Current state of the car:
These shots are a little older, most of what I have done recently has been replacing worn-out stock parts. Notably, putting original mirror caps and turn signals back on, lots of interior components that have degraded, the stock (actually cold air) intake, and a new front emblem. A while ago I also added the Porsche rear fender decals, they don’t really do anything when I am using my huge mud flaps but I like how they look with the two-tone paint.
I finally wore through the Yokohama Geolanders after continuously replacing them because of sidewall punctures, so I decided to swap over to a set of Bridgestone Blizzak WS90s now that I am hardly doing any street driving that isn’t the trip to some gravel. So far I love them on gravel and have held up to around 200 miles of spirited gravel driving. They are definitely louder than the Geolanders, particularly in high speed turns, but no much to be a problem.
A modification I made a long time ago that I had been meaning to post about was adding a set of four Hella ValueFit LEDs offroad lights for nighttime driving. To mount them I got a junkyard black V50 hood and drilled mounting holes into the forward structure then routed the power/switch lines along the firewall to switches mounted behind the waterfall console. One nice feature of the lights are water resistant connectors near the light itself so the wiring harness can be installed even when the hood with the light are not. The lights are dual-function with a running light and full brightness on a toggle switch, which after adding yellow lens filters are great as DRLs. The main beam is great for illuminating trails while not costing too much. I haven’t used these in a while and have uninstalled the wiring harness as I am hoping to make a new mounting system for them that places the lights in the bumper center section so they aren’t as loud at high speeds. I got to visit Sweden and Latvia over the summer and saw the European method for mounting lights using a license plate bracket but I don’t trust the plastic bumper cover to support the weight of the lights so I am planning to build a metal U shaped structure that can bolt to the metal bumper itself.
(Side note, while in Latvia I attended my first WRC race. It was inspirational to say the least.)
I recently cracked the CEM pin using the Teensy-based cracking method from the community and have made a lot of configuration changes using VDASH. I haven’t looked into it yet but the AWD software changes look promising so I will investigate the Gen 3 Haldex system and fuel garage on my car soon enough. One thing that VDASH was great for was finally adding a 6-CD changer to the car to replace my broken single CD unit. Color me old-fashioned but a well mastered CD through the C30’s Dynaudio sound system is still one of the best sounding
And of course a photo of my new-ish V60:
(Story on the V60: In April 2023 I test drove a ’20 V60 R-Design in Bursting Blue but with the gray interior, which I did not like. I fell in love immediately with the color on the car and knew that I needed to find one in the spec I wanted and at a better price that the one I test drove. I looked casually since then across the US for a bursting blue preferably T5 for the simplicity, Polestar tuned, black interior, with every package, and at the decent price. Essentially nothing showed up until this car was posted in August by a dealer in Florida for WAY less than what it was worth. I immediately called, place a deposit, bought it, and shipped it. Since then I have loved every second of driving it, it is the first car I have driven that felt like a suitable replacement for the C30 to daily. Mods-wise all I have done is a Fitcamx, wireless charger, and Stealth Hitch with towing. The car has every option except the B&W system. I will potentially add both that and the exterior styling kit at some point if I feel motivated to spend money on not-my-project-cars.)
I’ll try to update more as life has settled down a bit since ’22, but once again no promises.