The P3 Common & Uncommon Repairs Documentation Project

One of my goals with the website, as with many of my projects, is to act as a repository for information. My new endeavor, is going to be cataloging all of the issues I had come up with my 2012 S60 on the P3 platform. In each of my posts, I will try to describe accurately what my issues were, and how they were fixed. I will also try to include information from the repair sheets along with part numbers and labor time. My goal is to make it so that people encountering these issues will be able to find my site and use it to self-diagnose their car. Each repair will be a single post, with pictures (if needed). This content will hopefully make up a good amount of posts until I can start a new Volvo project.

Mini-Post: New side skirt.

Due to my own stupidity, I duffed the side skirt on the passenger side of my car. While I wait for my car to get back from the wrap shop, here are some pictures of the sideskirt, freshly painted in sapphire black metallic.

Driveability and Performance Report: December 2018

While my process of working on the S60 has been slowed down by a lack of good weather and funding, I have had time to really feel out the car in its current state and get used to the performance. On the track the car is still proper, obviously understeer is a problem given the weight and AWD system. At a track like VIR, you have a good amount of speed to really get your brakes hot during a more aggressive run. The stock braking system, while great for daily use, is not suited to stop such a heavy car with the speeds the S60 can reach. Other than these two issues, the car had no other issues out on the track. The transmission was on point the entire time, never getting stuck in a gear or holding back the torque. The suspension, for what I paid, has been doing amazing as well. The progressive lowering springs, in combination with the thicker sway bar, has seriously planted this car in corners, even with is meager 235 wide tires. With coil-overs, this car would definitely handle like it was on rails through many corners that other (mid level, performance) AWD sedans would struggle with. The turbo held up great as well, and the cool weather meant I wasn’t suffering from major power loss from heat soak. An upgraded intercooler is high on my list as well for upgrades to the car.

I have a few other ideas for upgrades such as the Viva Performance upgraded TCV, and obviously a set of Polestar winter wheels. I found some knock-off Polestar summer wheels on AliExpress, they are still a decent chunk of change but they might be a good buy just to test the quality and sell them.

I just wanted this post to be a quick update, just to show that I am still around and updating the site. Hopefully once I am working full time I can spend more time on my car and on writing here. Happy holidays everyone!