1998 S70 T5 New S70 owner with a lot of questions

[rspi]

Hi V_T5, welcome to the site and to Volvo.

If you want to be sure about the engine, you can check here:

[V_T5]

I made a mistake, i double checked the fuel door, it does say 20/50/16 tires. I misread the door the first time and just looked at the tire size for the spare. My mistake, the inside of the door was filthy.

would a compression test be of any value? I assume static compression on a T5 is 8.5ish (HPT) and the yield should be lower than a GLT/NA motor (LPT/N/A) with static compression of 10.5 ish.

Or, if you can drive and determine the approximate power band of the motor, GLT should be from off-idle where the T5 builds steam higher in the rev range.

a compression test would give me the compression the the cylinders(ie. 150psi, 170psi, 185psi etc.), not the actual static compression ratio of the engine.

I know its a turbo because I can see the turbo.

Hi V_T5, welcome to the site and to Volvo.

If you want to be sure about the engine, you can check here:

Thanks for the welcome and the videos. Its almost impossible to see the engine code stamp unless i take that exhaust heat shield off and move the 2 coolant hoses out of the way. The guy in the video makes it look easy since his engine is out of the car.

That heater core is simple to change, I will inspect it tomorrow and see how it looks.

I must admit, these stock headlights are horrific. I went to adjust the lights by leveling the bubble out. I can only see the bubble on my driver light which is already at ZERO(which is still too low to the ground), but I cant see the bubble in the passenger side, but I can see the green fluid inside the level itself. Im used to driving HID in my projectors in my audis for the last 15yrs, 1000 times better than these crappy volvo lights.

I assume they dont make 1 piece headlights for this car, are C70 jewels, the black IPD projectors, and the black or chorme(looks cheap and ricey to me) ABM projectors my only options?

[rspi]

The head lights might be bad. The chrome backing looses it's reflective shine and they simply no longer project.

[850 LPT]

Yes a 53 is a T5
Yes the tires are/were 205/55/16
Some owners changed to 15s for a smoother riding (and cheaper tires to buy) car
These cars like 215/45/17s even better!

I want to get some wheels and coilovers, will probably go with 18s, 17s seem to small on this car for me.

Some thoughts on wheel/ tire sizes:

These cars came from the factory with a harsher ride compared to other cars. IMHO 17" wheels are somewhat acceptable with a decent sidewall height. You can go up to a 225/45/17 with no major rubbing issues. If you choose a lower sidewall, say 215/45/17 or 205/45/17 the ride will be harsher.

Personally, I would not want to experience the ride with 18" wheels. But that is of course just my preference, my spines are not that young anymore

[V_T5]

Yes a 53 is a T5
Yes the tires are/were 205/55/16
Some owners changed to 15s for a smoother riding (and cheaper tires to buy) car
These cars like 215/45/17s even better!

I want to get some wheels and coilovers, will probably go with 18s, 17s seem to small on this car for me.

Some thoughts on wheel/ tire sizes:

These cars came from the factory with a harsher ride compared to other cars. IMHO 17" wheels are somewhat acceptable with a decent sidewall height. You can go up to a 225/45/17 with no major rubbing issues. If you choose a lower sidewall, say 215/45/17 or 205/45/17 the ride will be harsher.

Personally, I would not want to experience the ride with 18" wheels. But that is of course just my preference, my spines are not that young anymore

you cant say what size tire will or wont rub, you need to add in other factors like wheel width and the wheel et. Also you say "lower sidewall" then say 215 or 205, those are the tire widths, the 45 is the aspect ratio and has more effect on sidewall size.

[V_T5]

can anyone confirm this information? car 100% stoc: vacuum at idle 20 in.hg, max boost 10psi?

also, I cant find what the fuel pressure should be at idle, does anone know? sorry for the questions, im waiting for my service manual to arrive.