Doing some work to the Volt

[ChrisV]

So I decided that I should probably do something about my automotive ADD and the constant desire for a different car. One step in that is making the cars I have more interesting to me. To that effect, I've undertaken a customization program for my Volt, which I really want to keep as my daily driver.

First up, adding a sunroof. Don't know why it was never even available with one. Webasto Hollandia 300 series power external slider. Looks and feels factory. Not the largest sunroof on the market (we're too used to pano sunroofs these days) but at least the same size as the one on my E38s.











No buffeting with it open at speed, and also completely eliminated the horrific buffeting that occurs when you opened the windows at any speed above about 25 mph. And no wind noise when closed. Well installed by a local upholstery shop that specializes in doing these for high end dealerships.

Next up:



1.5/1.9" drop eibach Pro-Kit. Needs it so I can put on these:





20" forged TSW Genevas. Last set in the US and will be the only ones on a Volt. I'm not too worried about EV range with it as my commute (when I have one, since we're teleworking 5 days a week now and probably will be for the forseeable future) is only 16 miles round trip and the car will do 40 miles normally...

I'm also painting the lower rockers and front lip in body color. And I might do the grilles and Chevy emblems in black. I dunno about that yet. Then a complete detail so it's better than new inside and out.

[SJ_GTI]

Those are some big wheels, I am curious to see how they look on the car. Did you buy those wheels specifically for this car, or did you already have them and decided to use them for this car?

[ChrisV]

Bought them specifically for this car. They are the size of the ELR wheels, which also fit on the Volt, I'll just be using 225s instead of 245s like the ELR has. The tires are the same exact outer diameter of the stockers. Without putting the springs on, the wheels would look a little donkish, but with the springs, it looks really good.

[FoMoJo]

Nice job on the sun roof.  Is it fully automated or is the bottom part manual?

[ChrisV]

The inside shade is manual, and it's a hard shade, not a roll up one.

[Morris Minor]

Nice work! I like your term "automotive ADD." Applies to all of us on the 'SPIN I'm guessing.

[shp4man]

This is the first time I've personally ever seen anyone attempt customization on an electric car. Interesting. Electric car hot rodding in the future? Maybe.

[AutobahnSHO]

Nice work! I like your term "automotive ADD." Applies to all of us on the 'SPIN I'm guessing.

+1

[AutobahnSHO]

Love all that work!

When you say the range is 40miles, do you mean on straight battery?

[ChrisV]

Love all that work!

When you say the range is 40miles, do you mean on straight battery?

Yeah, the battery-only range is 40 miles (rated at 38, so I feel I'm doing good as it is). The gas range is infinite, but I haven't used gas in nearly a year. It actually had me run the engine for 10 minutes the other day to keep everything in working order (message comes up on the screen that says the engine will run for 10 minutes in maintenance mode, so make sure you're going somewhere that's 10 minutes of driving).

[ChrisV]

This is the first time I've personally ever seen anyone attempt customization on an electric car. Interesting. Electric car hot rodding in the future? Maybe.

yeah, there area  few custom Volts and Bolts running around. Grassroots Motorsports went autocrossing in a Volt, and I know a guy that goes out autocrossing and HPDE events in his lowered Bolt:



Too bad there aren't any tunes for these cars to release some more battery energy. The Bolt is already quite a bit quicker than the Volt, with 200 hp and 260+ lb ft of torque. It feels like a traditional hot hatch, but the stock tires and suspension leave a bit to be desired. Maybe if we buy our Bolt out at the end of the lease, it'll get some coilovers and custom wheels and stickier tires. The range can hit 300 miles as is, so if it loses a few miles overall, no big deal.

[AutobahnSHO]

I really really love the idea of the Volt (and the optional work to transform it to an emergency generator for the house LOL).

I guess I could commute in a Bolt no issues, just seem not as geeky.

[CaminoRacer]

Bolt stock suspension seemed fine when I autocrosses it, except it needs a rear sway bar or stiffer rear springs

[ChrisV]

Ok, painted the lower rockers and bolted on the wheels. Still need the lowering springs (as you can tell. Looks way too tall for me right now):

[SJ_GTI]

The wheels look good, but yeah you were right to get lowering springs, the wheel gap looks odd with low profile tires. Curious to see how it looks with the springs, but I'm guessing it will look pretty good based on what you have done so far.

[FoMoJo]

Ok, painted the lower rockers and bolted on the wheels. Still need the lowering springs (as you can tell. Looks way too tall for me right now):

Is the overall tire and wheel diameter smaller with those tires and rims?  Seems that the gaps a bit bigger.  Should look really good lowered a couple of inches.

[Laconian]

The thought of putting aftermarket sunroofs in a modern car seems strange to me. They're made of so many synthetic materials of dubious serviceability. It feels like you'd be slicing through some structurally integral ABS plastic or something.

