SMöR öL: C30 Build Topic is solved

[precisionguesswork]

It all started when I was on a road trip and my wife and I spotted this really unique looking little car and we were curious as to what it was. One google search later and we got our answer.
We started looking online and came across a black c30 t5 with 6400 miles on it. Naturally I thought it was a typo but low and behold it was accurate. Imaculately garage kept and under cover and on a battery tender when we arrived to pick it up.

It had a few modifications at the time of purchase:

Elevate cat-back exhaust w/ 3" downpipe
Elevate intake kit
Elevate ECU relocate bracket
Elevate Lower torque mount
Elevate turbo to FMIC hardpipe kit
Elevate FMIC to Throttle body silicone tube
Elevate upper intake tube
Garrett FMIC
Pumaspeed inake plenum
Rica softloader tune

How it looked the day it came home

original:day it came home

Car was peppy and I liked the initial performance. However, I started doing some research as to what I could
do to further increase the performance on this nice looking but under powered little car and naturally went straight to Elevates site and...

Installed:

k16 turbo kit 550cc injectors (you know the one) (injector part#0280158117 G302)
TurboSmart gate actuator (part# IWG-75)
TurboSmart dual Port BOV (part#TS-0203-1061)
Elevate Tuning Software (clarification: wasn't Elevate tuning software that caused the issue)

Took it out for a romp and....

Put 2 nickel sized holes in two pistons. Fun while it lasted.

Started looking at the cost of a new motor and called Volvo. They quoted me nearly $10k so I decided for that kind of money I could do better and came across this little company called Darton East aka Howards Hotrods and put in some phone calls.

Fast-Forward 1 year (quality work takes time, especially during race season)

Installed:

Darton MID wet Sleeves
CP Carrillo Custom Pistons
CP Carrillo H-Beam Rods w/ WMC Bolts
Coated bearing kit-Calico Coated Rod Bearing Set and Main Bearing Set
Balanced and polished Crankshaft
Diamond File Fit Rings
Reconditioned the head
CNC Bore and Hone w/ torque Plate

bottom end laid out

cp carrillo pistons/rods & ring pack

MID Sleeves/Closed deck

big end bearing with WMC bolts

Sleeving Done by Howards Hotrods (Darton East)

Now that the bottom end is sorted and everything put back together, what to do you say? I needed to obviously address the shortcomings that caused the issue in the first place.

So I installed:

Elevate Intake Plenum
Audi MAF (FCP part#0280218067)

Upgraded Audi MAF measures flow up to 700hp on 1.8T

Correct Wiring Pins for installing the Audi MAF

Wiring pins for Audi MAF upgrade

2nd View Audi MAF wiring pins

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do88 FMIC (do88part#BIG-V50-S) (iPd part#125590)
Porsche 70mm Throttle Body (part#98660511501)
Custom Intake to grab air from outside the engine bay w/ BMC Direct Intake (BMC part#ADDIA85-150 Direct Intake)
Custom water/meth system w/ AEM Failsafe Gauge and flow sensor w/ trigger for cutting TCV
Custom washer tank modified for water/meth while retaining use for windscreen washer
ProMeth Sniper II and water/meth nozzles
AEM Boost/AFR Failsafe gauge (part#discontinued)
Radium Dual Catch Cans (Radium Engineering part#20-0005-FL)
These are the diagrams I made for routing the dual catch can set-up. I provided a version keeping the
Brake Vacuum booster Intact

Final Layout For PCV & Dual Catch Cans

Note: These options require a PCV check valve on the OCC exit ports to avoid a vacuum leak and a tune. For the single can option for lower boost applications you can place the "sealed" can in between the factory breather box and the intake manifold. If you are using the factory oil breather PCV you will not need a check valve on the can. On the single OCC option using stock PCV breather box "without"the vacuum line to the intake pipe you will still be under vacuum in the crank case under boost due to the vacuum from the turbo PCV check valve. It's open under boost and closed at idle. I recommend a high quality company like Radium (their cans are rated for boost and do not require check valves) Check with other manufacturers to determine this feature with their OCC.

