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  1. #21
    Join Date
    Jul 2007
    Location
    Snoqualmie, Washington
    Posts
    163

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    Quote Originally Posted by Pennhaven View Post
    Has anyone actually tried a Wheelskin on the XC70?

    How well does it fit around the four spokes? Does it make the wheel too "fat" for small hands?

    My OE wheel cover began to peel around the left hand grip. Possibly initiated by scuffing from a ring and maybe solvent on the hands of mechanics at a local independent shop. I was able to make a fair to good looking repair with a Permatex vinyl repair kit. Got the color to match fairly well but it's difficult to get the thermosetting repair vinyl to cure and adhere properly to achieve a smooth finish. Also I strongly suspect that its just a matter of time before more of the skin peels.

    So before I spring for a new wheel or an upholstery shop, I'm curious to learn how well the Wheelskin product works.
    Yep- Put one on my XC two years ago just after I bought it. Fits great and holding up well. Two things I'd do different. I'd uses a baseball stitch goes from front to back inside to outside. Also I'd try to get one that is about 1/4"-3/8" wider as there are a couple of areas that the two edges have a 1/4" gap. It could have been my installation but a little extra material would make it easier. If I could find more of the lacing material I'd resew the cover and try to stretch it a bit more.

    Jeremy
    2001 V70XC, 2K V70, '87 740 TI Wagon 325K+! (what are the chances of the XC making it to 325K?)

  2. #22
    Join Date
    Oct 2003
    Location
    Michigan, USA
    Posts
    460

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    Quote Originally Posted by Jeremy View Post
    Yep- Put one on my XC two years ago just after I bought it. Fits great and holding up well. Two things I'd do different. I'd uses a baseball stitch goes from front to back inside to outside. Also I'd try to get one that is about 1/4"-3/8" wider as there are a couple of areas that the two edges have a 1/4" gap. It could have been my installation but a little extra material would make it easier. If I could find more of the lacing material I'd resew the cover and try to stretch it a bit more.
    Thanks Jeremy. Good info.

    It looks like the size recommended for the XC70 is the widest available. I assume you used the recommended size "C"? Chart

    But you think it would be possible to stretch the leather enough to eliminate the gap?

    Looks like you could get another thread kit here.

    -John
    '04 XC70, Ash Gold / Taupe, Premium, Touring, Tinted Rear Glass, Rear Skyddsplåt, Wing Profile Load Bars, USA Spec 11,
    StonGard Light Protection, Yokohama YK740 GTXs, Meyle HD Sway Bar Links, ipd HD TCV, subframe & top brace poly bushing inserts,
    TitaniumTim XC Cup-holder Coasters.

  3. #23
    Join Date
    Jul 2007
    Location
    Snoqualmie, Washington
    Posts
    163

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    Quote Originally Posted by Pennhaven View Post
    Thanks Jeremy. Good info.

    It looks like the size recommended for the XC70 is the widest available. I assume you used the recommended size "C"? Chart

    But you think it would be possible to stretch the leather enough to eliminate the gap?

    Looks like you could get another thread kit here.

    -John
    I got the size recommend by the chart. Yes, now knowing how it fits I think that pulling a bit more you could close the gap. Also changing the stitching to baseball or the cross stitch shown on the link you posted would help too.

    Jeremy
    2001 V70XC, 2K V70, '87 740 TI Wagon 325K+! (what are the chances of the XC making it to 325K?)

  4. #24
    Join Date
    Oct 2003
    Location
    Michigan, USA
    Posts
    460

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    Quote Originally Posted by Jeremy View Post
    I got the size recommend by the chart. Yes, now knowing how it fits I think that pulling a bit more you could close the gap. Also changing the stitching to baseball or the cross stitch shown on the link you posted would help too.
    Thanks. I ordered a Wheelskin so I'm going to find out for sure in a few days.
    '04 XC70, Ash Gold / Taupe, Premium, Touring, Tinted Rear Glass, Rear Skyddsplåt, Wing Profile Load Bars, USA Spec 11,
    StonGard Light Protection, Yokohama YK740 GTXs, Meyle HD Sway Bar Links, ipd HD TCV, subframe & top brace poly bushing inserts,
    TitaniumTim XC Cup-holder Coasters.

  5. #25
    Join Date
    May 2007
    Location
    Calgary Alberta
    Posts
    1,344

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    Are you going to remove the old wheel cover before you attach the new one from Wheelskin?

