suspention upgrades

[Alex121]

I was just waiting for that.

Don't bother OP, attempting a track in a Volvo is just a dumb idea, you'll crash, catch fire and go up in a ball of flames, crazy idea...(sarcasm)

Originally Posted by skyship007

I hope you will have the track to yourself, otherwise there is a real danger of a serious rear end collision. Even a fully tuned T4 with 500 hp will be slow around the corners in comparison with a tuned classic Porsche.

Head over to T5D5 will you and look at what some of those guys track - 400bhp V40's and 400bhp 850's - They don't do badly at all and no they've not spent 'millions' on upgrades, only essentials...GOOD coil overs and strut braces.

People go around the Nurburgring in fiat puntos and the like, so long as you're not stupid and are aware of the people in faster cars who want to go by there shouldn't be an issue...

For Skypoo's sake -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5KiC03_wVjc

[stuartrf]

People go round the ring in buss' as it's a public road
to confirm I'm not using it as a track car it will do 2 laps max
I will be having a mate in the car as well to act as a spotter

[Antz]

Originally Posted by skyship007

I hope you will have the track to yourself, otherwise there is a real danger of a serious rear end collision. Even a fully tuned T4 with 500 hp will be slow around the corners in comparison with a tuned classic Porsche.

Make 100% sure your insurance company has listed all the Mod's in detail and confirmed that track events are covered. The Germans always check the paperwork!

Not sure what you know about tyres, but top of the range Conti or Dunlop summer tyres are tough to beat in the wet. Far Eastern slicks might be OK in the dry.
If the air temp is below 7C, some German tracks will insist you use winter tyres for mixed events.

For best ABS function, the rear calipers must be in perfect working order in addition to the pads etc. If not, the system fails to apply enough force to the front calipers.

Tuning adjustable shocks to match a particular race course is very effective, so if you want to do that, it is essential to look up the exact curve figures and make sure it's a uni directional track etc.

Go away and come back when you know what you're on about. Stick to oil and leave the tuning chat to people who know about this kind of thing as you clearly has absolutely NO IDEA about it.

Originally Posted by stuartrf

Cheers for the reply guys
The brakes were new fairly recently
But I may have an evo set on its way

EVO 3 calipers are a good upgrade. If youre fitting the EVO calipers then youll need the discs and pads to match. I used MTEC drilled and grooved with good quality Mintex pads. They really do help.

Good brakes, good suspension and you'll have a blast.

[skyship007]

Alex:
Don't bother OP, attempting a track in a Volvo is just a dumb idea, you'll crash, catch fire and go up in a ball of flames, crazy idea...(sarcasm)
Head over to T5D5 will you and look at what some of those guys track - 400bhp V40's and 400bhp 850's - They don't do badly at all and no they've not spent 'millions' on upgrades, only essentials...GOOD coil overs and strut braces.
People go around the Nurburgring in fiat puntos and the like, so long as you're not stupid and are aware of the people in faster cars who want to go by there shouldn't be an issue...

Umm, the OP has a 1.8, not a T4 or T5!
Obviously if you want to race German street legal Fiat Puntos, tuned family cars, "Don't do badly", although Fiat use rather thin steel, so there might be a power to weight issue.

It's very unlikely that a few laps of the Nurenburg will heat up the brake discs enough (It's cooling off in Northern Germany) to justify the cost of top quality non standard discs (Made in Germany Zimmerman upgrade brake parts last far longer than Fleabay specials).
If I was going to tune up the suspension of a V40 for a known calibrated track, I would just fit ZF electric struts all around and then use one of their GPS units to do a live match using slope and curve rate data. That way the SCU pumps up the shocks in pairs just before the bend.

Unfortunately those systems must be switched off if they are not part of an approved DSA system, for public road use.
One of my neighbours has such a system using standard ZF shocks and his own homemade control box, but he removes it before the TUV inspection, because they can be very dangerous if they fail.

I fitted Bosch factory recon rear calipers (These are the Gold painted ones in yellow boxes) to my old family diesel V40 and they are great on the autobahn. The performance data indicates they are better than original OEM standard in heat resistance and pressure rating terms, although I don't know how long they will last.
My partner sometimes drives around with the handbrake still on, so I do know about hot brake issues. The genuine Volvo discs and pads survive, but that game was probably a big factor in the failure of my original calipers.

PS: Most UK drivers are not trained in high speed defensive driving (Can be done partly in a simulator) and their accident rate on German autobahns is bad, although not as bad as the French drivers.

[Alex121]

Originally Posted by skyship007

Umm, the OP has a 1.8, not a T4 or T5!

You're missing the point. It doesn't matter if the OP has a 1.8 X40, a Lamborghini, or a VW Polo - If he wants to go around the ring, let him....His car is up to the job.