Ultra Racing Strut Tower Brace (re-painted) (viva part#TW2-1374)
Replaced vacuum lines for brake booster with Mishimoto silicone (Mishimoto part#MMHOSE-10100)
NGK 1 Step Colder Plugs LFR7AIX 2309 Gapped .024
TCV relocated to AC line on firewall
Hilton Tune to 27psi on 93 pump gas and water/meth

Elevate intake Plenum

Gapping NGK iridium .024

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Water/Meth Flow Sensor/Vibrant Bellmouth velocity stack

AEM Water/Meth Failsafe Controller with Independent Power switch

Custom FMIC to TB with Sniper II Water/Meth and Solenoid

Using a solenoid directly next to the nozzles will eliminate the (dribble) on/off effect you get with check valves. All tubing and the stainless steel coupler can be found at SiliconeIntakes.com The Sniper II and the solenoid and nozzles can be found at ProMeth.com. I have spoken with them and they are machining some new nozzles that should be ready for purchase within 3 weeks. When you purchase the Sniper II it comes with really nice stainless T-Bolt clamps two silicone couplers of your choice and the fittings you need to attach the solenoid to Sniper II.

Water meth line

Sniper II Water/Meth nozzle holder

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This is how the nozzles are held in. You will face the nozzles directly into the air charge, NOT with it. Very important as if you have the nozzles facing "with" the direction of flow, the air charge will blow the cone shut, (narrowing the cone and reducing the atomization of the spray). By spraying "against" the air charge you will be blowing the cone backward onto itself, effectively opening the cone and improving the atomization. This will allow for better cooling with less water/meth being used and small cc nozzles. I went with all A/N fittings and lines, but ProMeth offers push-to-connect fittings and PTFE lines as well.
years.

Water/Meth Tank layout

This is how I used the OEM washer tank which is approx. 1.7 gal. You will need to drill 2 new holes in the tank....One for where the OEM washer pump will go, and one for the water/meth float sensor. By relocating the water/meth feed to the OEM washer location this will place the water/meth feed at the lowest point in the tank and will also help protect against"sloshing" of the fluid during hard acceleration. By placing the water/meth float switch 2.5"-3" above the bottom of the tank, (just below the OEM low washer fluid float switch) you will leave yourself a "reserve" quantity of water/meth solution when the in cabin LED low fluid light comes on. You will get a low washer fluid indicator prior to the water/meth low fluid light. (essentially giving yourself 2 redundant safety low fluid warnings)

Firewall access for wiring

Failsafe solenoid & TCV relocation

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Water/Meth Failsafe Relay

Doing this will dump boost back to gate pressure. The car will drive on gate pressure until you turn the key off for a couple minutes to reset the trigger.

Water/Meth Failsafe Wiring Harness (Grote part# GRO 841041)

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Water/Meth Failsafe Relay (Bosch part#BOS-0332209150)

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AEM failsafe gauge

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More or Less how things looked at this point

Needed some paint correction

Paint Correction: Before (1)

Paint Correction: After (1)

Paint Correction: Before (2)

Paint Correction: After (2)

Paint Correction: Before (3)

Paint Correction: After (3)

Tail end

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With Conti Extreme Contact fitted

Paint Correction

After a brief time of driving the car (couple months really putting it through its paces)

Decided there were many other items that needed improved upon.

Then installed:

Wilwood 4 pot up front
302mm Discs in the rear (EBC part#USR2031 302mm)
iPd Stainless lines all 4 corners (iPd part#121855)
EBC Slotted Rotors all 4 corners (front part #USR1434 320mm)(rear part#USR2031 302mm)
Powerflex poly bushes in ALL available locations
Powerflex poly bush inserts both upper motor mounts
Elevate Rear Sway Bar w/ vertical tabs
Elevate lower torque mount upgraded to race spec (sport version was trashed)
Torque arm upgraded w/ Powerflex Poly bushings
SPC Rear Upper Adjustable Control Arms w/ Powerflex Poly bushings
Elevate Sport Springs w/ Bilstein b4 Struts
Hardrace motor mounts with Powerflex Poly bushing inserts for Motor Mounts
iPd HD end links up front (iPd part#124645)
Meyle 90 degree rear end links to replace the "dogbone" style in the rear (KIT-P1SWYBRLNKKT2)

