chassis, it's quite aggressive, much more than I expected. There is some part of this that is wrapped up in branding, you see it around here "it's not a BMW track car" yada yada BMWs are nice street cars too, not track cars. But for that matter anything with rubber bushings that didn't arrive on a trailer is a street car. Don't take this as some big statement I am making, but if I google F30 spring rates I can find the range of models is somewhere between 160-175lb-in front springs. I've taken some careful measurements and estimated the wheel rate on the Volvo sport chassis front springs at 210-230lb-in or so. Plus we don't have the camber issues of a strut like the BMW. Again don't take me out of context, it means nothing, just me confirming what I feel, with something objective while people on message boards base their views on feelings about a brand. Out of the box, it's not just me driving an inappropriate car on track as much as it's pretty capable car.

Now you have to ask yourself "what am I doing, what is my goal?" Now at first it was just to get back on track after some years. Now I got sensors and a datalogger and I am collecting data, and developing a brake kit understanding the limits of the brake system, because I have tested them, which currently nobody else in the world has done on this chassis that I know of. And it won't be some CNC'd caliper thrown on a rotor with a bracket. So I have a reason to be there. It's just the way I am, I want to do something, learn something. A Miata doesn't happen to serve that goal. Other people could be there just blowing off steam at the track, or getting to use some of that 650hp their car has, or getting better at driving. Everybody has different goals.

Long winded but I hope that helps!

I think earlier in the thread I went over the ESC. The ESC sport setting is good. Volvo seems to have a philosophy of non-intrusive systems. I do not get any ESC action on the track in sport mode. I did have the experience of cold tires last time, got a little squirrelly on the out lap, but not much and I corrected and no intrusion from the ESC. It's frankly surprising, I expected worse and I know the GTIs have this issue of limitations. Defeating is not a consideration for me, I think anyone disabling the stability on a car they can't afford to replace in cash on the track is stupid. Nobody is that good a driver they never mess up and it's not racing. Now the collision avoidance...even all off, it will alarm and crank down the seatbelt sometimes when you are braking hard right behind another car. That's probably the worst part because it will keep yanking harder until you let off the gas for a sec and take a breather!
 
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