[jfxavier]

Originally Posted by sandeep108

I did say most. In many markets, BMW/Audi/Merc offer the front cameras as well. The Merc ML350 has more than 3-4 cameras including top down. The Passat even parks itself using the auto park feature, you just have to set it in that mode and move slowly near vacant spots, it sense which one it will fit in and park itself in there, all without human intervention.

And if a car can park itself in fairly tight spots on its own today, I think I know where Google is going with driverless cars.

Sooner or later all manufacturers catch up & features become standard. I would see the class of vehicle and when it was introduced when comparing features. Volvo has been on the forefront with regards to the safety related features.

The car I was writing about is MY2011.
When this car was launched, it was world's first with Pedestrian Detection with Full Auto Brake.

http://www.mobileye.com/technology/a...ian-detection/

The goalposts have already been shifted & the 2015 Volvo XC90 features the world's first crossroads traffic detection with autobrakes and Run-off road protection, which might appear in other cars soon.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volvo_XC90

Volvo already have had its "Drive Me" project underway for a few years and in 2017, Volvo will put 100 autonomous driving cars "on sale" to general public on the streets of Gothenburg. All the cars that will be used in this project will use a production-viable autonomous driving system that has a multiple beam laser scanner, four surround radars, a trifocal camera, two long-range radars and twelve ultrasonic sensors. The system will also use a high-definition 3D digital map, GPS data and a windscreen mounted wave radar and camera that can read traffic signs as well as the road's curvature.

https://www.media.volvocars.com/glob...nable-mobility

[jfxavier]

Here are a couple of videos showing the reverse camera and the front camera in action.


Front Camera

http://youtu.be/TwgH6jQW5bg

Rear Camera

http://youtu.be/sliPbKGjld8

[jfxavier]

Modification/ Upgrade - TPMS:

One of the shortcomings that kept nagging me on this car was the absence of TPMS as a standard fitment. With no spare tyre, the car makers need to provide at least real time information on the tyre pressure/ temp. The Volvo TPMS that was being offered was probably based on the tyre rotation speed difference and I did not feel comfortable with the idea as I was used to seeing the live pressure and temp. of all tyres in my earlier car (A retrofitted Tyreprobe TPMS).


I zeroed in on the Penetrate Mont TPMS this time.


The possibility of seeing all temp. & press. simultaneously was the attractive part for me. The display was a little too big for my liking. Maybe it is due to the fact that they only sell TPMS bundled along with GPS navigator (maybe a smaller TPMS only unit would have been better for the purpose).

Fitting the TPMS was a straight forward affair as the transmitters were fitted in place of the existing filling valves and the display/ receiver unit was fitted on the central console on the middle AC vent.

[jfxavier]

With all the gadgets that we carry around, the 12V outlets that the older cars provide are never enough.
The S60 has three 12V outlets one between the cup holders in the central arm rest and one between the front seats for the rear passengers and another one on the boot. But since a lot of the charging/ power requirements tend to be for the front passengers in my case & hence I decided to go for a multiple 12 V outlet connected to the front 12V outlet.
A multiple 12V splitter arrangement with 2 nos. cigarette lighter format and 2 pcs. USB format was ordered from the internet and duly installed.


The power was taken from the outlet in between the arm rests.


The cable was tucked under the central console chrome garnish.


The 12V splitter socket was neatly stuck behind the floating console using 3M double sided tape.
Seen here already connected with the TPMS power supply.

[psispace]

Neat mod jfxavier

The center console power socket (when in use) always required for the cup holder cover to be kept half open. This limited the way you could place a mobile or anything there.

Further, with the socket in use, it was dangerous to place a glass/drink there lest it spills and short circuits. In such situations, I used to make use of the power socket behind the center armrest. This can however inconvenience a passenger seated in the middle rear seat.

Your set up circumvents these problems. And it makes good use of all that space behind the center console.

[jfxavier]

I was like hearing the price of 1.5 Lakhs for the Volvo Navigation option. A decision was made to instal a tablet instead of the same as I was keen to get the OBDII adaptor and corresponding apps to view the live parameters from the engine ECU as well.
The tablet of choice was the Lenovo Yoga2 (8").

A mounting bracket was fabricated by my FNG to match the dashboard curve and the tablet stand.


The bracket was tried out and adjusted to decide the final shape so that the position of the tablet could be finalized with regards to the height of obstruction above the hood for the driver.

A cable strap was used for holding the tablet to the bracket at this stage.


The bracket was painted to avoid any corrosion issues later.


The bracket was covered with upholstery matching the dashboard.


The tablet was covered using black film and the bracket and tablet joined using velcro.


Tablet with velcro on the stand.


Bracket mounted on dashboard using two short screws.


View of the bracket from outside.


Tablet mounted on the dashboard.
Driver's perspective.


The charging connection is taken from the 12V outlet mounted behind the floating console (Earlier update).
Have loaded here Maps, Google maps and Sygic.
Also "Torque" app for the OBDII data.
That's coming in another post on another day..

[jfxavier]

Here are some of the pictures with the tablet in use.



With the maps app on.



Torque app on.



Close up of the Torque app.


Tab connected to the ECU via OBDII port bluetooth adaptor. The content and appearance/ size of the dials in the Torque app (supplied along with the OBD II adaptor) can be customized. The app in the tab will show live parameters from the ECU that you have selected from a long list of available data.

For eg. I have selected the foll.
Power, Torque, Load%.
Manifold vacuum/ boost
Amb. air temp., Intake air temp.
Barometric press./ Intake press.
Coolant temp., Transmission temp., Cat. con. temp.
Fuel pressure, Fuel pump timing.
Fuel trims - long term/ short term.
Air Fuel ratio., MAF sensor reading.

