What EVERYONE Needs To Know Before Modifying A Volvo C30

This is everything you need to know before you modify a Volvo C30.
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[@markkibbe1802]

The C30's back! These things are awesome when modified well. They are kind of a PITA though, as you end up having to undo a lot of Ford cost cutting. Worth it in the long run though. My V50 has been a pain to modify, but it's worth it.

[@OriginalMindTrick]

Yeah, I know from personal experience about the Ford BS.

[@justinmenendez8302]

Have you ever considered swapping the mk3 focus rs brembos onto the c30? Apparently it’s almost a bolt on swap

[@waltervila33]

Good information here thanks for the honest review and is about time you brought back the C30

[@jawnsr]

picking up my c30 right after christmas! cant wait!

[@shiftinglanesgarage]

Eyyyyyy congrats my guy! Bring it to Carlisle.

[@FakeConcern]

I've had my C30 four years and only modified suspension and wheels so far...

[@grimm_gen]

Really good to know what the 2.5 needs to make power! I'm planning a crazy swap in my mustang ecoboost, I want to put a volvo 2.5 in it! I already started to sources the parts needed!

[@thomasjj1976]

Why? What's the upside? The stock C30 is making less than 220hp. With bolts on, you can pretend to have 300-310hp. If you source the 2.5 from a S60R, you'll have a higher pressure turbo and more power.

[@Matt-pm5py]

@@thomasjj1976 pretty much same engine. The R has a bigger turbo. Put a bigger turbo on c30 motor same, idea. Honestly I agree with you though I’d just get a volvo with a 2.5t and mod from there but if it could be done.. I’d love to see a 5cyl mustang 😍

[@markkibbe1802]

@@Matt-pm5py As someone who loves these engines, I ask you why? You can throw $10k at it and you'll be at stock 5.0 levels of power. It's just not worth it. These engines don't take huge amount of power without shims, bigger turbo, injectors, tune, etc. Not cheap or easy. Also, you'd need custom engine mounts, adaptor plates, manifolds, etc etc. That doesn't even get into wiring, which would be a nightmare. If you were to actually perform this swap, you're gonna want an N or RN engine due to mount placement, and you're not gonna want a 2.5 for block strength reasons.

[@_rodzer]

@@Matt-pm5py they are not the same. R engine has different conrods and pistons (lower CR - 8.5 instead 9.0) and the can take much more than C30

[@ZiggZacc]

@@markkibbe1802 if you threw 10k at an r engine, you could make 800+ hp at the crank. A stock 5.0 makes 450. A stock s60r can make 450. People and this shim bs don't understand what they are actually talking about. The only way to actually fix a s60r from cracking is to sleeve it, other than that you need good cooling. Really good cooling. Meth injection is a must. Seen someone make 450 on a stock turbo and block. Ask me how I know.

[@matthewrikihana6818]

So glad to see the C30 back again 🙌.

[@jonathanplante6561]

Glad to see the c30 back! Picking mine back up on a fresh motor tomorrow so excited to see a fresh vid up!

[@Jungles_of_Lustria]

Hey! I am looking at buying one of these C30 T5's, and plan on doing some mods to it. I want an all-season, zippy daily. This vid has helped me figure out sone mod ideas. However... One thing very few people talk about is how much the parts cost, and how much the labour is to do them. Not everyone has the space, time or tools to mod themselves and need to pay for a person with those skills

[@shiftinglanesgarage]

We agree. That said FCP Euro is a great resource. Erie Vovo is an excellent spot to get quality used parts. www.erievovo.com/

[@Nimno74]

Man, I wish could afford to do any of that. Great video, great car!

[@shiftinglanesgarage]

Thanks!!!

[@formhubfar]

The R Design already has upgraded suspension and its like it drives on rails.

[@spannersautoandcomputerser1649]

Even an intercooler from a 2014 S60 with a little bit larger surface area will lower the IAT and avoid heat soak. Agree that suspension and handling is a better starting point.

[@christianvogel1012]

Does it fit without modifications ??

[@JohnFromAldii]

I’ve waited so long for you to be driving this

[@juliocesarbmx]

Love the C30 content!

[@Liamanders999]

are there any other site you’d suggest to purchase good mods for? love elevate but getting board of they’re selection and prices, i have an s40 so basicly the same as c30

[@bladez942]

My car has 164k Brand new timing belt, water pump, drive belts, complete koni / H&R suspension. My question is will a tune be to hard on my higher mileage engine or am I safe? I don’t beat on my car but I definitely want more power.

[@Nopenope69]

Yes finally it’s back

[@sirhcmi3]

But what tire size are you running? Why did you dump the 245s? (Sorry, mostly answered below… How bad was the rub?)

[@sirhcmi3]

Woo hoo! I thought we’d never see her again!

[@GubGub_33]

It's great to see you and your C30 are doing well. I look forward to seeing more updates about her journey.

[@yunglivid]

In ab a month or so I’m buying a 2008 Volvo c30, it’s rebuilt so it has a lot of newer stuff including the engine less miles etc. Pretty much everything stock, so it’s at zero and idk any ab cars I just drive em. Exactly what exhaust setup did u get bc I want to order it and do I just take it to a shop and pay someone to do everything or what…

[@rayman7325]

What about reliability? It is good?

