Hi,

Ive got a 1996 volvo 850R sedan automatic red. First of all i bought the car in texas and now i'm living in the United Kingdom and i imported the car over here. Is their any performance differences between a US spec and Euro spec 850R. I know the BMW M3's have a big difference so i thought this might be the case for the volvo.

Also i want to upgrade the suspension with some H&R springs. Do i need to replace the front and rear shocks or not? If i do have to i'm looking at the koni sport front struts and rear shocks, are they any good and is it a good match with the H&R lowering springs.

Also just for the record, how much lower is the 850R from a stock 850?

Thanks alot for your time

K&N panel and cone filter, modified intake (removed snow cover), supersprint cat back w/ resonator, magnecor KV85 silicone ignition leads, chrome ignition lead spacers, samco sport silicone turbo and coolant hoses, momo strut brace.

There are slight differences. I wanna say something like 7hp maybe. As for how much lower an R is, about .5 inches. H&R springs should work in your car no problem. I run Konis in the front and Bilstein in the rear. No point in Konis in the rear in my opinion. They are not easily adjustable and they seem too stiff for the rear when there is no weight in the back. Just my opinion though.

In the past Koni's stated the adjustment for the shocks and struts was for wear. I had a friend with bought Koni's fifteen years ago for his CRX and the difference between soft and firm was minimal.

My question is: Is the same true for today's Koni struts and shocks? Can you talk about your experience?

Right now I am trying to decide between Koni and Bilstein shocks and struts. Right now I am leaning toward Bilstein shocks and struts.

One last piece of information, I will be putting on IPD springs when the shocks and struts are installed. I know these are not the stiffest but, I learned long ago that stiffer does not necessarily mean better.

94 850 Turbo, 90K miles, IPD ECU

I guess a lot is relative. The difference is settings is a decent amount. Though not mind boggling. In my opinion Koni's are a bad option for the rear. You cannot easily adjust them and they are too firm for an unloaded car. I think Koni's cost about 20 more dollars. I guess its a judgment call. As for IPD springs they are very well suited to street driving. Used 340 springs for a while, but changed them out due to very poor traction. IPD is a good overall spring.