Suspension

[mraldonnelly]

Afternoon all,

I desperately need to replace my suspension. Since hitting a crater in the road in Ireland a while ago the handling of my car has become more and more twitchy. It seems to be getting worse and to be honest, I really don't have much faith in it.

So, I need to replace various bits.

Whlie doing the job I figure I may as well replace the wishbone bushes (£7.45), balljoints (£16.39) and track rod ends (£16.16) too along with the wishbones themselves subject to price (I can't get a price for these from ECP or GSF).

I am also going to replace the strut mounts all round (£51.11 front - £16.16 rear).

The prices above are inc VAT per individual side. So, without struts and springs the price is already £214.54 inclusive for everything mentioned above except the wishbones.

Now, through ECP, standard shocks and springs all round would be £336.14.

However, if I went for an upgraded setup, I could fit Bilstein "Sprintline" shocks and springs all round. The complete kit is £485.95, some £150 more than the standard setup. However, the Bilstein setup is listed as being for the S70. I can't find a kit for the 850. Anyone know if the S70 setup will fit the 850? I'm thinking it will as the part numbers for standard bits seem to be the same for the 850 and S70.

Bearing in mind that I'm not really bothered about lowering my car, is it worth the extra £150 for the Bilstein kit? Are there any others available at reasonable cost?

Finally, I'm trying to limit the parts that I fit to this car to transferrable bits so that if (or when) I get another 850 I can just swap over all the little parts I've bought for her. If I bought an 850 Estate, is the suspension transferrable from a Saloon? I obviously know that if the Estate has self levellers then the rears won't be transferrable but can the front still be swapped.

Thanks folks

Andy

[TangoDeltaSierra3]

Koni do a sportsline kit for the 850 T5 but not the S70, think it's about £420.
It will look better and handle better mister - just do it! Check www.partsforvolvosonline.co.uk.

[Justin]

The Koni set up looks good, just looked at the site, its £459.00 INC VAT.

VT also do a system, i "THINK" its Eibach and having been in 2 cars with the upgrade i would say its very good indeed.

I have not been in a Koni equipped car, anyone had it done to an 850 and what was it like, also Simon is there any extra info thats not on your site regarding the setup ?

[Wobbly Dave]

Vt stock Koni shocks and Eibach springs and Monroe Reflex. Like J said I just had mine done. Hamish said that the koni adjustables were quite harsh. I went for the monroe reflex and I am very happy with the setup.

My 850R lowering springs are still for sale, but the back ones only work with self levelers. £95 for the 4 springs will give you the regimented drop for the R

If you look on my gallery (see link below) you can see how bad the top mounts can get.

[hamish]

Hi,
FYI the 'sportline' kit you refer to contains 'second string' lowering springs hence the price ! These kits are made up by the UK importer of Koni as a price buster !
Most people find the Koni Sport Shocks too stiff / unconfortable for road use on a Volvo during day to day use, but I guess it depends on your use / age !
Regards,
Hamish.

[Wobbly Dave]

It is wise to accept that you will not be using the car on a track day every other week? Comfort/ride is an important consideration.
The eibach/monroe combo stays very flat through the corners - there is practically no roll and no pitch under braking/acceleration.

[Wobbly Dave]

One other thing - it is very hard to replace the bushes on the wishbones. By the time you are done (at the risk of buggering the wishbone) you may as well get the job lot. (having seen what is involved)