V50 Mods
 

Hi

I've had a quick search for some of the info I'm about to ask but couldn't find exactly what I'm looking for so apologies if I'm repeating some annoying questions!!

I want to change my rims to 10 some black gloss ones. I believe the PCD is 108 with 5 studs but what is the centre bore diameter amd the required offset zo the new ones fit correctly? I've also been told Ford fitment rims will also fit. Is this correct?

I would like to replace the front bumper with an R Design bumper/splitter. Is this a straight swap or a bit more involved.

I'd also like to change the front grille. Is there a website that shows different options?

Headlights. Is it an easy swap to change to xenon headlights or am I better just upgrading my bulbs?

Thanks in advance for you help 👍

Is your car facelifted, (does the rear light cluster have a "circle" in it or not?) If it is a facelift the R-design bumper should be a straight swap, if not it's more involved (different headlights, grills, etc)

Front grille I believe any facelift S40/V50 grille will work with a facelift bumper. On a pre-facelift car fitting the S40 "eggcrate" grille is a common upgrade.

I read up on fitting the factory Xenons and it seems like a bit of a minefield, I found a few articles on this topic

https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/showthread.php?t=261883

Also someone who took the factory lights apart and fitted HID bulbs, unfortunately the images are gone

https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/showthread.php?t=262911

The stock lights are pretty rubbish, I've ordered some Osram nightbreakers for mine to see how I get on. If not i'll likely be exploring the HID options myself.

Not sure about the rims myself as personally I stick to OEM designs, but this site looks useful if you trust it! https://www.wheel-size.com/size/volvo/v50/

Post a picture of your car and we could give you more advice.

See my progress thread [link in my signature below] to see what I've done to mine.

Headlamp upgrade - its a topic as wide as a river. There is no "easy" swap, depending what you want to achieve it can be messy or less messy ;)

Have a look on the forum ref headlights - you will find a lot of topics.
Also - have a look at my D2S mod (link in my sig) will give you example of one approach to the subject.
To give you an answer in a pill:
- it is NOT possible to retrofit xenon headlamps from xenon-equipped model (connectors, lack of levelling, differentxenon modules etc)
- it IS possible to retrofit H7 HIDs but there is a huge risk of wiper module fail if done incorrectly. You need to prepare the car for this to avoid issues.
- it is also possible to retrofit better projectors with proper D2S bulbs (thats what I did on my 2nd mod) to achieve best possible results. Its pretty easy on our lights due to its easy-out and open structure. but again - to avoid WMM issue you must do a proper homework (read about DRL disable and SKBOWE).

In any case above, you will be technically illegal and car may fail MOT, just to be clear.

Thanks all so far

Mines a 2008 lux version. I've got a couple of images so once i sort out how to upload them I'll put them up

Think I'll steer clean of the headlight mods for a while but thanks for the advice 👍

If it's straightforward I'll go for the bumper swap and grill change 😁

Once I've had confirmation about the rims I'll start looking once I know the offset & rim width.

Thanks all

Just buy a DECENT set of H7 xenons if you want xenons, none of this eBay tosh.

Had my Stealth kit from HIDS4U in for nearly 2 years now, same bulbs (DRL disabled but leave lights on all the time anyway) and no issues with wipers/auto wipers.

I did question them before buying and they were aware of the issues that they used to cause with certain modules on certain cars and state that theirs have been designed to prevent failure.

I live near their HQ and have been in before, nice bunch so I'll take their word for it.

NOTE : Under new MOT rules you WILL fail an MOT for having them in, even if they line up correctly and don't blind anyone so always worth putting the H7's back in prior to it. Thankfully it's all of 5 minutes to swap them :)

Personally I wouldn't bother with HID's unless you've got the SKBOWE PWM filter units running alongside them.

It's a gamble that has been ok for some people, but a huge pain for others, me being one of them.

About 3 months after installation, both of my HID bulbs suddenly just started flickering and then simultaneously died. "Power system service urgent". I was very fortunate that it did this about 2 minutes away from joining an unlit stretch of Motorway, during heavy rain.

Uninstalling that failed HID kit at the side of the road, at night, in the rain and miles from home was lesson enough for me to stick with Halogens onwards of that.

Perhaps higher quality HID kits last longer when installed in P1 cars, but it's not a risk I'd want to take again without the HIDs running through SKBOWE PWM filters.

Thanks all for your replies. Another question please. I've found a set of wheels (see below) but with a offset of 40. Will these fit ok or is the offset not enough? Thanks again.

https://www.lkperformance.co.uk/whee...nt-rear=17x7.0

I have a set of HIDS fitted to my V50 at the moment, they came with the car and shine a nice blue on the road.

That being said, I will be getting rid of them soon as I prefer the standard headlight lamps, I'll pop in Osram Nightbreakers.

I was asking about lights and the verdict seemed to be that there's no purpose to annoying the MoT man, when LED light bars are so cheap. Then all you have to do is unhook the bar from the main beam when you go for a test...