C30 shopping
 

Hi All, potential C30 owner here. I'm going to look at a 2011 T5 on Sunday here in Spain. I believe that on the later face lifted models you could opt for a factory sports chassis which featured improved suspension components. As a novice, is there any easy way to tell if the car has this fitted?

In the UK (probably the same in all of Europe?) there is the option to spec the car with the 'R-Design' kit, and I have hardly seen any facelift C30s here without that kit. That kit gives the lower suspension and bodykit. So if the bottom trim around the car looks like this, then it has the 'R-Design' and has the sportier suspension:

https://carsguide-res.cloudinary.com...e-1200x800.jpg

If it looks like this around the bottom of the car, then it doesn't have the R-Design kit and so doesn't have the sportier suspension:

https://www.autocar.co.uk/sites/auto...olvo-c30-7.jpg

Hope that helps.

Thanks - it definitely has body coloured plastics, hard to see from the photos if the front air dam is lower as its a dark car ins shadows. You would hope that anyone opting for the T5 would have specced the upgrade :-)

So i bought the car i went to see on Sunday. Now i just have to work out exactly what it is

• There are no badges or trim that says anything about R-design
• There are bilstein branded dampers that the seller said were factory
• There are larger drilled disks and yellow painted callipers at the front
• There is an after market intake and exhaust. The tailpipes say Acropovic and it turns out to be a whole system not just the back box, but looking on line i can't see that they make a system for Volvo
• There are Polestar stickers on the front wings but the vendor didnt give me any service/purchase history to indicate they mean anything

whatever it is, i drives nicely, picks up pretty well and is loud - i''ll keep it like that for a few weeks but i suspect i'll out the OEM bits back on before i have to do any serious miles as the noise will get a bit wearying on the motorways

can't upload any pics due to a missing security token or something

Try using a hosting site (e.g. Imgur) and post image links from there.

does sharing a google photos link work here?

https://photos.app.goo.gl/UA4icygeuJWrowmk7

Hmmmm quite nice! it is an R-Design. I quite like the darker front grille that the previous owner has done, and the interior looks like a custom job too: at least the seat material won't crack! Not 100% on the choice of colour for the interior but it's OK. The angle of the Polestar badge on the wing kills me: I'd take it off even if it was aligned properly. It's got Ford Focus ST 320mm front brakes which are a nice upgrade (some other bigger Volvo's would have had those as standard too). I'm surprised he's kept those wheels if he'd modded it to that extent. As for the exhaust Akrapovic is expensive but it might just be the tips perhaps. Maybe a mix of some of the original and some of the other one might make a nice compromise for sound. I changed mine from the cat back and loved the sound. As for Bilsteins, I don't think I've ever heard of Volvo using that brand.

ok, sounds like it is a bit of a bits'o but i can live with that as it sounds like most of them are positive additions

the interior was definitely done by the last owner (or his friend - the guy had a detailing company and lots of industry contacts) as the Spanish sun had taken its toll on the original upholstery - i have read that Volvo OEM leather can be a bit fragile. Its very good quality skin and looks to be pretty well done, but i agree with you - the "filled nappy" brown is not to my taste. But then again the cream parts of the OEM colour scheme didn't really float my boat either. Allegedly its camel and anthracite popular with the BMW M series crowd.....

the vendor did have immaculate 18" after market rims on it but i opted to take a discount and go with the original 17"s. Outside the current pandemic my recent and hopefully future lifestyle means I relocate by several hundred KMs annually and may spend part of the year with my stuff in storage, so storing and lugging around a full set of spare wheels would be a pain. I figure its always best to have the OEM wheels, and i can pick up some after markets again in future if and when i settle in one location.

its been through 4 owners so can't be sure what was done by whom. There are Do88 pipes in the engine bay but haven't worked out yet if its just pipes and filter or an uprated intercooler as well, i have the OEM airbox, pipes and what looks to be the full exhaust system so I don't know what is underneath. I suspect you may be right that is just Akropovic tips, but who knows on what. I'll get under there sooner or later and check it out and see what may go together

If i had bought a more standard older/higher mileage model i would have looked at adding drilled/dimpled EBC brakes and possibly Bilstein coilovers if the originals were showing their age, so the ST disks are great as an alternative, and the shocks seem fine on what i have driven so far. Again, they can always be a future enhancement.

Polestar sticker is level so it may have been the camera angle. It did strike me as odd that they were on there when the rest of it has been debadged, but who knows.

I tend to sweat my assets - last cars i owned in the UK I had for 7 and 12 years respectively, and even then i was forced to change as my Honda CRX got stolen. So I expect the C30 will be my last ICE car. Besides, I can't think of anything newer that is still vaguely practical for picking friends and luggage up at the airport that is as good looking or as quick. may as well make the most of it :-)

Would be great if it has the Do88 intercooler...! Used to like CRXs, cool shape and Honda reliability!

Yup, a quick crawl around underneath and i can see the Do88 branding on the intercooler.

The rest of the exhaust system is branded David Race Exhaust which looks to be a local custom exhaust specialist and has only one small silencer half way along and is 75mm pipe, so as suspected just Akropovic tips. Think i'll wait until autumn then pay a local workshop to reinstate the OEM system ready for its annual inspection as i think its going to be a fair job to try and swap it out using just axle stands....

also removed an Elevate cross brace from between the rear seat latches as I don't need it in the way of luggage

Given the money that has been spent on this thing over the previous owners I wonder if the Polestar stickers are valid after all - enhanced mapping would be the logical follow on to all the other improvements....