how low can you go?

[jt850turbo]

having a scuffing problem on rear arch, if i have any one heavier than a four year old child in the back im scuffing out on arch, im wanting to put rear seats in boot, this will only make things worse, i do have some volvo self adjusting rear shocks that came in a box my new motor, by putting these back on will this sort my problem out? is it possible to roll the arches to solve the issue. The car looks sweet as she is but it is my family motor so being practical is a must. Any suggestions would be appreciated, thanks

[t5_carl]

I aways grind them never roll, always a trap for water and rust!trim a few mm off

[cameron]

I had this on my old car and this one i have now

The problem was that the wheels would fit nice but the tyres were too wide, iirc the last ones were 225-45-17 and the ones i changed to are 205-45-17, no more rubbing and i have the seats in the boot as well and i always use them as i have 4 kids

Maybe something to think about matey, down size the tyres width

[dooby]

Hiya,

those look like Pegasus wheels, and they look genuine to my untrained eye. Are they? If they're genuine they're 8J wide, if not they'll be 7.5J

Either way, I found it a bit too much for my rear arches and I'm on 17" diameter, it would be worse again on 18"s, as they'd sit higher in the arch.

Basically you're finding the limitation of the 850 wheel arches, they weren't designed to take that bigger wheel unlike the later V70 and S70. (Actually I'm not certain at the rear, but I believe it's true at the front).

I'm running 235/40/R17 tyres, as when I was on slimmer tyres I was finding the sidewall couldn't provide enough support under hard cornering, and was rubbing too far up (like on the manufacturer logo). I'd beware running tyres which are too thin for the wheel.

I found under really heavy cornering (70mph sliding sideways on a track) the rear wheel arch liner studs were gouging the inside tyre wall, so I clipped them back, put on a 3mm spacer and had the front and rear arches rolled and I think I'm just about OK now.

Lot of hassle in my personal experience, but I wanted the big brakes and to stick with a genuine Volvo wheel so I didn't have much choice!

Cheers, Pete

[scooter]

you could get spring rubbers they go in the coils you keep your height but when you put a load in it stops the car dropping to low i had them on a previous car that was lowered 40mm didn't affect the height of that one

[jt850turbo]

ive 225/40/18 tyres on at the moment, perhaps i should be thinking of down sizing to 17 in rims? its fine when im driving on my own but i didnt buy the car just for me [thats what i told my wife] so need to sort this sooner rather than later as my four children are wondering why im shying away from taking them out in the car. The walking is good for you is running a little thin!!!!

[Flatout Phil]

having a scuffing problem on rear arch, if i have any one heavier than a four year old child in the back im scuffing out on arch, im wanting to put rear seats in boot, this will only make things worse, i do have some volvo self adjusting rear shocks that came in a box my new motor, by putting these back on will this sort my problem out? is it possible to roll the arches to solve the issue. The car looks sweet as she is but it is my family motor so being practical is a must. Any suggestions would be appreciated, thanks

If the car originally had Nivomat self levelling shocks, and these have been substituted with regular shocks, it is ESSENTIAL that the springs have been upgraded. Nivos function integrally with springs to support the rear of the car - they use a lighter-weight spring than a standard shock. So would make for a saggy ride and an easily compressed rear end if used with any other sort of shocker. Oooer!

[jt850turbo]

sorry to sound dumb phil but your saying that i should put the self levelling back on?

[Flatout Phil]

sorry to sound dumb phil but your saying that i should put the self levelling back on?

If the springs at the rear are those that were factory-fitted for self-levellers, then yes, if you now want to use non-self levelling dampers you will also need an upgraded spring if the suspension is to work properly. You can go to a variety of suppliers for these although partsforvolvos do supply accordingly as do Kalmar Union etc. The rear ride will get a tad harsher apparently. Ring them up, they are helpful.
If you want a low-rider look all things are possible and different spring lengths etc are available - but your rear-seat passengers may get piles.

[badger1980]

If uve got the cash put air bags on and the ride height is your choice

[cherry1809]

I still have my old set of springs, Your quite welcome to them free as I was only going to bin them.
My cars supposedly an Ex plod, So they may be lower, May not be.
Just bin us the price of postage.

[ANDYRACER]

What springs you using to get it to sit that low?

[flyingbrick]

having a scuffing problem on rear arch, if i have any one heavier than a four year old child in the back im scuffing out on arch, im wanting to put rear seats in boot, this will only make things worse, i do have some volvo self adjusting rear shocks that came in a box my new motor, by putting these back on will this sort my problem out? is it possible to roll the arches to solve the issue. The car looks sweet as she is but it is my family motor so being practical is a must. Any suggestions would be appreciated, thanks

I agree with Lee (cameron) on this its the wheels/tyres..........

[p fandango]

even with a heavily overloaded car my 215/35/18's didn't rub

[JUDGENINJA]

I run standard wheels (205/50/16)..... and you can go this low!!!!!