V70 suspension 2003

[Flash B]

Hi again expert types.
Just wondering what (if any) differences there are between the suspension in the V70 models. My car is a V70 170 on a '53' plate and drives like a boat on windy roads. I used to drive V70 T5's all the time at work and the handling difference is staggering -Need some advice to improve the current HMS Volvo. What can I do? (Cost is an issue as everything is monitored by the long haired General!)

[cameron]

Maybe the T5 was lower and stiffened more than the 2.4 ( 170bhp ) model's

So could mean upgraded suspension, anti roll bars, drop links etc etc

Welcome by the way :D

[v70torslanda]

If you search back thru Phase 2 posts you will find myself, Cornclose, Dave Stew and Robbie H have all fitted new suspension to various degrees this year.

I have supplied the wishbones reconditioned with PoweFlex front bushes and the shock absorbers with the exception of Cornclose who spent his dosh on a genuine Volvo handling kit supplied by Rufe.

Do you mean that you drive T5s 'professionally'? The ones with battenburgs on the side and lots of extra aerials? ;)

My set up is standard Sachs units all round, 17s with Falken ZE912s and the aforementioned PowerFlex'd front wishbones. I think that's the minimum you will need to do. You can finesse things further with Eibach springs or Bilstein shox but obviously every time you add a 'name' the bill goes up.

Welcome. We're all as mad as a cut snake here BTW. :)

luv'n'stuff

John

[Flash B]

Cheers John,
I'll start looking at the suggested upgrades after christmas - where'd all the money go???
Correct guess on the profession - how easy?
I love the car, but she does feel a little slack, I haven't even upped the pace yet as I'm still sussing out the fuel economy whilst 'driving slow enough to drive Miss Daisy'.
When you say you have 'supplied' the wishbones, what do you mean??

[thebadger]

You may have rear Nivomats, if so it will behave like it's ran by Cunard.

New shocks & lowering springs made my car like a new vehicle.

New droplinks will sure up the ride too.

[v70torslanda]

Cheers John,
I'll start looking at the suggested upgrades after christmas - where'd all the money go???

When you say you have 'supplied' the wishbones, what do you mean??

PowerFlex bushes are time consuming to fit but the upgrade is well worth it. When I first decided to uprate the bushes it occurred to me that it would be simpler to have a 'prepared' set on hand which would reduce the downtime on the car and the 'ramp time' i.e. the length of time the car spent on axlw stands with no wheels on it!

Since then I prepped my old 'bones for Dave Stew, refurbished his for my B-in-law and continued to recycle them for people on here on an ad hoc basis.

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d55/shedbike/various187.jpg

This is how they look ready to bolt on. The mauve bush is the PowerFlex front and the rear is a new standard spec. You can buy rear poly bushes but they cost STUPID money and are only any benefit if you storm the Nurburgring regularly.

This is how I get them.

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d55/shedbike/various119.jpg

This is prepped for coating.

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d55/shedbike/various117.jpg

And ready to bolt on.

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d55/shedbike/various185.jpg

PM me when you want some ;)

luv'n'stuff

J

[Flash B]

Advice with pictures! You can't beat that.
How long does it take to swap over and what's the approx cost??
Is this the best place to start to firm everything up?
Any and all advice appreciated.
Ash

[cornclose]

You may have rear Nivomats, if so it will behave like it's ran by Cunard

Wrong! Mine has nivomats on the rear, and it is most definately an improvement over the standard T5 setup. Why? Because the old suspension must have been worn, despite only having done 85,000 miles or so.

All I'm really saying is that nivomats are not the only thing that may or may not make the car ride badly, it's more involved than that. For me the advatages of the nivomats far outweigh any perceived disadvantages. As a result, the upgrades I did to my V70 have totally transformed the car, the nivomats are irrelevant! For interest's sake, my suspension work writeup is here :-

http://www.vpcuk.org/forums/showthread.php?t=23457

[v70torslanda]

A pair of wishbones as illustrated will cost you 140 quid. Fitting them will take your garage about an hour. There is no difference between fitting an uprated and a standard wishbone.

As a comparison standard wishbones will cost £71.88 each fro PFS plus postage and genuine are 'think of a number' from the dealers.

All you have to do is give me your old ones once the job is done . . .

[thebadger]

Just my opinion Chris, the Nivos on mine made the back end very harsh & thus making roundabouts & tight bends feel like the back end was going to step out.

I found a difference by doing my springs first & then doing the shocks later I could gauge how much of a difference each part made to the handling of the car.

Next on the list is some front polys. So I will be doing a full report once the projects are complete.

In relation to the Nivos point tho Chris, they were holding the rear of my car up by about 10cm (not a joke) which really changed the way the car cornered. The back end felt like it bounced round bends. It's a useful system if you need to tow something of haul a ton of gear about, but a touch on the impractical side for a daily runner purpose.

I've found the Koni FSD & Apex springs have really changed the feel & response of the car.

[cornclose]

Perhaps your nivomats were simply knackered badger, that's the only point I was making. My rear end is 9mm lower now with the nivos than it was with the standard T5 (non nivo) setup.

[Redbrick]

It's a useful system if you need to tow something of haul a ton of gear about, but a touch on the impractical side for a daily runner purpose.

Sorry yours were knackered.

The biggest handling bang for your buck has to be IPD sway bars. Simply superb.

I'm running Bilstein B6 HD front shocks, original Volvo dynamic chassis springs, nivos and Powerflex'd wishbones.

The nivomats are 140k old- nothing wrong with them, handling is IMHO superb.

Also having been a passenger in an FSD equipped P2 with Eibach's I found the ride shockingly harsh- and so did the owner!

[thebadger]

The car had only done 72K when I got hold of it & I'd doubt that the Nivos were that shot.

I would say that the had far less firmness to them which caused a bit of a see-saw over humps in the road.

As for ride vs handling... I'd choose a better handling car for speed & confidence rather than comfort, it's a personal choice on the car, not a fault of the product.

Eibachs IIRC have a 30mm drop?

Again a personal choice.