[stuartrf]

Again I'm not building a race car
This is my every day car and I just want to have the best possible time going round a circuit

Do the evo 3 brakes bolt on I know the 2 ' s do and that was the kit I was going to try and find

[Antz]

Originally Posted by stuartrf

Again I'm not building a race car
This is my every day car and I just want to have the best possible time going round a circuit

Do the evo 3 brakes bolt on I know the 2 ' s do and that was the kit I was going to try and find

Evo 2 and evo 3 with twin piston front brakes. Also fto with the twin piston. You need EVO 3 discs and pads. They bolt right on.

Just remember to get the twin piston calipers and carriers because the singles are useless.

Ignore Skyship, he talks out of his bottom about everything. It's just huge ramblings that mean nothing, have no relevance to the original topic in hand and I'm pretty sure, he thinks the huge posts are hilarious and make him clever. It doesn't.

[skyship007]

Originally Posted by Alex121

You're missing the point. It doesn't matter if the OP has a 1.8 X40, a Lamborghini, or a VW Polo - If he wants to go around the ring, let him....His car is up to the job.

I never said the OP should not do the "nurburgring" with his modified "suspention" and Yoko Panda tyres.
It's daft to say the OP's car is up to the job, unless you are a fully qualified inspector who has checked the car concerned (Most good tuners tend to avoid the GDI for obvious mostly engine related reasons, so the odds are against it passing a pre race inspection).

My comments about safety and insurance matters are valid, as any major German race track will check the papers and tyres in some detail if the car has overseas plates, unless it's an escorted tour.

The accident rates for non German drivers on the autobahn are very bad, partly because they have never done any type of high speed drivers training course, have a nasty habit of driving old family type cars with bad brakes and suspension systems.
If you get stopped by the Cops, the first thing they will look at is the tyres and one sight of out of season or all weather tyres will get them very interested in a detailed check of the rest of the car and papers. If it's a green VW Police van that pulls you over in the Stuttgart area, they will even do a quick emissions test!

If anyone does want to tune their V40 the optimum way, there is very little point asking how to do it in a V40 classic forum, as all you seem to get is daft replies from boy or girl racers who think that far Eastern Fleabay parts thrown together at random will produce a safe, reliable, long lasting and insurable result.

There are a variety of options listed by Volvo and fully documented that are a good starting point. If your local Volvo stealer is a friendly one and not busy, they might even give you a list of some valid combinations. The ZF/Sachs site also lists a series of Volvo approved mods and I'm sure there must be a few equivalent VIN specific sites for similar UK parts or tuning companies, although many UK tuners tend to use the English version of German parts sites for info, as they are more reliable.

In reality for an older V40 the entire suspension and braking system might well need to be rebuilt for the best results. If you do the job yourself, it's a real good idea to get a good tuning center to do a final inspection and alignment job. I suppose you might get lucky and find a forum member who has done a fully documented (Or U tubed) tuning job that produces real good cornering and stopping distance figures, but I've not seen one yet.

PS: Does anyone know what the differences are between the phase 1 and 2 (Or T4) braking systems, as the Haynes book of Porkie Pies seems to imply they are the same.
I have a bad habit of making comments based on P2 V40's, which have a real good braking system (IF, it is restored correctly to current Volvo dealer standards, which often requires new or recon rear calipers and other parts), that few boy, girl or tranny racers will be able to beat, even if they have top of the range winter Conti's (The Cops also like Dun's, Goodyear and even the odd non fuel economy Michellin) fitted for an off season German ring or autobahn session.
The autobahn is often faster in some unlimited sections on a Sunday than most race tracks.

The last time I hit 100 mph on the way to Munich, I got passed by two German made cars who must have been doing around the 200 mph mark. The second top of the range Merc was an unmarked Police car (Rare in Germany), who probably had a real good tow away ticket for the chaps in the tuned BMW (Nitro smoke special something), as they were not in an unrestricted section due to road works! The Police Merc was not trying to stop the boy racers, just following until a short traffic jam did the job for them. They were charged with dangerous driving and the car impounded for a full TUV Sud inspection. Every time the owners turn up to get their car back it will cost them 100 Euros per attempt to pass the inspection and emissions test. Odds on it will cost several grand in engine and other un-Mod's before the nit picking regional inspector signs it off.

So be careful what you do when visting Germany in a tuned V40!

[Alex121]

He's p*ssing me off now so I'll let Antz take this one...

[skyship007]

Originally Posted by Alex121

He's p*ssing me off now so I'll let Antz take this one...

AHHHH! Not the jumper chewing EVO sales girl again!

I give up, even though I'm stuck in a Missery state motel due to heavy mud. My tuned Ford van is OK, but it will take a while for some local flooding to drain. Kansas city next!