[@sirhcmi3]

I’ve driven my 2011 pretty hard for 40k miles without any issues. I swap worn out parts with premium replacements and I did have to replace the oil breather valve, otherwise full send, no problem. You do need to make sure you change out the timing belt by 100k miles or 10 years max, oil changes every 5k or 6 months (all lower than the Volvo spec) and at 80k miles it needs some new bushings here and there.

[@SALEENS7GTR5]

@@sirhcmi3 Wow am I lucky. I got one today for what I think is a good deal of ~$14k and the dealer replaced about $4,700 of parts like bushings when the car arrived to them at ~70k miles. Not sure if they replaced the OBV, but I'll check the report. Very excited to get some lowering springs, exhaust, and wheels/tires on this thing.

[@gbresaleking]

Im looking at buying a c30 soon its has 68k miles for $7k :)

[@Jot8192]

Just bought one. I'm loving it! Now it's time to mod. Thanks for sharing, gives me lots of ideas!

[@josephkiraly3904]

@shifting lanes garage what size rims and tires are those

[@shiftinglanesgarage]

19”. 245/40 tires. Little too wide but the rub wasn’t that bad.

[@shiftinglanesgarage]

The black wheels were 19’s 235/40.

[@josephkiraly3904]

Thanks. I have a 2012 c30 r-design that I've had for 11 years now. Considering buying konig oversteers 18"x8 and was wondering if they would rub bad.

[@shiftinglanesgarage]

The silver wheels were 18x8.5. Slight rub with the 245s.

[@yunglivid]

What kind of exhaust would u recommend for a 2008 Volvo c30

[@julianreyes9052]

Do you guys have suggestions for making the back look nicer?

[@andresguerin7162]

1) Get an m66. Automatics suck! 2) Best mod is lsd.

[@MyMonkeyBaby]

what coilovers would you suggest getting for volvo v50 awd?

[@shiftinglanesgarage]

I had really good results with the bilstien b14. If you budget allows the b16s offer more adjustability

[@grabtheremote]

SMoR oL: C30 BUILD

[@WparuSlowach]

I keep mine stock - C30 R-Design 2012. Try to do stage 0 (premium tyres, change parts for new, maintenance the car).

[@sazlefraz]

how is the cost of stage 0? i am considering getting one because they look cool and im willing to do reliability mods honestly

[@WparuSlowach]

@@sazlefraz I changed AC unit (Mahle which is OEM), Clutch (OEM), Dual Mass Flywheel (OEM), Battery (Bosch), then I bought premium tyres (I picked Goodyear Eagle, but Efficiency Performance 2 are also nice for daily). Then major service with engine flush and gearbox oil change. Total cost: 2000 pounds. After that I did stage 1 paint correction and put 2 year ceramic coat. Cost: 500 pounds.

[@sazlefraz]

@TheDawidM how many miles are you at now? And would buying one at like 100k miles be a good purchase? Also might get that auto cause nyc traffic ain't fun for manuals imo

[@WparuSlowach]

@@sazlefraz I live in UK. My C30 R-Design from 2012 have 94K miles. My engine is 2.0 NA petrol, and manufacture said that engine should last minimum 220K miles (if maintained properly). However most drivers get 320K miles on this engine. T5 have similar longevity. I do roughly 8K miles per year. I would go for facelift 2010-2013 (fixed many things from previous variant) R-Design model. :)

[@sazlefraz]

@@WparuSlowach yeah i was considering a 2012 or 2013 if i can find one with 50k miles. Also how are the back seats they look useable from what i can see but not really sure like can it fit a baby car seat?

[@staLkerhu]

Can I ask about your rim and tyre specs? Some say I really should use 18" with 8" width, because with the right offset it would fit even without custom fender flares, but I'm not really convinced. I also know I should pick minimum 225 tyres even for 7.5" rims, probably with 40 sidewalls (or 45 with 17" diameter). I'm really thinking between these: 17"x7.5" 18"x7.5" 18"x8"

[@SALEENS7GTR5]

Not that it's the same car, but the OEM GT86 wheel and tires is very similar to the OEM C30 specs. With that, I have a GT86 and Tirerack found testing 86s to have most consistent performance with 17x8 with 225/45 tire, unless you run a lot of HP. My 86 has a 17x8.5 235/45 +42 because of my wheel choice, but this also means the tires are flush without spacers. Although I don't rub, it's actually too wide for what I need and looks a bit like monster-truck. I also lost some responsiveness and realized my ratio should be 40, but that may have been by what tires I wanted, I can't remember. I'll definitely go to 17x8 225/45 eventually. If you crave lightness, go 17s. If looks and smaller sidewall (possibly rougher ride but also possibly better responsiveness) are desired, go 18. Unless you're putting down big power (like 400hp) or are making a track build, I don't think anything wider than 225 is needed. I could run 225s on my 8.5in wheels and be fine, basically no stretching, although it is _always_ tire dependent. My new C30 is likely getting 18x8 225/40 for looks and because it's a commuter, not more autox/track focused like my 86. That said, still need to figure out offset to get the tire flush. If you found a wheel you like at a 7.5in width, then 225 is still probably your best bet over a 215.

[@KalashDUDE]

is this a 4 wheel drive?

[@shiftinglanesgarage]

It is not.

[@KalashDUDE]

@@shiftinglanesgarage ok thanks. been watching your videos to upgrade my volvo. very helpful stuff. thanks!