    (BTW - what colours did you order? )


  6. #26
    Join Date
    Oct 2003
    Location
    Michigan, USA
    Posts
    460

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    Quote Originally Posted by Forkster View Post
    Are you going to remove the old wheel cover before you attach the new one from Wheelskin?
    No. The manufacturer's instructions and dimensions are designed for installation over the OEM cover.
    (BTW - what colours did you order? )
    I ordered the oak solid color (colour ). It looks like the closest match to Volvo's "taupe" (aka "oak"). The two-tone Wheelskin versions look nice, by I don't like how it appears the colored sections would fail to align with the Volvo wheel's spoke locations. I think it would look mismatched.
    '04 XC70, Ash Gold / Taupe, Premium, Touring, Tinted Rear Glass, Rear Skyddsplåt, Wing Profile Load Bars, USA Spec 11,
    StonGard Light Protection, Yokohama YK740 GTXs, Meyle HD Sway Bar Links, ipd HD TCV, subframe & top brace poly bushing inserts,
    TitaniumTim XC Cup-holder Coasters.

  7. #27
    Join Date
    Oct 2003
    Location
    Michigan, USA
    Posts
    460

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    I thought I'd report back how the Wheelskin installation went. Photo is below. For what it's worth I've read that any irregularity in the fit and stitching should smooth out over time. So it may look somewhat better in a few weeks.

    Overall I'd say I'm reasonably pleased. If ifnt420's custom upholstery job ranks a "10" and a fresh factory wheel is a "9", then I'd say a well installed Wheelskin is possibly an "8".

    The pluses are:
    • Finish and feel of the genuine leather. (You may think the factory wheel is leather but once you feel the Wheelskin, you'll have no doubt which is real and which isn't.)

    • Slightly fatter wheel provides better grip and fills up your hands. More of a sport/performance feel.

    • Value/cost - US$30 - $50 depending on the source and model.


    Negatives:
    • Installation time. It took me nearly an entire day! Forget about 1 - 2 hours with the XC70 wheel! It takes a lot of extra effort to work around the 4 large spokes and to try to get the seam as tight as possible around the lower "fatter" portion of the wheel. I could probably do another one in 3 to 4 hours, now that I've had practice and learned a few lessons.

    • Fit still isn't perfect. Working as hard and as patiently as I could, I was still left with about a 1/8" (3 mm) seam gap in the areas between the spokes. It's not obvious unless you look for it. But it's not a factory look either. Also you'll note some puckering of the leather over the upper spokes. I had to pull as tightly as possible to close the seam gap adjacent to the spokes but this leads to the puckering. Fortunately the stitching looks better over the lower spokes, I guess because the spoke profile is different there. You can see from the photos how I used zip-ties to align the seam and pre-stretch the leather overnight before installing. I also used heavy leather gloves to pull the thread tight after every stitch. (Which adds substantially to the work time, but without good gloves you'd cut your fingers trying to pull the thread tight enough.) The only way I can see entirely closing the lower seam might be to work on a warmer day when the leather could possibly be more supple. It was 65° -70°F in my garage while I worked. Even though I used a hair dryer beforehand to warm up the leather a bit, I suspect that sustained higher temperature might make a significant difference.


    Neutral:
    • Color match. You can see that the "oak" color isn't anywhere close to a perfect match to Volvo's taupe. Still I don't think the color coordination is bad, but maybe gray / "grey" would actually match the Volvo taupe better. Or, for more contrast, brown might work too, as it might complement the wood grain inserts on the dash and doors.


    Tips if you do this yourself:
    • I used the baseball stitch with two threads. Used in this manner, the manufacturer's thread kit is way too long. If you use this stitch you should cut off about 40% of the thread so you don't waste nearly as much time as I did pulling and untangling excess thread. I think the baseball stitch does help achieve a tighter seam than the manufacturer's recommended single thread loop stitch would, since you can pull both threads simultaneously and they work to mutually lock each other. A cross stitch might achieve the same or better seam tightness and also look a little bit more like the Volvo factory stitching.

    • Start near the top of the wheel, not at the bottom as indicated in other instructions. If you want to maintain tightness around the wide spokes on the Volvo wheel you'll need as many consecutive stitches as possible next to the spokes. I don't see how it would be possible to get a tight seam if you started and finished between the bottom two spokes with only two or three stitches between the spoke and the knot.
    Last edited by Pennhaven; 06-14-2009 at 04:40 PM. Reason: punctuation, spelling, syntax
    '04 XC70, Ash Gold / Taupe, Premium, Touring, Tinted Rear Glass, Rear Skyddsplåt, Wing Profile Load Bars, USA Spec 11,
    StonGard Light Protection, Yokohama YK740 GTXs, Meyle HD Sway Bar Links, ipd HD TCV, subframe & top brace poly bushing inserts,
    TitaniumTim XC Cup-holder Coasters.

  8. #28
    Join Date
    Jul 2002
    Location
    Bucks County, PA
    Posts
    428

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    I've had a wheel skin on my '01 since the week I brought it home. It went on in about an hour and a half, the grey colour matched the wheel almost spot-on and it still looks fantastic 7 years later.
    '01 V70XC/Silver/Graphite Leather, Nokian WRs
    '09 XC70/Ice White/Sandstone Leather,VCOA

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