Hello,

I have a 2007 V70 2.5T, 85k miles. We often take long trips with 6 bikes on top and the car full of kids and gear. The rear end is pretty low during these trips! I also sometimes tow a trailer a short distance with dune buggies on it. The front and rear shocks seem fine and operating well; they are original.

I like the idea of self-leveling suspension and wondered what would be involved in switching to nivomats in the rear. I know that the setup from Volvo is that the spring is weaker with the nivomat, but is it really necessary to change out the spring, or can I just put the nivomat shock in place? It's not a cheap experiment... I assume that changing the spring requires a spring compressor on the V70. (I did change out the rear spring on my old 940, but that is easy peasy.)

Cheers,
Steve