What suspension?

[T5frankie]

Due to having a broken spring and the mot tomorrow, i may as well upgrade the suspension instead of replacing just one or two springs for it to pass, to be honest the handling is a bit pony anyway. What do you recommend for nice tight roadholding but i cant really lower it more than it is now as have to drive up a kerb to get on my driveway and dont want to ruin my new front bumper. Has to be reasonably cheap too. any ideas?

[dalhousie2008]

ive got fsd koni's adjustable on my 850r and they are very nice indeed

[T5frankie]

ive got fsd koni's adjustable on my 850r and they are very nice indeed

are they just dampers? i need a kit

[dalhousie2008]

came as a kit, receipt for £700 fitted in history about 3,000 ago i think kits was £450-ish but they are very nice and feels very tight, so maybe other things done as well.

[T5frankie]

came as a kit, receipt for £700 fitted in history about 3,000 ago i think kits was £450-ish but they are very nice and feels very tight, so maybe other things done as well.

so you use these with standard springs?

[dalhousie2008]

not sure frankie already on (but very recently) when i got it, its lowered, but i don't see why not, probably no lower than you already have. I have a dropped kerb so couldn't say about bumping up a kerb, something i try and avoid.

I'm not certain they are not coil overs, as the house has been occupying all my time, so car is just sitting on drive doing nothing since october, not even time to fix the flat tyre. But moving to one of my lock ups tomorrow. So ill give it a look over, them maybe replace engine and find out its spec as someone has spent alot on this car in the past.

[dalhousie2008]

Service history receipt says fsd koni kit

[t5_monkey]

Eibachs and Bilstein B8's here very happy with them

[T5frankie]

better get saving eh lol

[Volvostorm]

ive got fsd koni's adjustable on my 850r and they are very nice
indeed


FSD's are not adjustable in terms of twisted a knob, they adjust themselves.

They recommend using them with standard height springs, but, I've had no problems with them using Eibachs

[t5_monkey]

I saw an interesting article about dampers with loads of science in... the conclusion was Koni and Bilstein were the only ones worth bothering with.

and 'adjustability' was way over hyped as it brings it's own problems.

[dalhousie2008]

Hi Paul mine have a white adjuster knob that goes on top of the shock with soft and firm? Maybe coil overs? But says fsd koni in history. Which type do you think the are? But def adjustable.

[S70T5Chris]

Personally I would avoid FSD's, they are overrated and only really comparable with standard shocks. And as mentioned not designed to be used with lowering springs.

There was T5D5 group buy on BC coilovers through Apex a few months ago. The whole kit including adjustable camber top mounts was around £570 IIRC. Apex may have some sets left.

If not go for the Koni Yellows. They are adjustable, so you can set the firmness to your liking, and come with 35mm lowering springs. They're a decent option, a few of the guys on T5D5 use these, on some pretty powerful cars, and on track too. Larkspeed do a good deal for the whole kit LINK (http://www.larkspeed.com/index.pl?c=KONIADJKITSVOLVO&s=category)

[smithson007]

Myne's on koni FSD's and eibach 40mm lowering springs. Handles real well and not to harsh of a ride. Only down side is the ride height. Front bumper easily gets caught on carpark curbs and have to be carefull over speedhumps.

[S70T5Chris]

Hi Paul mine have a white adjuster knob that goes on top of the shock with soft and firm? Maybe coil overs? But says fsd koni in history. Which type do you think the are? But def adjustable.

Koni Yellows are adjustable, could be those??

[smithson007]

Personally I would avoid FSD's, they are overrated and only really comparable with standard shocks. And as mentioned not designed to be used with lowering springs.

There was T5D5 group buy on BC coilovers through Apex a few months ago. The whole kit including adjustable camber top mounts was around £570 IIRC. Apex may have some sets left.

If not go for the Koni Yellows. They are adjustable, so you can set the firmness to your liking, and come with 35mm lowering springs. They're a decent option, a few of the guys on T5D5 use these, on some pretty powerful cars, and on track too. Larkspeed do a good deal for the whole kit LINK (http://www.larkspeed.com/index.pl?c=KONIADJKITSVOLVO&s=category)

Ive read elsewhere that the FSD's should not be used with lowering springs but it didnt give a reason why. Why is this?

[T5frankie]

ideally i dont want lowering springs as i need the ground clearance and cos of my pegs, so standard springs and konis/bilsteins?

[dalhousie2008]

Thanks chris mistery solved that's what I have and they are great, plus other stuff as well, I'll have to investigate but I think it has ipds stuff underneath

[S70T5Chris]

I saw an interesting article about dampers with loads of science in... the conclusion was Koni and Bilstein were the only ones worth bothering with.

and 'adjustability' was way over hyped as it brings it's own problems.

It all depends on your application I suppose. If you only ever use the car the road, then a decent quality shock that is a nice compromise between comfort and handling would be the way to go.

If your a track goer then being able to adjust between road and track settings is a bonus. Having said that mine is just set as it is the same for track and road, I don't really use the car much on the road, and can't be arsed to p!ss around with suspension settings!

[S70T5Chris]

ideally i dont want lowering springs as i need the ground clearance and cos of my pegs, so standard springs and konis/bilsteins?

If your sticking with standard springs then FSD's may well be the way to go then. They won't give you the best handling available, but any new set of shocks will be a big improvement over tired old shocks.

For years I ran with Sachs gas shocks from Euro Car Parts and Eibach springs. Never had any complaints, handled reasonably well and comfy too. If you don't want to blow loads of money that could be an option. FSD's won't be much better than that option IMHO.

[Nealevo]

Frankie, there was a cheapish coilover kit in eBay a few weeks ago, FK coilovers I think, £300 ish complete, eBay number 270765554704

[t5_monkey]

It all depends on your application I suppose. If you only ever use the car the road, then a decent quality shock that is a nice compromise between comfort and handling would be the way to go.

If your a track goer then being able to adjust between road and track settings is a bonus. Having said that mine is just set as it is the same for track and road, I don't really use the car much on the road, and can't be arsed to p!ss around with suspension settings!

Is it usable on the road or a bit of a pain ?

[S70T5Chris]

Is it usable on the road or a bit of a pain ?

Not a pain at all. I have it set fairly firm, but not solid. It's still quite a comfy ride.

I think its quite a common misconception that coilovers give a bad ride. The only way that is the case is if they are nasty cheap things, or they are set up badly.

[Rob_C70T5]

Just put my own thread up about a similar thing, I think the springs on mine have gone soft as it seems to wallow in the corners quite badly and has vague steering.

I'm gonna keep an eye on this and see whats best, then do mine!!