OBD II Bluetooth adaptor (From Dev Tech. Bangalore) used for communicating between the ECU and Tablet.
It was a very straight forward plug and play device. Goes off after 30 mins. when the car is turned off. Will need to press the button on the adaptor to start again after the power is on.

[jfxavier]

We had done a family trip of about 8k km recently.
Here are some pictures of the Black Beauty enjoying the Sun.

[JoseVijay]

Originally Posted by jfxavier

We had done a family trip of about 8k km recently.
Here are some pictures of the Black Beauty enjoying the Sun.

8k km trip in a Volvo S60 is awesome. Can you please share more details about your recent trip and how the car performed in the entire journey?

[jfxavier]

Originally Posted by JoseVijay

8k km trip in a Volvo S60 is awesome. Can you please share more details about your recent trip and how the car performed in the entire journey?

We had covered a wide range of roads during the trip.
Visited Bangalore, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Nagpur, Kanha, Jhansi, Agra, Delhi, Jim Corbett, Shimla, Jaipur, Jodhpur etc.

As far as the car was concerned, I faced two issues.
One has little to do with Volvo and more to do with our "roads".
I was having issues with the low profile tyres getting damaged by potholes. So decided to change all rims & tyres enroute.
Arush at Autopsyche, Delhi was helpful in procuring the 17" rims (original 18") and even helped me out by sending the 18"ers back to my place by parcel.

The only "real" issue that I faced was an AC compressor clutch bearing failure on the way to Shimla from Jim Corbett.
It happened at a place called Afzalgarh, obviously far away from any Volvo dealer. However, we managed to get the clutch assembly out even without removing any refrigerant as the connections were by flexible hoses and the compressor could be moved out without opening up the pipe connections. Same size bearing was available in a spares shop in a nearby town and the car was up and running after it was renewed.

Other than the two issues I mentioned above, the car was fantastic and I enjoyed driving the mighty T6 on some of the fantastic roads our country has in offer. Obviously being more cautious on the "bad" roads.

[Ace F355]

Originally Posted by jfxavier

We had covered a wide range of roads during the trip.
Visited Bangalore, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Nagpur, Kanha, Jhansi, Agra, Delhi, Jim Corbett, Shimla, Jaipur, Jodhpur etc.

Hey jfxavier

Congratulations on the car man. Bumped into this thread pretty late. Volvo S60 T6 is one of the best cars I have test driven on Indian roads and you own one! Pretty lucky you and even better to find one pre-owned car market which has plenty of diesel S60s. And nothing less than a Black ex/interior combo!

Tell me something, on this 8000 kms trip you mentioned, how many times you really faced the possible scraping issues due to low GC? Good decision moving down to 17", 18" are surely an overkill for our roads filled with potholes (or even uneven joints of tarmac on highways which can take you by surprise).

Really happy to see you munching real kms on this low flying beauty. Congrats once again.

[jfxavier]

Originally Posted by Ace F355

Tell me something, on this 8000 kms trip you mentioned, how many times you really faced the possible scraping issues due to low GC?

Thanks.

One thing I did before starting the trip is installing the Aluminium sump guard.
Quite thick (atleast 5 mm) guard covering the full engine underside.

However I must have scraped only a couple of times the underside and that too on the kind of "obstacles" any normal car would have scraped.

One thing I do is to take the speed breakers slowly and if massive ones then diagonally if possible.
The stiffer suspension and slow speed takes care of no moving about while taking the speed breaker.
I think I am more confident with the S60 than I was with my Honda Accord when faced with a high speed breaker.

[harish619]

Originally Posted by jfxavier

Thanks.

One thing I did before starting the trip is installing the Aluminium sump guard.
Quite thick (atleast 5 mm) guard covering the full engine underside.

However I must have scraped only a couple of times the underside and that too on the kind of "obstacles" any normal car would have scraped.

One thing I do is to take the speed breakers slowly and if massive ones then diagonally if possible.
The stiffer suspension and slow speed takes care of no moving about while taking the speed breaker.
I think I am more confident with the S60 than I was with my Honda Accord when faced with a high speed breaker.

Good that you have installed the aluminium sump guard for your S60. How's the car running?It's been a while since you have updated the thread.

[jfxavier]

Originally Posted by harish619

Good that you have installed the aluminium sump guard for your S60. How's the car running?It's been a while since you have updated the thread.

The car has been without any major issues so far. Thanks for asking.
Completed 60 000 kms so far.
The next major plan is to replace the brake discs.
The dimensions of the discs were close to limits last time the car went for service.
Will post an update after that is done.

[jfxavier]

Update @ approx. 65 000 kms.

Two updates that I had done recently.

Got BREMBO brake discs and pads for the car as the discs were getting worn beyond limits recommended by VOLVO.



I was not interested much in improving the performance & hence went for the normal ones, instead of the slotted discs etc.

Ordered from UNITED MOTORS (Ashish).




They cost much less than OEM and provide satisfactory performance.
Definitely did not feel any improvement, if any.
The only issue was delays due to the items being not readily available. Probably because Volvos are not that common.
You can see the time lapse between the two consignments.




Fitting the parts was straight forward and quick at an FNG near my place.



Old and new rotors while being changed.



After rotor and pad renewal. Cleaning yet to be done



New rotor fitted along with new pad.

I had installed ROGERAB suspension modulators earlier.
You can see the same installed in the spring behind the disc.
I am fairly satisfied with the results as it seems like an improvement with the under body scraping situation when it comes to speed breakers designed by our genius contractors.