[ChrisV]

Is the overall tire and wheel diameter smaller with those tires and rims?  Seems that the gaps a bit bigger.  Should look really good lowered a couple of inches.

No, these are exactly the same overall diameter as the stockers. Was necessary to make sure all the systems still read correctly. They had quite the gap to start with, too, but they were also inset a little bit:

[Soup DeVille]

I think there's a bit of a visual thing that goes on in regards to the proportions of rubber vs. open space, where the thickness of visible rubber needs to be some percentage greater than the thickness of the wheel gap for things to look right.

[Soup DeVille]

The thought of putting aftermarket sunroofs in a modern car seems strange to me. They're made of so many synthetic materials of dubious serviceability. It feels like you'd be slicing through some structurally integral ABS plastic or something.

Whether or not the car was ordered with a sunroof, and even whether or not one was available for that car, there's a good chance the structure was designed to handle a sunroof cutout anyways.

[CaminoRacer]

I think there's a bit of a visual thing that goes on in regards to the proportions of rubber vs. open space, where the thickness of visible rubber needs to be some percentage greater than the thickness of the wheel gap for things to look right.

Yeah, plus I think we associate aftermarket wheels with less wheel gap. If a bone stock has wheel gap, it's just expected.

[Raza]

The sunroof looks great! How much did that run you?

[ChrisV]

The sunroof looks great! How much did that run you?

$1099 installed (the Sunroof was only about $649 of that labor was the rest)

[Raza]

$1099 installed (the Sunroof was only about $649 of that labor was the rest)

Oh, that's not bad at all. Nice.

[AutobahnSHO]

That sunroof install really fascinates me.
Did they use the OEM headliner? how do they cut it and finish the edges?
I'd be so scared of cutting the metal "frame" of the roof.

And although that money is "not much" to some people it's a substantial chunk of money compared to value of car, but it's something I've always wanted on every car and really cool that it's Unique now to the Volt. I agree it's sad it wasn't even an option. ?!

We specifically wanted 3 things in our last car- sunroof, dual climate, backup camera.

(sidenote)
Seems we're keeping our impreza for awhile longer. Only has 105k miles, had to swap engines in 2016 and they did timing belt etc... then, at about 80kmiles. They changed tint laws in NY so we had to remove the really nice (and dark) tint on all passenger windows in 2018. Even so the tint on the back window and height of the rear has always made backing that thing a little dicey and in the night it's really really almost impossible.

Trying to convince wife to go for replacing double-din 6disc CD with an android auto deck with backup camera. I think that "refresh" would literally make the car much more enjoyable. I  absolutely want the sunroof like yours too, but can't come to even 20% of wanting to justify the cost. 

[ChrisV]

That sunroof install really fascinates me.
Did they use the OEM headliner? how do they cut it and finish the edges?
I'd be so scared of cutting the metal "frame" of the roof.   

It looks like they used the cut out bit of the original headliner in the hard slider, 'cause it matches perfectly. But I don't know how as there isn't enough extra when you fold some of it around the edges like they did. But they didnt' charge anything for extra headliner material...

Cutting the hole in the roof is a big deal for some, but I've done it and in most cars there's a large open area where that happens. Bracing is all around the perimeter and there isn't even wiring in there. The shop I had do it installs all sorts of power sunroofs in high end cars for dealerships, and even perfected the sunroof install in Priuses where even the sunroof manufacturer said it couldn't be done due to the shape of the roof:



I would have liked one like that but there isn't enough internal space to do it. So I got the exterior slider.

I figure adding the features and looks I like is still cheaper than another new car. I've only got 44k miles on this 7 year old Volt and so I'll try to keep it around for a while.

[MX793]

I like the design on the wheels, I can't help but feel like they are a little oversized.  The stockers look a bit undersized, though, so I think going bigger was the right call.  I feel like 18 or 19 might be the sweet spot.  Obviously, my tastes are subjective.

[FoMoJo]

I figure adding the features and looks I like is still cheaper than another new car. I've only got 44k miles on this 7 year old Volt and so I'll try to keep it around for a while.

How is the battery pack holding out?  I'd heard years ago that 7 years might be when the batteries needed to be replaced.

[AutobahnSHO]

*snip*

I figure adding the features and looks I like is still cheaper than another new car. I've only got 44k miles on this 7 year old Volt and so I'll try to keep it around for a while.

Totally awesome! and that craftsmanship blows me away- I guess if it's your job and you get good at it might be no big deal but to me it's inconceivable. :)

[mzziaz]

Bolt stock suspension seemed fine when I autocrosses it, except it needs a rear sway bar or stiffer rear springs

The biggest issue, IMO, is the massive torque steer at WOT. The car would have been really fun on a RWD platform.