cheap nasty stick on carbon fibre

[stuart bowes]

this stuff is probably a bit divisive but I dont mind fake stick-on carbon fibre effect as long as you dont actually try and pass it off as real lol

like, why put it on the bonnet, it's not actually saving you any weight.

but, as a decorative feature...



i did that a while back just to see if I liked it and it's grown on me

so now I'm working on the heater controls as well which is a bit more awkward. bought one on ebay for £16 to harvest the cover plate rather than diving straight into taking my proper one apart. then 3d printed some markings to stick on. the hot/cold will be painted red/blue, other bits just staying white



they're a bit wonky because they're just placed there to see. not glued on yet I will take more time over it

because the right/lower button was a blank on mine (usually seat heaters?) i took the chance to remove that pointless slab of plastic and smooth that off. the non-button kept falling off anyway so this is one annoyance also fixed

above is a little RC caterham project my dad's working on... I'm more of a clodbuster guy myself

[stuart bowes]

on a similar vein, is it just me or were Volvo being a bit optimistic putting 7 button spaces along the bottom.. what the hell else goes there

I've seen, the alarm reduce button (got) the mirror fold button, the DTSC..

what else is there. genuinely curious because stuff like that always makes me wonder everytime I look at it

[oragex]

It actually looks quite nice if you could leave the markings around the dials. I find the center console on these cars looks rather bland from the factory, even with the later trim inserts on facelift cars. You can also swap the glove box insert with 4 screws, there are aluminum mesh and also aluminum grid ones https://youtu.be/qXq2wkBfLQc

[stuart bowes]

Im in two minds whether to do the glovebox or not, at the moment just the center console is a tidy little touch but when I do the glovebox then I have to start thinking about the strips on the doors as well, and the rear doors obviously..

I do hate the 1990's Rover style fake wood but I don't really want to break anything trying to get them off the doors (glove box is easy I know) and Im thinking it might look a bit too much anyway

the markings around the dials, I would agree but the only way to do that would be to meticulously cut around them (impossible) or maybe cut a larger circle so you get the markings and a dark grey ring around the dials, I think that would look $h!t to be honest lol

[V8XCV]

Originally Posted by stuart bowes

on a similar vein, is it just me or were Volvo being a bit optimistic putting 7 button spaces along the bottom.. what the hell else goes there

I've seen, the alarm reduce button (got) the mirror fold button, the DTSC..

what else is there. genuinely curious because stuff like that always makes me wonder everytime I look at it

That looks decent, I'm considering doing my centre console in a plain wrap as the matt surface is peeling at the edges.

The only other button I can think of is the auxiliary driving lights, they offered a switch for that.

[T5R92011]

Originally Posted by stuart bowes

on a similar vein, is it just me or were Volvo being a bit optimistic putting 7 button spaces along the bottom.. what the hell else goes there

I've seen, the alarm reduce button (got) the mirror fold button, the DTSC..

what else is there. genuinely curious because stuff like that always makes me wonder everytime I look at it

You most often see XC90's with that bank of switches maxed out.

Top of my head some of the buttons are for:

- DTSC
- Flip Down rear head rests
- Fold the mirrors in
- 4C suspension (on later cars that are NOT the S60R/V70R)
- Active Bending Bi-xenon enable/disable /switch from LH to RH Traffic
- Rear AC (XC90)
- Rear Parking Sensors Enable/Disable
- Reduce Alarm function
- Bi-Fuel Petrol/LPG fuel switch
- Fire Missiles.
- Leave smoke trail.

Im sure there are others. I have to admit that bank of buttons is one of the coolest things about the P2 cars. If you have a car that is fully loaded with all 7 buttons i suspect it feels a bit like a James Bond car.

It's also why I dislike the modern philisophy of putting every function into a touch screen. For me, there is nothing more satisfying than pressing a button to make something happen.

[XC70Bob]

Originally Posted by stuart bowes

on a similar vein, is it just me or were Volvo being a bit optimistic putting 7 button spaces along the bottom.. what the hell else goes there

I've seen, the alarm reduce button (got) the mirror fold button, the DTSC..

what else is there. genuinely curious because stuff like that always makes me wonder everytime I look at it

Fold mirrors
Dis-able internal ultrasonic alarm sensors
4C comfort/sport
DSTC or STC
Spot lights
Electric folding rear headrests
Boot lock on saloon cars
Parking sensors front
Child lock rear doors
Active headlights lock ( not sure on this one just a guess from the symbol on the button)

There may be others but these I have seen on various pictures on the web.

[stuart bowes]

Originally Posted by T5R92011

- Fire Missiles.
- Leave smoke trail.

- oil slick (on the Esprit this was actually a standard feature)
- Tyre popping spikes


oh yeah I forgot about the folding headrests, that's a cool feature. amongst others

[stuart bowes]

Originally Posted by V8XCV

That looks decent, I'm considering doing my centre console in a plain wrap as the matt surface is peeling at the edges.

The only other button I can think of is the auxiliary driving lights, they offered a switch for that.

cheers, I would advise plain as well and slightly regretting the pattern.. this stuff stretches really easy under the heat gun but if you pull too far the pattern looks weird. It took me 3 attempts to get a wrap I was happy with

[stuart bowes]

the painted end result:


and in place:


the little pen holder bit will be done as well obviously

thought id get it in now while the centre console is out for handbrake cable replacement at the weekend / some cosmetic touchups

I was very pleased with myself because I managed to swap the faceplate without disconnecting the panel and messing about with VIDA and fault codes etc. was a little bit more fiddly but part of the challenge

it does annoy me a bit that the headunit plate doesn't line up perfectly but I guess you just have to choose your battles. i might make a plywood one at some point which fits more accurately, little things like that grate on me over time