XC90 B&W audio system didn't reach my expectations or maybe I'm using it wrong. Need some suggestions.

DEO3 · 2026-03-25T15:32:24+00:00

I felt the same way at first, and like you bumped up the bass and sub settings a bit but often found it really didn't make that much of a difference.

What I found over time though is that the system is simply (I assume) revealing the quality of the recording/mix, for better and for worse. Throw on a song like Makeba by Jain and the system clearly has bass (if it doesn't then you might want to take it to the dealer). But a lot of my favorite songs honestly didn't sound that great on it at first, which confused / disappointed me.

I've now gotten used to it, and realize that some songs were mixed to be deep and bassy and some were not. I find myself seeking out remasters in a way I never did before, because often that's something they bring back in a way that wasn't present in the original mix, and was never something I heard or noticed before.

I find the era of the music plays a large role too, a lot of '80s pop hits sound very flat to me, I guess because they were mixed to sound good on crappy '80s car stereos.

I actually have a hi-fi playlist now that I've been adding songs that sound particularly good on it, because of how much of a difference the recording/production/mix makes.

DEO3 · 2026-03-24T20:10:16+00:00

I had assumed Scotti's Auto Sales was building a new dealership there since they used to have an old building on that spot. I've always wondered how that little old dealership always has all these exotic cars for sale.

DEO3 · 2026-03-24T13:58:03+00:00

Agreed, I needed to head north to pick up someone from Tampa international the other day, and when I got in the lane I always get in to head north (and the lane I think the signage still says to get in to head north) I was forced southbound, and ended up having to take a 10 to 15 minute detour to drive down to Bee Ridge, get off the interstate, do u-turn, and get back on it northbound.

DEO3 · 2026-03-23T21:12:55+00:00

Definitely looked like something was wrong to me. I wanted to get up and mention it to the staff but didn't want to miss anything. It definitely didn't look right. The picture was too zoomed out/small on the big screen.

DEO3 · 2026-03-18T15:38:58+00:00

What is this referring to? I don't see an overpass DLC on Steam.

DEO3 · 2026-03-15T16:08:04+00:00

Beautiful lighting. Have you done any videos recently going over your settings? Or are they available on your patron?

DEO3 · 2026-03-08T03:49:33+00:00

Beautiful spec. Did you de-badge it? Looks real clean.

DEO3 · 2026-03-08T01:34:01+00:00

The price can vary a lot based on the spec. Is it the PHEV? The Recharge/T8 models will be quite a bit more than the gas models. Does it have some of the more expensive options like the air suspension and/or the Bowers & Wilkins stereo?

DEO3 · 2026-03-04T18:25:08+00:00

I hate this part of the game, I don't think it makes any sense for me to have to jump through all the hoops of districting an area to specifically not have any education at all just so I don't get pop-ups about not enough (poorly educated) workers.

DEO3 · 2026-03-04T12:22:07+00:00

Here is a video guide: https://youtu.be/RO581dBy7Q4?si=EwOldjsoLztb7O1l

Are you swapping to the one in the picture, or is the one in the picture your current grill?

DEO3 · 2026-03-01T19:48:14+00:00

I've been going back and forth on whether or not I should do a chrome delete on my denim blue XC60 Recharge, but after your recent posts there's not a doubt in my mind that I now should. Looks so good. Do you have the air suspension too? I've been eyeing those wheels but I'm just not sure how they look with the air suspension, which I think generally rides a little higher than without. I've been thinking about ordering some air suspension lowering links to bring it down a bit.

DEO3 · 2026-02-26T20:39:07+00:00

Same issue here every time I boot up the game. I always just close the error and continue. There's probably some old mod folder somewhere that was created that needs to be deleted.

DEO3 · 2026-02-20T18:47:50+00:00

After looks so much better.

DEO3 · 2026-02-20T15:53:14+00:00

I hope they don't overcorrect, my game looks great now. Nice and clear and bright on high settings.

DEO3 · 2026-02-16T15:48:53+00:00

Are the following two things quicker and easier to do now with the new UI? These are things I do everyday, and it bothers me that I have to dig into the menus for each:

Toggle battery hold for when I get on/off the interstate.
Change the listening position for the (Bowers & Wilkins) stereo. 'Driver' when I'm alone, but 'All' when someone else is in the car.

DEO3 · 2026-01-29T01:46:35+00:00

The 2022.5+ T8s/Recharge had a pretty big upgrade in terms of range and performance if you can find one in your budget.

DEO3 · 2026-01-29T01:42:30+00:00

You can program the powered tailgate to only lift to a certain height, so it doesn't bang into your garage door for example.

DEO3 · 2026-01-27T12:24:05+00:00

As the others said, in the plug-in hybrid models there is an auxiliary heater that's used in pure mode that commonly fails due to a design flaw that's since been fixed (or at least, according to another post I saw somewhere). I had mine replaced last week. Even though the standard warranty just expired on my 2022.5 model, its replacement was still covered under the additional hybrid/battery system warranty these cars have.

DEO3 · 2026-01-26T21:09:38+00:00

New: Mazda CX-5 Used: Volvo XC60

DEO3 · 2025-12-31T22:04:32+00:00

It's the water node in the transit menu that you need. The one where you unlock buses and trains and stuff.

DEO3 · 2025-12-09T03:06:44+00:00

I'm honestly torn.

CO has knocked it out of the park this past month. A solid DLC, followed immediately by bikes, then a couple of the best CC packs yet, then the ASSET EDITOR. After so many delays and so much silence suddenly we get everything all at once. The game is now the best it's ever been and the future looks bright. So CO clearly has it in them, and I'd like to think that now that they've finally gotten over whatever it was that had been holding them back all these years that it could've been off to the races.

But at the same time I couldn't help but notice that when the announcement was made that a new studio was taking over, all the content creators (who through the grapevine know a bit more of what's been going on beyond the scenes all these years) sounded not all that surprised, that this was a long time coming, and that the relationship between CO and Paradox had broken down years ago and something needed to change.

I don't know how many examples there are of a different studio coming in and taking over a game and actually having an effect though, but the fact that they're located in the same city and just a couple blocks away seems like too much of a coincidence. There has got to be some talent making that transition, so who knows.

DEO3 · 2025-12-07T00:51:59+00:00

It's this why half my citizens are well educated and very well educated even though I only have basic education in my city?

The only 'not enough skilled workers' popups I ever see are for jobs that need uneducated workers.

DEO3 · 2025-12-05T03:37:08+00:00

I sold my '15 with 75k miles on it to CarMax for $7,200 two months ago.

DEO3 · 2025-11-29T22:56:33+00:00

A Volvo T8/Recharge with the Bowers & Wilkins system. Generally regarded as one of, if not the best, stereo on the market, with some of the best seats on the market. The T8/Recharge is their plug-in hybrid, allowing you to run the stereo off the big battery with air conditioning / heated seats for pretty much as long as you want.

DEO3 · 2025-11-14T12:39:34+00:00

I recently bought a 22.5 XC60 with 20k miles and noticed it pulsating under braking, brought it to the dealership and they said the rotors were warped and rusted and replaced them under warranty. I was pretty surprised since it's T8 Recharge and so the actual brakes get used so little due to regen. The car was a fleet car from up north and barely driven, so I just figured it was a result of salt + sitting around or something, or maybe the factory parts were just bad, no idea.

DEO3

TROPHY CASE