Drivers side (trans mount) w/ Powerflex poly insert

Bilstein b14 front

Elevate Blocking plate for Setrab oil cooler

The mount in the image above is an S40 mount to receive the Powerflex poly. (FCP Part# 31359779)

Hard Race upgraded mount

Hard Race upgrade mount w/ PowerFlex poly 95a duro inserts

Wilwood shimmed & centered to disc

Wilwoods,disc & iPd lines installed EBC 320mm disc (part#USR1434)

Wildwood 4 pots/EBC discs/iPd Stainless lines/Bilstein b4/Elevate Sport Springs

2006-2015 Mazda 5 caliper brackets for fitting the 302mm rear discs. (part#19B3108)

302mm EBC discs/EBC pads/Bilstein b4/iPd Stainless lines/Elevate Sport Springs

Elevate rear Sway w/ Meyle end links

Elevate Rear Sway/Powerflex control arm bushes

Powerflex poly bush

Elevate Lower torque arm w/racing insert & Powerflex Poly bush

Wilwoods/EBC/Chronos Double dark tint/Michelin Pilot Sport AS4

Now I felt I was in a much better place with the performance and handling of the car, but....

Fast-forward 2 years. Started having other ideas for my set-up.

The k16 was running out of steam at 27psi partway through 3rd gear and the block was built to handle "a bit more" power. So where to from here? I started digging and came up with what I believe to be the best fit for SMoR oL. So I began laying out the ground work for the Installation of the EFR7163.

Installed:

EFR7163 .85 AR v-band in v-band out Internally gated turbine housing
Turbosmart GEN V Waste gate Actuator
Turbosmart Dual Port BOV (part#TS-0203-1061)
ATP V-band Log Manifold (ATP part#ATP-C30-025)
do88 Silicone coolant lines
do88 Customized intake pipe
Swedish Car Parts aluminum thermostat housing
Swedish Car Parts Expansion tank with low level sensor integrated in tank (new version)
Elevate Setrab Oil Cooler Kit with OEM coolant/cooler bypass
Improved Racing High Flow inline Oil Cooler thermostat

Improved Racing High Flow In-line oil cooler thermostat

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SMöR öL Fuel System Layout

Final Fuel system layout w/ id1300xds injectors. (id1050xds were too small for my power level)

ID1300xds Flow matched Injectors (id1050xds were too small to run e85 at my expected power level)
DW Deatschwerks fuel rail (part# 7-308)
-8 AN Fragola 6000 Series Black PTFE fuel Lines
DW400 Fuel pump (DW300c Fuel pump was too small to run e85 at my expected power level)
Radium PCV valves
Radium Boost/Vacuum reference fuel pressure regulator with fuel pulse damper, pressure gauge(part#FPRD-RA)
Radium flex fuel parallel split-flow flex fuel sensor adapter (part#20-0589)
Radium 6 micron in-line fuel filter with built in check valve (part#20-1220-0X)
eFlexFuelPro 2 kit
Cut Fuel Pump Access under seat for easy replacement of fuel pump
TurboSmart OPRpro rising rate oil pressure regulator for turbo oil pressure (part#TS-0811-1212)
Custom v-band downpipe w/ Vibrant Turbo Flex pipe
Vibrant High Flow 200cel Cat
ENEM Cams
ENEM Valve Springs w/ Reinforced Retainers
Set the Valve Lash
Timing Belt
New Valve Guide Seals
Gutted PCV oil filter housing with BD Performance Billet cap
Replaced all vacuum lines with Turbosmart vacuum lines
Bilstein b14 CoiloversDriveShaft Shop custom axles when factory fail
Rolled/Pulled Fenders to fit 245/40ZR18 Michelin Pilot Sport

Radium 6 Micron Glass Mat Fuel Filter w/ built in check valve mock up

Elevate Ignition coils

Elevate Coils, Radium 1:1 Rising Rate Vac Reference Fuel Pressure Regulator/Pulse Damper

Zero Duty Cycle/TCV Fails Open Applying pressure to Dome and Relieving Pressure from Spring

Pierburg 3 Port TCV Used with the pressure port and the vent port switched & TurboSmart GenV Dual Port Wastegate Actuator with 7lb spring.

