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2007 Volvo C70 - where'd the strut tower brace go?

18 messages,  Last post on Apr 19, 2007 at 1:23 PM

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What is this discussion about? Volvo C70, Convertible

Messages Page 2 of 2

#9 of 18 Re: 2007 C70 - where'd the strut tower brace go? [rschleicher] by lemenn

Mar 27, 2007 (2:08 am)

Replying to: rschleicher (Mar 26, 2007 9:18 am)
For your information, if you are talking about this horizontal bar...
 
My car is VIN ending by 12591 but it is a Diesel Engine and I am located in France.">
 
D5 Engine
 
D5 engine

#10 of 18 Re: 2007 C70 - where'd the strut tower brace go? [rschleicher] by volvomax

Mar 29, 2007 (3:50 pm)

Replying to: rschleicher (Mar 26, 2007 9:18 am)
There was a design change to the bulkhead.

#11 of 18 Re: 2007 C70 - where'd the strut tower brace go? [volvomax] by rschleicher

Mar 30, 2007 (9:23 am)

Replying to: volvomax (Mar 29, 2007 3:50 pm)
Volvomax,
 
Can you say more on the design change to the bulkhead?
 
Was it a stiffening of the bulkhead that took away the need/benefit of a brace bar?
 
Do you know more about the introduction date of the change?
 
Also, is it possible to still mount the "2006-style" (and early 2007) bar, onto a later 2007 car? I'd be interested in your feedback on whether you think there would be any perceived benefit in terms of chassis stiffness (my car without the bar seems plenty rigid and stiff as is, so my guess would be that the only reason for adding a bar would be for appearances sake). Even if adding the bar would be just for looks, I think I might want to do it anyway!
 
Thanks for your input!

#12 of 18 Re: 2007 C70 - where'd the strut tower brace go? [rschleicher] by volvomax

Mar 30, 2007 (1:38 pm)

Replying to: rschleicher (Mar 30, 2007 9:23 am)
The bulkhead was strengthened.
 
The cars built in Jan incorporated the change.
 
It should still be possible to install the strut brace if you want to.

#13 of 18 Re: 2007 C70 - where'd the strut tower brace go? [rschleicher] by redbuzz

Mar 30, 2007 (5:21 pm)

Replying to: rschleicher (Mar 26, 2007 9:18 am)
My baby has finally arrived - no brace.

#14 of 18 Re: 2007 C70 - where'd the strut tower brace go? [redbuzz] by rschleicher

Apr 02, 2007 (9:18 am)

Replying to: redbuzz (Mar 30, 2007 5:21 pm)
Redbuzz,
 
Thanks for checking, and congrats on your new arrival!
 
Thanks to the feedback from VolvoMax, it appears that the brace has been designed out, coincident with a stiffening of the main bulkhead.
 
(Although, I think the design-out date may be a little earlier than in VolvoMax's e-mail, since my December 2006-built car has no brace.)
 
I am at some point going to look into adding a bar as a retrofit, either the 2006-style factory brace, or else an aftermarket one. My preference will be for the factory brace, unless the cost is ridiculous.

#15 of 18 Re: 2007 C70 - where'd the strut tower brace go? [rschleicher] by volvomax

Apr 02, 2007 (9:54 am)

Replying to: rschleicher (Apr 02, 2007 9:18 am)
Check w/ Heico and IPD for aftermarket braces.

#16 of 18 Re: 2007 C70 - where'd the strut tower brace go? [rschleicher] by redbuzz

Apr 03, 2007 (7:19 pm)

Replying to: rschleicher (Apr 02, 2007 9:18 am)
The manufacturer sticker on my car says it was built in December '06.

#17 of 18 Re: 2007 C70 - where'd the strut tower brace go? [redbuzz] by rschleicher

Apr 18, 2007 (6:13 pm)

Replying to: redbuzz (Apr 03, 2007 7:19 pm)
Another little bit of info related to the removal of the strut tower brace during the 2007 model year run:
 
My dealer's service manager put a query into his technical contact at the factory, who confirmed that the bulkhead area was basically reinforced more, removing the need for the external strut tower brace (as was used in the 2006 cars, as well as the earlier 2007 cars).
 
The reinforcing is not totally obvious, but is at least partly visible. On the passenger side, the strut tower is basically tied to the bulkhead via the sheet metal design. It is not clear to me how different this is from the 2006 cars, but the implication is that it is sufficiently rigid/robust. (Either it was already, or it has been beefed up in some way.)
 
On the driver side, the beefing-up is somewhat more visible. There is actually a short brace bar/rod that attaches to the back side of the driver-side strut tower, and is barely visible behind the battery (tucked partly out of sight under the sheet metal that lays over the back edge of the engine compartment, in front of the windshield). The other end of this short brace bar attaches to some reinforced area of the bulkhead, roughly in the middle of the car.
 
Anyway, this is probably more than anyone wanted to know, but since I brought the subject up in the first place, I thought I'd follow-up with what I found out.

#18 of 18 Re: 2007 C70 - where'd the strut tower brace go? [rschleicher] by rschleicher

Apr 19, 2007 (1:23 pm)

Replying to: rschleicher (Apr 18, 2007 6:13 pm)
Another clarification to the previous post:
 
In contrast to how I described it above, I am now convinced that the new-design "integrated" strut tower brace actually extends basically the full width of the engine compartment, and also attaches underneath the sheet metal that is behind the passenger side strut tower. It's just that the only portion that is visible is the portion that attaches to the driver-side strut, and then runs behind the battery.
 
You can get a sense of what it looks like by looking at the new C30 interactive web page, on www.volvocars.com (I viewed it on the US site, but presumably it is similar for other country sites). The new C30 uses the same platform as the C70, in turn based on the S40/V50 platform. From the C30 interactive page, click on the Safety tab, and then on the "Unique Front Structure" blow-up box. In the exposed, see-through view of the chassis construction, the new "integrated" strut tower brace can be plainly seen. I don't know for certain that the C70 implementation is exactly the same, but the portion that you can actually see on a C70 looks exactly like the see-through-view of the C30.

Messages Page 2 of 2

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