|
|
|
Good day. The 1996 854T I've purchased lately came with Volvo's revolutionary sport suspension. It's very simmilar to driving with steel rods instead of shocks. A BMW guy told me it felt soft. Har de har har. I also have 16" wheels.
What would I have to change out to make the ride more comfortable and "floaty"? Since the shocks appear to be nothing special, it must be in the springs and stabilizer bars, right?
--
-- Lucyen Gabbard
96 854T 90k/ 86 745 GLE 240k
|
|
-
|
|
|
The T5 also has a harsh ride.It's smooth over undulations etc. and handles very well, but hit corrugations or pot holes and you loosen teeth or vertebrae. Part of it is the suspension, part is the low profile tyres (eg 205/50/16). If you have 16" rims you might consider swapping to 15s with higher profile tyres which have more give in them. I shudder to think what 17s would be like.
Rick.
|
|
-
|
|
|
I can't live with the harsh ride. If you're familliar with the growing... no... spawning northwest Arkansas area, (You know, the massive city growing around the University of Arkansas, Tyson HQ, JB-Hunt HQ, and the Wal*Mart home office and vast array of vendor offices) you'll know all about neverending road construction, main streets with potholes big enough to fit uh'ho possum (now dat's guh eet'ns), and road workers who've never heard the term smooth transition.
I have the 16s. The salesman I bought from's significant other had an S70 with different wheels. He told me if I decide to dispose of them, I should talk to him first.
I think the more conventional tires look better anyway. Sporty but subtle. Speedy, but NO threat to your donut break, officer. Of course, everybody needs a turbo. :)
I shudder to think of 17's... My car shudders too.
--
-- Lucyen Gabbard
96 854T 90k/ 86 745 GLE 240k
|
|
-
posted by
someone claiming to be mwatson
on
Tue Aug 12 08:11 CST 2003 [ RELATED]
|
|
I actually have 17" wheels, and yes, it is a very harsh ride. I've actually busted a few wheels and knotted a few tires with Houston's pot holes. I was told the best way to get rid of the harsh ride was to move to the 16" wheel so that I could get more sidewall. My wife has a 1999 V70 with the stock 16" wheels, and it is far, far spongier a ride than my 97 850R. I haven't made the switch (and I'm not sure I will), but that's my two cents worth.
|
|
-
posted by
someone claiming to be Punxsutawney Phil
on
Mon Aug 11 08:11 CST 2003 [ RELATED]
|
|
I have the factory sport suspension on mine and think it's waaaaay too soft, too. I run tire pressures at the upper margin of what Folvo recommends, still too soft. I'll probably put Konis on it soon so it will finally be "perfect" just about when I get rid of it.
There was a thread by "dave" some years ago about swapping the HDs for regular components. http://www.brickboard.com/AWD/?id=156136
Probably cheaper if you used recycled springs and bars.
Considering the value of used cars these days it might be a lot cheaper to just buy a Cadillac or Town Car to supplement the 850.
-Punxsutawney Phil
'98 V70T5M, 124k mi.
|
|
-
|
|
|
Want to come ride with me? :) It's pretty harsh. I'm seriously disturbed my car might get torn up. Thanks for the refrence article. I did a search with MANY silly results.
I have retained my '86 745G for daily backup and heavy lift operations. It's a great car. I purchased the 854T to replace my '89 764G daily that was very nice until you got under the hood. I could have fixed it, however growing sparseness of engine parts, the usual 760/960 trim breakage, and of course the German swear word "Nivomat" persueded me I should apply what I've learned about cars from this one. I've learned that France should stick to doing what they do best and cook something good up for the surrender party.
I would still drive the 745G if all the windows rolled down, the sunroof kept water out (instead of funneling it in), and there was heat of any kind.
I shy away from the Town Cars. They are very nice, however I refuse to buy a car from a company that has knowingly let thousands of customers burn to death over design mistakes on multiple occasions.
I do however like the Catera's. Don't like the interiors, but they don't explode on impact or have the contracted RubberMaid interiors some vehicles appear to have.
--
-- Lucyen Gabbard
96 854T 90k/ 86 745 GLE 240k
|
|
-
|
|
|
having old worn out suspension parts doesn't help either. don't get the catera...it's a porked up opel with not enough power... it is definitely not a caddy that zigs. if u think the stock suspension is stiff, try some stiffer springs and stiffer shocks AND 17" ...some people even have coilovers. anyway, try getting some 15" and see if that helps a bit.
|
|
-
posted by
someone claiming to be Ray N
on
Mon Aug 11 11:31 CST 2003 [ RELATED]
|
|
The 70 series have a softer suspension then the 850s. My wife's
95 855 (without sport suspension) has a much (much) harsher ride then
my 98 S70T5M (also without the sport suspension). Both cars have Michilin
XGT H4s (the 855's tire are 15" and have slightly higher profile though).
I can't imagine an 855 with the sport suspension being anything but uncomfortable.
I suspect your 98 with a sport suspension is closer to the 850
turbo model's base suspension (in terms of ride quality).
|
|
-
posted by
someone claiming to be Punxsutawney Phil
on
Tue Aug 12 01:04 CST 2003 [ RELATED]
|
|
I complained bitterly about the fluffy ride when the car was new and suspected that they had neglected to include the HD pieces and asked them to check the "sport supension" pn. They claimed they were the same for the 850s and '98 70s. (Maybe Volvo changed parts vendors???) The "sport suspension" option did go away after the 1998 model year, odd if they would design new, and rarely ordered HD components for just one model year. I have 205-55x16 tires on the car because my dealer refused to order the no-cost option 50 series tires since his service department was going crazy from all the bent rims from the NY potholes.
I also ordered velour, not leather seats, so they're much softer than the seats in most T5s.
BTW, I have factory "sport suspensions" on both the Volvo and a toy '86 Porsche, wife complains -bitterly- about the ride on both cars, usully refusing to ride in them, says they both make her butt hurt!
Thanks for reminding me to price the Konis this AM!
http://www.groundhog.org
|
|
-
|
|
|
don't know why u'd want a floaty caddi ride, but ok... the shocks may have simply been worn out and need replacing. if that doesn't work, u can simply switch over the base 850 suspension. the springs are softer, and the roll bars are smaller. and since u have a sedan, no need to worry about novimats in the back. also, the spring mounts and shock mounts may be worn, which can be translated into ride harshness
normal suspension: 20mm front, 19.5mm rear...
sport suspension: 21mm front, 20mm rear, stiffer springs, stiffer shocks
make sure u have the sport suspension b4 u do anything. the boge oem shocks may be expensive at the dealer. u can try some bilstein tc shocks, which are supposed to be rated similar to stock specs of normal suspension.
another thing to look for, if those don't work, is to get some 15" rims, this will make it softer/mushier... (but i think the 16" are fine, u should try 17" and c what a diff it is, hehe)
|
|
|
|
|