Setting up the TCV and using a dual port wastegate actuator in this Configuration, allows for a "pneumatic"
control of the spring. It also allows for you to make use of a lower spring rate to preserve traction
in lower gears, while allowing for more precise control over the spring at high RPMs when exhaust back pressure is greatest.
In the event of a TCV failure or in my case, (used as a water/meth failsafe) the TCV fails OPEN applying reference pressure to the top of the dome while venting pressure from the spring.

In this Scenario you are applying Reference pressure to the dome AND to the Spring

ATP V-band Log Manifold mocked up water tree removed

Test fit to verify spacing with water tree installed

Vband Log manifold Cerakote w/Copper coated locknuts and water tree cleaned and replaced. Water ports that were used to feed the factory oil cooler are welded shut.

Downpipe now custom fit to EFR7163

Downpipe cerakoted

Mid Pipe w/ 200cell Cat Cerakoted

Swedish Car parts Aluminum T-Stat and do88 silicone coolant lines

Swapped rings From OEM to ENEM

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Piston ring pliers with tips ground to a point

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I used a belt sander to bring the tips of the piston ring pliers to a point to allow them to easily fit the small gap
of the cam rings. Place the cams side by side as the image above and gently apply pressure to the pliers to open the
ring while keeping the fingers of your free hand cradling the ring to prevent the ring from slipping off the pliers
and getting lost. You only need to expand the ring enough to clear the cam. Slip the ring off of one and directly
onto the other. Be sure to use some good assembly lube on the cam recieving the rings prior to placing them.
Literally took seconds to swap all 4 rings and zero risk of damaging the rings or the cams.

ENEM cam spec diagram I put together

ENEM valve spring kit

Magnet to remove the tappets

Numbered for reference

Prepare to remove the valve springs

What the tool looks like completely set up

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I did use a long tube over the handle as an extension for extra leverage. The ENEM springs
were bit to try and hold down while replacing the keepers.

ENEM springs vs OEM

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I placed a long 1/4" extension into the cylinder and ran the crank around to find BDC.
Then I filled the cylinder with parachute cord until it wouldn't take any more.
Next I ran the crank around until I felt it bind up, pushing the parachute cord against
the valves. You can see the black cord in the photo above. If you look closely below each valve spring,
you can see the manufacturer engraved the tappet measurements.

Tappet measurements are on the underside of the tappet

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If your valve train is original these numbers will match

Checking the valve lash: All within spec. Intake valves: .20+/-.03 mm Exhaust valves: .40+/-.03 mm

Valve cover cleaned and ready for sealant

loctite 518 rolled out

Torqued down and Setting the timing

Bilstein b14 rear

Lastly going to have it tuned by Hilton, then dynoed and shipped to France where it will live out its golden years

[matthew1]

This is, without a doubt, the most Class A Bonkers street build list I'll read all month. Probably all year.

I have so many thoughts and questions it's hard to organize them as they popped into my head as I read.

I guess my first question is: where did you learn all this? This is extreme edge case build skill here. Not a few T5 bolt ons and a tune and send it.

Before I forget: thanks for the water/meth injection cone explanation regarding direction of flow. That's extremely interesting. The devil is in the details.

BTW Did you see this? https://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/c30-s60-went-racing/

[volvolugnut]

Thanks for the many build photos and notes.
volvolugnut

[precisionguesswork]

Thanks for the many build photos and notes.
volvolugnut

No worries. I will continue to update as I organize more of the build.

Cheers!

[BlackBart]

“It needs SMoR oL, Sven! It’s a quart low.”

[precisionguesswork]

Updated

[volvolugnut]

Very cool!. thanks
volvolugnut

[matthew1]

Everybody, this is your guide to making money drag racing. "What this? It's a FWD Volvo lol."

Just be sure to agree to a half-mile race, not a quarter. FWD don't get off the line well without huge drag tires on the front, and if you had those, you'd give up the secret.

[precisionguesswork]

Updated: I put in a Single OCC option for guys that are more stock boost but still want the benefit of removing the blow-by byproducts and effectively increasing your octane.

[precisionguesswork]

Side note: my lovely wife's Abarth arrived today in France...