Car appreciation... the aesthetics, the engineering, etc

The new XC60 will have a plug in hybrid option.

£££ though.

Well there is no domestic market for the owners of Volvo:

https://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2015/09/28/why-volkswagens-problems-dont-include-china/

https://www.ft.com/content/30185c82-655e-11e6-a08a-c7ac04ef00aa

I had to check for mainland China, as I knew there are no domestic diesel passenger vehicles in Hong Kong,
and,
couldn't remember seeing any diesel cars in Shanghai back in Dec 2015.

Aren't there two distinct markets;
1) personal lease, (restricted mileage)
2) fleets for sale(wo)men doing 30k miles a year?

A different wife.

I wonder how much of the improvement was in the kit he chose, and how much was just putting new bushes, springs and dampers on. A V-reg car will have shagged-out suspension by now, as he found out.

I doubt he's going to buy another one the same and do the same job but one with brand-new Porsche stuff, but that would be an interesting comparison.

Yours being a convertible, and not so stiff, I expect you might need a more compliant setup?

**Titters**

A quick Google finds comparative figures for the 996 turbo, which is a different chassis but the delta is likely similar:
Coupe 27,000 Nm/degree
Cabriolet 11,600 Nm/degree

So the lack of roof makes a difference, that's undeniable.

I believe the cab has softer springs, they're certainly cab specific (coloured rings identify them on the spring), I don't know what the respective spring rates are however, can vs coupe.

The Ohlins springs (for both) are 60 Nm front and 120 rear.

Probably worth precious little but I've had Ohlins shocks on several motorbikes in the past, and while they're fantastic - they require careful setting up and need rebuilding way more frequently than OEM stuff.

I parked next to this yesterday.

stiffy

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E Gahds.

No image displays for me?

That is just the way you ride. ;)

Why not use leda or gaz?

It's the person in the hedge...

I've just ordered a stripe kit for my car from dmb graphics (side stripes, full length of car). I assumed that I'd be able to fit it myself, but I'm having doubts.

Has anyone fitted something similar and am I likely to mess it up? If so, has anyone got any ideas for someone to fit them for me?

It was their car! They caught me fawning over it, like a love struck teenager. "It even smells lovely!"

My kingdom for a seventies Italian supercar.

^^^^^Being a nerd and looking up "911 torsional rigidity" shows that a 996 cab is stiffer than a 964 coupe, there's progress for you.

At 175mph

I fitted an Empi GTV graphics kit to my Beetle and was surprised how well it went. Just take a lot of time, trial fit with masking tape and measure a lot.

IS the origin of the 4cyl 2.0 diesels in the current xc90/v90/s90 all derived from the ford unit they've been using for about 10 years now or totally different? I thought it was maybe something like an Isuzu engine now?
But yeah apart from 2000-2014 5 cyl 2.4 d5, all the diesels volvo have used have just been bought in an adapted, mostly Renault or PSA until the 90s. Total turnaround on their outlook from just a few years ago, pretty sure the mk3 V70 was ONLY available in the UK market with diesels from 2008>when they stopped last year?

Measure a lot. Clean the car, polish it, clean it again, then polish it. Tack into place with masking tape, leaving the backing paper on. Spray the paint with water/soap solution. Remove backing paper. Fit decal. Squeegee out bubbles. Wait a bit for it to dry. Carefully Remove transfer paper. Squeegee out remaining bubbles.

Stand back and admire.

Buy some of this.

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Ok - awesome. I'm going to give it a bash. Assume the worst that can happen is that I bin the decal set. They line up with the bottom of the doors, so the measurement should be less stressful than if they were in another position.

I'll pick up some of that fluid and carve myself a few hours one weekend soon.

As a side note @hoops, I like the way this conversation is in the background of your picture :)

One extra thing to note, often the transfer paper won't have been cut with a straight edge, or even cut parallel to the actual graphic/vinyl. Never use the transfer to line it up when applying, only use the actual vinyl.

Yeah, thats another good point.
I laways measure up vinyl graphics/masks/stencils, and draw a centreline and a line along each edge of the graphic with a fineline marker on top of the aplication to use as a visual guide to keep it straight. The edge of the aplication tape not being aligned with the graphic can easily throw the eye.

Like so:

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Might be a bit of a pain in the ass for a big car sized graphic though....