self leveling or not self leveling

[mike 850]

how do i know if my car has self leveling rear suspension, was gonna order some springs and got asked but i havent a clue?
cheers

[splatt]

how do i know if my car has self leveling rear suspension, was gonna order some springs and got asked but i havent a clue?
cheers
Estate or saloon.
If its an estate it should be self levelling :)

[mike 850]

yeah, its an estate, 95 m plate t5 glt

[Andrew]

yeah, its an estate, 95 m plate t5 glt

Then as Splatt said - self levelling.

[mike 850]

cool, how does that compare with lowering it, i mean is it harder, more expensive, just changing the springs mind
thanks for the help

[Andrew]

If you want to lower it you'd need to remove the self leveling system.
If you cary large loads I wouldn't advise it. Taking this out may put off potential future buyers too.

[Redbrick]

Can't remember where the photos from but this is a self levelling nivomat.

If you have these you have self levelling.

To change to non self levelling you will need... standard shocks, standard springs and standard top shock mounts.

Its not hard to change them. You can always put the original stuff back on when you sell it.

[GuyD5]

and self-levelling was not 'always' fitted to an estate .... my V70 (1999MY) did not have them fitted as standard (they were a replaceable option like almost everything else, I had the full history and there were no replacement shocks, just the original OEM ones) .... I had a straight replacement, like-for-like, when I went to Monroe shocks and Eibach lowered springs from VT last year ...

Get them checked properly to see whether you have Nivomats fitted :)

PS. Having the suspension system replaced with new/lowered bits and a strut-brace transformed the wee beastie ;)

[weasel]

isn't it possible to just add lower springs and keep the nivomats?

[Straker]

My M plate 850 T5 doens't have nivomats. Also i'm interested is the lowering thing as well, what happens if you drop the cars by about 20-30 mm and you fit nivomats?

I'm assuming the shock just keeps the car at roughly the same height.

Anyone with experiance?

[Al115]

Lowering springs + Nivomats = whatever height the Nivomats want... to lower cars with Nivomats you need to throw the Nivos out and use different shocks.

I've never heard of anyone adding Nivomats to a car to improve the handling...!

[volvolised]

have 94 855 non self levelling so brought the koni fully adjustable sports kit springs and dampers (the yellow one) for about £380 so lowered 30-40 mm very nice set up especialy with 17" pegs ( the imms from ebay)

[weasel]

'to lower cars with Nivomats you need to throw the Nivos out and use different shocks.'

as it's t5: unless you're volvo using volvo lowered spings and then you can call it an r!:-)

[siamblue]

isn't it possible to just add lower springs and keep the nivomats?

Hi Weasel i am probably a bit late, but if you look at my car in the VB Garage i was using nivo's with lowered springs, yesterday i replaced the nivo's to standard shox, the difference visually is an inch lower at the arch top to tyre,
so can't wait to see how she handles now :)

Gary.

ps Some S70's have nivo's as standard ;)

[Rufe]

someone said on page one that most estates have nivomats fitted as standard... that is not true. most cars didnt actually get self levelling (both estate and saloons), only the cross country variants allways had nivomat as standard. there are plenty of people who had it as a factory fitted option though, as this is a popular accessory for those intending on towing. they are NOT a handling modification lol. you can have lowered suspension with self levelling, but this involves having the correct self levelling kit to suit, as otherwise the nivomat will assume you have a heavy load and will just counter the ride height.

to be sure you can also check your VIN plate.

look at this pic,
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v17/rufe_v6/volvoIDplate1.jpg
the box that has the red arrow pointing to it is the code you need to look for, then look at the 4th digit. if its either a L, K, or a 3, then the car had Nivomat from the factory. there is always the possibilty that someone has retro fitted the kit though.

if you decide to remove the nivomat if you have it, how about sticking the full kit on ebay, as the full kit retails for around £400 or so from new, so perhaps there are caravaners out there looking for a cheap set. (just yesterday a customer came in with a S40 who i scared off with the price of the kit for him).

[siamblue]

someone said on page one that most estates have nivomats fitted as standard... that is not true. most cars didnt actually get self levelling (both estate and saloons), only the cross country variants allways had nivomat as standard. there are plenty of people who had it as a factory fitted option though, as this is a popular accessory for those intending on towing. they are NOT a handling modification lol. you can have lowered suspension with self levelling, but this involves having the correct self levelling kit to suit, as otherwise the nivomat will assume you have a heavy load and will just counter the ride height.

to be sure you can also check your VIN plate.

look at this pic,
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v17/rufe_v6/volvoIDplate1.jpg
the box that has the red arrow pointing to it is the code you need to look for, then look at the 4th digit. if its either a L, K, or a 3, then the car had Nivomat from the factory. there is always the possibilty that someone has retro fitted the kit though.

if you decide to remove the nivomat if you have it, how about sticking the full kit on ebay, as the full kit retails for around £400 or so from new, so perhaps there are caravaners out there looking for a cheap set. (just yesterday a customer came in with a S40 who i scared off with the price of the kit for him).

Thanks for the reply, the springs were at least another 6 inches in difference to each other and the shocks were twice as thick and length was also longer, yes my car must of been counter balancing the springs lol,
I was thinking probably the top mounts are different too, but i will check them out in the morning,
I will as you say sell the whole kit springs and shox and probably top mouints all together,

Gary

[weasel]

the nivomats with lowered springs were standard equipment on the 850r estate. 400 quid for the kit is cheap from quotes i had! must move to wales, i think!

[Rufe]

well theres different prices for different cars, most of them tend to be around £400 (but i have seen some at more) but thats not including any labour either, which would then take the price up a fair bit.

[Vikingxl]

Mine has been lowered with the nivomats on using "R" springs with no problems.

[Rufe]

that dont make sense though, the whole point of the nivomats is that they are there to counter any abnormal load, so by just fitting lower springs would make the car think that there is an abnormal load so will do its best to get the car to the correct ride height.

[siamblue]

that dont make sense though, the whole point of the nivomats is that they are there to counter any abnormal load, so by just fitting lower springs would make the car think that there is an abnormal load so will do its best to get the car to the correct ride height.

That;s what mine did, It looked awfull and rode awful, now it sits sweet and handling is totally transformed all i need now is to replace the front struts, but that can wait untill the new year :)

Gary

[Babybadger]

So we can safely say, if you want to carry abnormal loads - nivomat suspension and standard springs and shocks all round or R springs and nivomats etc.

If you want occasional carrying and good fun handling - lowered springs and good shocks , like koni fsd and eibach setup.

[Engineer]

So we can safely say, if you want to carry abnormal loads - nivomat suspension and standard springs and shocks all round or R springs and nivomats etc.

If you want occasional carrying and good fun handling - lowered springs and good shocks , like koni fsd and eibach setup.The S70 R anti-roll bars are different as are the front lower arms/tca's if you can find some.

[arbee]

sooo, with the R suspension, are the nivomat shocks identical to the non R T5s or what? If they are identical then I cant see how R springs would behave any different to aftermarket lowering springs?

[Al115]

Aren't "R" nivomats lower than standard ones?

[arbee]

Aren't "R" nivomats lower than standard ones?
dunno, but that would explain things!

[Al115]

Well, let me answer my own (rhetorical) question! YES they are, I rode around on a set for a year :)