XC70: General New Volvo Owner

[projectmayhem]

Hey all,

Just purchased my first Volvo and am very impressed overall.

Its a 2013 V70 D3 R-Design (Geartronic).

Have a few queries that will be trying to get your advice on over the next while and am just getting used to the forums.

1. How can I tell the BHP on the car, I was told it was 163 but from looking online it seems very hard to pin this down as there are so many variants. Put the VIN into a couple of websites and they are looking ££ to tell me....

2. Car currently dosnt have a spare wheel, the glue kit seems to have been used and the compressor thing is missing. What are the best options? Seems to be the consensus of a space saver. Just bit worried will be left at the side of the road. Do I order one from Volvo?

3. Power increase, is it possible to get the Polestar kit for this model? Has anyone gone for this?

Probably breaking lots of rules by asking multiple questions so apologies in advance !

[volvocat]

Originally Posted by projectmayhem

Hey all,

Just purchased my first Volvo and am very impressed overall.

Its a 2013 V70 D3 R-Design (Geartronic).

Have a few queries that will be trying to get your advice on over the next while and am just getting used to the forums.

1. How can I tell the BHP on the car, I was told it was 163 but from looking online it seems very hard to pin this down as there are so many variants. Put the VIN into a couple of websites and they are looking ££ to tell me....

2. Car currently dosnt have a spare wheel, the glue kit seems to have been used and the compressor thing is missing. What are the best options? Seems to be the consensus of a space saver. Just bit worried will be left at the side of the road. Do I order one from Volvo?

3. Power increase, is it possible to get the Polestar kit for this model? Has anyone gone for this?

Probably breaking lots of rules by asking multiple questions so apologies in advance !

Polestar has it as 136bhp, which is likely to be correct!

https://engineered.polestar.com/uk/u...modelYearId=64

Click on black Optimisation button for more details.

Plenty of spacesavers on ebay, usually cheaper than from Volvo - just shop around. But still check with Volvo; some dealers may offer you a decent discount.

[Tatsfield]

+1 on Spacesavers. You can be sure that any Spacersaver you buy will have virtually no wear on the tyre at all! However if it is an old wheel the tyre may be passed its best as it will have aged and the rubber become more brittle and liable to cracking. When using a Spacesaver the tyre is put to its maximum tolerance as the silly thing isn't really suitable for anything other than limping home. So an old Spacesaver wheel may need a new tyre and that may cost more than you paid for the complete old wheel! I junked the can of destructive gunk and use the air pump to inflate the kids' paddling pool!

[tommyweaves]

There should be a plate at the bottom of the driver's door opening which shows engine capacity and output in either PS or kW. Yours will be either 136 or 163PS

[JonnyA]

don't forget that if you get a spare wheel you'll need the jack set and insert to go with it .....

[projectmayhem]

Hi All,

Thanks for the quick replies.

Had a look on the black door panel, it seems to only give details on the tyre inflation rates etc. Looked over the V5 form and its stating "Max Net Power KW" as 120 which I think is the 163.

Did they ship that model at both specs I wonder. That polestar site definitely only has the 136 with option to upgrade to the 163.

Will maybe try the VIN checker thing also, dosnt feel like a 136 car as its pretty decent when you boot it.

RE - Space saver, will maybe drop into the local volvo place to get a price from them.

Thanks again !

[Ant B]

Originally Posted by projectmayhem

Looked over the V5 form and its stating "Max Net Power KW" as 120 which I think is the 163.

Yep, 120kw is 163bhp, happy days!

Originally Posted by projectmayhem

Did they ship that model at both specs I wonder.

Yes; initially the V70 D3 was a 2.0 5-cyl with 163bhp, then was detuned to 136bhp (and a D4 introduced above it, 2.0 4-cyl), it’s pretty confusing, seemed to change each model year from about 2011 onwards - the 2.0 5-cyl 163bhp was even badged as D4 for a while too?! Volvo changed the badging to match other models (V40, V60 etc.) so now a D3 is something like 120-160bhp, a D4 160-200bhp and a D5 200bhp+?

Originally Posted by projectmayhem

That polestar site definitely only has the 136 with option to upgrade to the 163.

This is the bad news; no Polestar option for the 163bhp D3 V70 in the UK. Although it’s essentially the same block as the D5, just 2.0 instead of 2.4, so you should get good results from a remap - say around 200bhp...?


Welcome to Volvo ownership btw!

[Peter86]

I bought a space saver before my France trip a few weeks back, £67 or £59 with discount at my local Volvo dealer. Only the Volvo jack fits properly in the foam insert, aftermarket ones involve some foam modifications but mine was still a pain to insert so I just put it under the floor cover at the back in the storage tray. The Volvo jacks are pretty expensive hence why I got an aftermarket one. Don't forget you will probably need a wheel brace to.

[Tatsfield]

Don't forget you will probably need a wheel brace to.

If you are buying a wheel brace, take the opportunity to find a good quality one with a telescopic extendable handle. I never use the original as I have a really well designed extendable brace with two sizes of socket which I bought in France.

[Big Ted]

I seem to recall the towing eye screws into the end on the wheel brace, giving the extra leverage. Nice design.